Catalog Sync
How catalog syncing works in Vantage — timing, data fetched, and troubleshooting
Last updated: 6th June 2026
Catalog Sync
Catalog sync is the process of fetching your product data from Shopify and importing it into Vantage for auditing. Understanding how it works helps you keep your scores up to date and troubleshoot any issues.
How sync works
Vantage uses Shopify's GraphQL Admin API to fetch your entire product catalog. Products are retrieved in paginated batches using cursor-based pagination, ensuring that large catalogs are handled reliably.
Each sync fetches the following data for every product:
| Data | Fields |
|---|---|
| Product basics | Title, description, descriptionHtml, vendor, productType, tags, status |
| Variants | Price, compareAtPrice, SKU, barcode, inventoryQuantity, selectedOptions |
| Images | URL, alt text |
| Metafields | All existing product metafields |
| Category | Shopify Standard Product Category |
After fetching, Vantage upserts each product into its database — creating new records or updating existing ones. Once the sync completes, an automatic audit runs on all products and scores are recalculated.
Sync timing
How long your sync takes depends on catalog size:
| Catalog size | Expected sync time |
|---|---|
| Under 50 products | A few seconds |
| 50-250 products | Under a minute |
| 250-500 products | 1-3 minutes |
| 500+ products | 2-5 minutes |
You can watch sync progress on the dashboard, which shows the number of products synced.
How to trigger a sync
You can trigger a catalog sync in two ways:
- Dashboard — Click the sync button on the main dashboard
- Settings page — Use the sync controls in the Catalog Sync section
Vantage also syncs automatically on first install, and product create, update, and delete webhooks keep your catalog in step with Shopify between full syncs.
Rate limiting and resilience
Shopify enforces API rate limits to protect store performance. Vantage handles this automatically:
- Exponential backoff — If a request is rate-limited, Vantage waits and retries with increasing delays
- Cursor-based pagination — The last pagination cursor is persisted with each page of progress, so an interrupted sync's position is recorded
- Stale job cleanup — Sync jobs that get stuck in a "running" state are automatically cleared after 10 minutes
You don't need to worry about rate limits. Vantage manages the pacing automatically and will never overwhelm your store's API quota.
What happens after sync
Once a sync completes:
- All product data in the Vantage database is updated to match Shopify
- The audit engine runs automatically on every synced product
- Scores are recalculated across all 9 dimensions
- If metafield writing is enabled, updated scores are written back to Shopify
- Your dashboard updates to reflect the new data
Stale sync jobs
If a sync appears stuck and the progress indicator hasn't moved for several minutes, the sync job may be stale. Vantage automatically detects and clears stale sync jobs after 10 minutes. Once cleared, you can trigger a new sync.
Don't trigger a new sync while one is already running. Wait for the current sync to complete, or wait 10 minutes for a stale job to auto-clear, then retry.
Troubleshooting
For sync issues, see Sync Issues in the Troubleshooting section.