Uploading CSV with shopify hosted images

Store Design
1

I upload my products with a CSV and 90% have an image url which works perfectly. For the few that don’t, I want them to use my “no cover image” file that is hosted on Shopify.

I tried adding this to the CSV. but it doesn’t work on upload.

If I go into the product afterward and add an image using a URL, this URL does work and it makes a new file in my file directory

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/xxxx/xxxx/files/NoCover.png

I suspect this is a super easy fix and my file reference is just incorrect, but not sure what the correct syntax is

Thanks

2

You’re on the right track, but Shopify’s CSV import doesn’t recognize internal Shopify-hosted images the same way it does external URLs. When you upload via CSV, Shopify expects publicly accessible URLs, not ones already stored in your Shopify file directory.

Here’s a simple workaround:

  • Upload your “No Cover” image to a free image hosting site (like Imgur or Dropbox with a public link) and use that external link in your CSV.
  • Or manually set the default image after import using Shopify’s bulk editor or an automation app.

Unfortunately, Shopify doesn’t have a built-in way to auto-assign an image from your Files section during a CSV upload. So the only way is to use a fully public URL that Shopify can pull from.