Guides ยท Shopify redirects
Matrixify Redirects sheet: commands and why rows fail
Matrixify imports redirects from a sheet with four columns. Most failed rows come from two rules about Path and Target, and from picking a Command that does not match what is already in the store.
The columns
| Column | What it holds |
|---|---|
ID | Shopify's own number for the redirect. Exports fill it in. Leave it empty for new redirects. |
Path | The old address, as a path without the domain. If the ID is not found, Matrixify looks the redirect up by Path. |
Target | The new address: a path on the store, or a full URL. |
Command | What to do with the row. If it is blank, Matrixify treats it as UPDATE. |
The sheet, or the CSV file, should be named "Redirect" or "Redirects" so Matrixify recognises it.
The two rules that fail rows
- Path and Target cannot be empty.
- Path cannot equal Target. A redirect to itself is refused.
Both are easy to break in a large mapping sheet. A lookup formula that found no match leaves Target empty. A product that kept its handle gives a row where the old and new path are the same.
What each command does
| Command | Result | Fails when |
|---|---|---|
NEW | Creates the redirect. | One already exists with the same ID or Path. |
MERGE | Updates the redirect if it exists, creates it if it does not. | |
UPDATE | Updates an existing redirect. | None is found. |
REPLACE | Deletes the existing redirect, then creates a new one from the row. | |
DELETE | Deletes the redirect. | None is found. |
IGNORE | Skips the row. |
The blank Command is the one that catches people. A sheet of brand-new redirects with no Command column is treated as UPDATE, and every row fails because there is nothing to update. For a first import, MERGE is the forgiving choice: it works whether or not the redirect is already there.
NEW fails on a Path that already exists. So does a second row with the same Path later in the same file, once the first has been created.
What Matrixify does not check
Matrixify applies the rows you give it. A row can import without error and still be wrong:
- A chain, where a Target is itself the Path of another row.
- A loop that runs through several rows.
- A Target that does not exist on the new store.
- A Path where a page still lives, so Shopify never applies the redirect.
- A Path under an address Shopify does not redirect.
These are worth catching in the sheet, before the import runs.
Source: Matrixify documentation, "Redirects". Check the current page for changes before a large import.
Check your own file
Rowmill Redirect Check runs these checks on a Shopify redirect CSV or a Matrixify Redirects sheet. It is free, it runs in your browser, and your file is never uploaded.
Open the checker