Hey @TomasPesek , are you using Git or just doing it in the browser? You lose theme translations when the theme id changes, which happens if you make a new theme or push changes from Git. Not, though, if you duplicate the old theme
Topic summary
A theme update from Impulse 7.1 to 7.2 caused most translations to disappear, though navigation, pages, and product content remained intact. The issue stems from Shopify’s architecture: theme translations (ONLINE_STORE_THEME) are tied to specific theme IDs and don’t automatically transfer when themes are updated or published via Git.
Workaround Solution:
A staff member provided a detailed method using Google Sheets:
- Export translation CSVs from both old and new themes (one language at a time)
- Filter to only ONLINE_STORE_THEME rows
- Use a VLOOKUP formula to match and copy translations based on source content
- Import the updated CSV into the new theme
Key Limitations:
- Must be repeated for each language separately
- Only works for theme updates with identical section IDs
- Doesn’t capture translations from third-party apps like Ecomposer
- Product, collection, and other resource translations persist automatically via Shopify’s Translations API
Alternative Method:
Directly replace old theme IDs with new theme IDs in exported CSVs before re-importing.
Outstanding Issues:
- Cannot export default language translations as CSV
- Thousands of product images and ALT texts may require manual re-uploading
- Git-based workflows trigger theme ID changes, causing translation loss with no current workaround
Users express frustration that Shopify lacks native solutions for this common scenario.
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