Users are experiencing a recurring issue where product images disappear after importing CSV files to update product data in Shopify. The problem typically occurs when exporting products, making changes, and re-importing—even when image URLs remain unchanged in the CSV.
Primary Solution:
A working fix involves modifying the CSV file before re-import:
Find and replace /products/ with /deleted/products/ (or /files/ with /deleted/files/ depending on URL structure)
Import the modified CSV
This pulls images from Shopify’s deleted files section and restores them with new file paths
Important Caveats:
Test on 1-2 products first before bulk application
This method may remove currently working images if applied to products that still have images
Always export a backup CSV before importing changes
Alternative Approach:
For inventory/stock updates specifically, use the dedicated Inventory CSV import (Products > Inventory) rather than the general Products import to avoid affecting images.
Unresolved Questions:
One user has URLs with multiple /files/ instances and needs clarification on which to replace
Support reportedly cannot recover deleted URLs in some cases
The underlying bug causing image loss during CSV import remains unfixed
Summarized with AI on October 28.
AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
I had my store all set up with correct images for all products and product variants. I exported the products to do some work. After I exported I added a column to the left and numbered it from 0 to 11307. I reordered the sheet, did the work then reuploaded - without changing the order back or removing the extra column - Whoops!
I have re imported the sheet as it was before I committed the mistake above but all of my variant images have disappeared - despite the relevant links being there in the export as ever they were.
Where have my images gone? I mostly added them by finding an image online, right clicking, copy image address and then going to the item in the dashboard, media section, add image from URL.
I don’t want to have to go and get all the image links and add them again by hand when it took me many tens of horus to do this in the first place if I can help it. Where have my images gone?
I clearly dont understand how images work in shopify so some education about that would be very helpful!
I definitely understand your concern and hopefully I can help you with recovering your deleted image files! Since you have your original CSV and the original file paths for the images, hopefully we can recover them using that.
Open the CSV that broke the product images, and do a Find and Replace for /products/ with /deleted/products/.
Save, and Import to your store.
The result of this is that the images are pulled from the /deleted/products section, and re-imported as new files with a new file name. If you then export the product, you’ll see that the image paths are different and no longer contain /deleted/.
Please note that if you still have some products with images in the store, then replacing all instances of “/products/” with “/deleted/products/” in the Image Src column will then remove the currently working images from the products.
As always when working with CSV files, export a backup file before importing a new one. I also recommend testing this process on one or two product listings before doing it to all products.
If that doesn’t work for any reason, please reach out to our live support to ask for them to recover the product images. This method will not restore the images to the products themselves, but will re-add the images into your FILES section in your admin.
Can you confirm if you are uploading the CSV on the PRODUCTS or INVENTORY section of your admin? There are two separate CSV files that can be used in the admin. One for updating products and one for updating inventory. The product inventory CSV should not be overwriting product images.
If you are importing and updating inventory using the steps provided in our Help Center but are still experiencing issues with the images disappearing, please reach out to our authenticated support team for further help with this.
Thank you for sharing the sample link, I am not sure what the issue is that you are having with your image URLs. That is the URL for the where the image is hosted in your admin, if you are hosting your images through Shopify.
Hi @bluepittie01 thank you for joining the conversation! I understand you are also having issues with your product images disappearing when you update your inventory,
Can you confirm for me if you are importing your CSV through Products > Inventory or just Products? As I noted above, there are two separate CSV files for importing products vs importing new inventory. You want to make sure you are using the Inventory CSV file and importing it through the inventory page in your admin.
I was using the Products export sheet to bulk edit data, like descriptions, tags, titles for my listings. I haven’t used the inventory import feature yet.
Okay, and the image URLs were unchanged in your CSV file before you reimported it? Did you change your product handles at all? If you import a single product through CSV (as a test) are you seeing the images being removed again?
Just had the same problem and lost all my images i spent the entire day before uploading and associating with products.
Support is no help, I can’t believe this bug has not been fixed yet.
Alternatively, does anyone know how to get a listing of all the image URLs uploaded - then i can just mass reupload and make a script to adjust the URLs?
