Manage attribute groups

An attribute group is a named bundle of attributes that you attach to categories so every product in those categories inherits the same set of attribute fields. Grouping keeps related fields together (for example a Dimensions group holding Length, Width, and Height) and controls the order they appear in on a product. This page covers creating groups, attaching and re-syncing attributes, ordering, archiving, deleting, and bulk and import operations.

For how attributes and categories combine to drive a product's fields, see How product taxonomy works. To attach a group to a category, see Manage categories.

Before you begin

• Managing groups requires the relevant permission: attribute_groups.create, attribute_groups.update, attribute_groups.delete, attribute_groups.archive, and attribute_groups.import each gate their own action. Without a permission the matching button and endpoint are blocked. See Product permissions reference.
• The attributes you plan to attach must already exist. Create them first under Manage attributes.
• Each attribute can belong to only one group at a time — see An attribute can belong to only one group below before you attach.

View the attribute groups list

Open Settings → Attribute groups. The list shows every group ordered by its Group Sort Order (ascending), with a count of attached attributes, linked categories, and products for each. Archived groups are hidden by default. The Settings list is paginated and honours the active filters, so with many groups you page through the results (this matters for the Apply to all filtered bulk action below).

Each row reports:

Column	Meaning
Name	The group's unique name.
Sort order	Position of the group in the list (lower sorts first).
Attributes	Number of attributes attached to the group.
Categories	Number of categories the group is linked to.
Products	Number of products using the group — counted both directly and through its categories.

Create an attribute group

1. On the attribute groups list, click Create Attribute Group.
2. Enter a Group Name. The name must be unique across all attribute groups — reusing an existing name (including an archived one) fails validation.
3. Set a Group Sort Order (a whole number, 0 or greater). This controls where the group appears in the list; see Ordering groups and attributes.
4. Click Add Attributes and pick the attributes to attach. For each one you can set a per-attribute sort order that controls the order the fields render within the group.
5. Click Save.

Attaching an attribute sets that attribute's group to this one (and stores its in-group sort order). You can create a group with no attributes and attach them later.

An attribute can belong to only one group

An attribute is owned by at most one group. If you try to attach an attribute that's already assigned to a different group, the save is rejected with an AssignedToAnotherAttributeGroup validation error on that attribute.

To move an attribute from one group to another:

1. Edit the group that currently owns it, remove the attribute from the list, and Save (this releases the attribute — see Re-syncing membership).
2. Edit the target group, add the now-free attribute, and Save.

Attaching an attribute that has no group yet always succeeds.

Update a group and re-sync its attributes

1. On the list, click a group to open Edit Attribute Group.
2. Change the Group Name or Group Sort Order as needed, and adjust the attached attributes and their per-attribute sort orders.
3. Click Save.

Membership is a full re-sync, not an append. When you save the attributes list:

• Attributes in the submitted list are (re)attached to this group with their sort order.
• Attributes removed from the list have their group cleared — they become ungrouped again (they're not deleted, just orphaned back to the ungrouped pool and free to attach elsewhere).

Editing a group without touching its attributes — that is, saving only name or sort-order changes — leaves the existing membership unchanged.

Attribute group detail

Opening a group loads its full detail: the attached attributes (in sort order), the categories it's linked to, the products attached directly, and the products reached through its categories. The two product figures are reported separately:

Field	What it counts
Products (direct)	Products that carry this group directly through a product-attribute link.
Products (through categories)	Distinct products that inherit the group because it's attached to one of their categories.

These are the same two relationships that block deletion, so the detail view tells you exactly what you'd need to detach before a group can be removed.

Ordering groups and attributes

There are two independent sort orders:

Sort order	Where it lives	What it controls
Group sort order	A sort_order column on the group	The order groups appear in the attribute groups list (ascending).
Per-attribute sort order	Stored inside each attribute's display data (not a standalone column)	The order attributes render within their group.

Because the per-attribute order is held in the attribute's own display data, it's set when you attach the attribute to the group (in the Add Attributes step) and travels with the attribute. Group sort order is edited on the group itself.

Archive and restore a group

Archiving hides a group from the default list without deleting it — use it to retire a group you might bring back.

1. On the list, open the group's row actions and choose Archive.
2. To bring it back, show archived groups, then choose Restore (unarchive).

If the group is already in the target state (archiving an already-archived group, or restoring one that isn't archived), the action returns a warning and makes no change.

Delete a group

Deletion is permanent and is blocked whenever the group is still in use.

1. On the list, open the group's row actions and choose Delete.
2. If the group is unused, it's removed.
3. If it's in use, the delete is rejected and each blocking relationship is reported separately so you know exactly what to clear:

Blocker	Meaning	How to clear it
Attributes	The group still has attributes attached.	Edit the group and remove all attributes (this orphans them back to ungrouped).
Direct products	Products carry this group directly.	Detach the group from those products.
Products through categories	Products inherit the group via its categories.	Detach the group from those categories (see Manage categories).

A group is deletable only once all three are empty. The list's delete action checks this up front, so a group that's still linked reports back with its reasons rather than silently failing.

Bulk operations

Select multiple groups with the row checkboxes to run an action across all of them, then choose Archive, Restore, or Delete from the bulk menu.

• Bulk archive / restore flips the archived state of every selected group. Groups already in the target state are skipped and counted as failures; the result message reports the total and the number actually changed.
• Bulk delete applies the same in-use guard as a single delete — any group that's still in use is skipped, not force-deleted, and counts toward the failed total. Only unused groups are removed.
• Apply to all filtered — instead of ticking rows, you can target every group matching the current filters. The server resolves the active filters into the full set of matching IDs before running the operation, so the action covers rows beyond the current page.

Import and export groups

You can create and update groups in bulk from a spreadsheet.

1. Click Import and upload your file.
2. Preview the import first — nothing is written until you confirm. The preview validates each row and surfaces errors.
3. Confirm to run the import.

Import rules:

• The name column is required on every row.
• Each row is matched by id first, then by name: a row with an id updates that group (an id that doesn't exist is reported as an error and skipped), and a row without an id is matched by name — updating the group with that name or creating a new one.
• Only id, name, and sort_order are import/export fields. Attribute membership isn't set through import — attach attributes in the group editor instead.

To pull the current groups out as a spreadsheet (which doubles as an update template), use Export.

Next steps

• Manage attributes — create and configure the attributes you attach to groups.
• Manage categories — link groups to categories so products inherit them.
• Attribute fields & types reference — attribute field, type, and validation lookup.
• How product taxonomy works — how categories, attribute groups, and attributes combine on a product.
• Set a product's categories & attributes — apply taxonomy on an individual product.

Video transcript

An attribute group bundles related attributes and attaches them to categories, so every product in those categories inherits the same fields. Settings, Products, Attribute Groups lists your groups. Add one with Create Attribute Group. Open a group to edit it. Here Bottle Specs holds Material and Capacity. Add Attributes brings more into the group, the handles reorder them, and the sort sets how they appear on a product. Save, and every category using this group picks up the change.