Headless commerce · import commercetools

commercetools as a headless product source for Photopilot

Import products, variants, and attributes from a commercetools project.

Import + export via API or FTP
Export via FTP, Excel, or API

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GDPR-compliant, data in the EU
SLA and a dedicated contact
Connects to Shopware, Shopify, and your ERP
13 retailers and brands in production

commercetools

This is the route

You create an API client in commercetools.
Photopilot imports products with SKU, key, and attributes.
Images and text are added to the right products and variants.
The output is sent to your publication layer via FTP, the Webshop Excel, or the API.

See what comes in and matches Conflicts remain visible to your team.

Explanation

How Photopilot works with commercetools

In a commercetools landscape, product content is spread across product types, variants, assets, and an ERP or DAM alongside them. Photopilot reads the published products from your project and takes over the image and copy work per variant. The result is made available as a clean, predictable delivery for the services that populate your project.

What Photopilot retrieves from your commercetools project

Photopilot reads through your project’s product projections, so it gets exactly what has been published. For each product, it includes the key, name, and description per language, plus the master variant and variants with SKU and attributes such as EAN, color, and material. We use existing images and assets as the starting point. Each run filters on lastModifiedAt, so only changed products are retrieved.

Variants, colors, and product types

Because commercetools usually stores color and size as variant attributes in a product type, Photopilot matches images by SKU, product key, and EAN. We use a color code from your attributes to group images by color, so each color gets its own set and sizes share the same images. If you use multiple product types, for example for apparel, shoes, and accessories, each type gets its own image rules. This keeps the integration accurate even if the data model grows later.

What Photopilot produces

Supplier images and studio photos automatically get the right background, crop, and aspect ratio for your front shots. Where images are missing, Photopilot creates ghost mannequin images, AI model photos, or complete campaign images with Iris as AI creative director. Materials and care symbols are recognized and form the basis for product texts and SEO texts in every language used in your project. The content team approves everything before it is released.

Delivery to your composable stack

Your integration layer retrieves approved images and copy through the Photopilot API, or they are available on FTP/SFTP or in the Webshop Excel. For each variant, the images are included in a fixed order, with alt text and localized copy that fits directly into LocalizedString fields. Your own service then adds them to commercetools or the DAM as images or assets. That way, one place remains responsible for what is written to the project.

What the team sees every day

For each variant, Photopilot shows whether there are enough images, which texts are still waiting for approval, and what has already been delivered. New products from the project appear in the worklist automatically, so no one has to track new arrivals manually. With autopilot, recurring steps such as cutouts and cropping can run without manual work. Reports show how complete the content is by brand or category.

Set up in a few steps

You create an API client in the Merchant Center with read access to products, and share the project key, the API and auth URLs, and the client ID and secret. We then define together which attributes contain EAN, color, and material, and how your integration layer retrieves the output. We run the first pass against your own project, so the mapping is correct right away. No development project is needed for this.

commercetools at a glance

What is exchanged: Photopilot reads the products from your commercetools project, including their variants, SKU, key, and attributes. Photopilot does not write to commercetools.
How often: Every two hours by default. Photopilot fetches only the products changed in the project since the previous run.
What you provide: The project key and an API client with a client ID, secret, and read access to products.
Good to know: The integration is built on the official commercetools API. We test it together on your project first.

Then in Photopilot

Reliably linked

Let source data flow through to sales-ready product pages

300.000+ articles processed

9,5M+ supplier images indexed

~3.200 photos automatically edited per day

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I connect commercetools to Photopilot?

In Merchant Center, create an API client with read access to products and share the project key, API URL, auth URL, client ID, and secret. Photopilot then reads the published products and runs an initial pass on your project.

Does Photopilot read published or staged products from commercetools?

Photopilot reads the published product projections. This lets you work with the data that is also on the storefront, not with partial changes that are still staged.

Does Photopilot work with variants and color attributes in commercetools?

Yes. Photopilot reads the master variant and variants with SKU and attributes, and groups images by color. Sizes in the same color share one image set.

How do images from Photopilot get into commercetools?

Your integration layer retrieves the approved images and texts through the Photopilot API or from FTP/SFTP, and adds them as images or assets to the correct variant. Filenames and order are fixed per variant, so processing stays predictable.

Does Photopilot create product copy in multiple languages for commercetools?

Yes, Photopilot creates product copy, SEO copy, and alt text for each language your project uses. They are delivered per locale, so they fit localized fields directly.

Does our development team need to build anything for Photopilot and commercetools?

Not for importing: an API client with read permissions is enough. To write the data back, your existing import or integration service uses Photopilot’s delivery, which is usually a small change to a step you already have.

Can I approve content before it is sent to commercetools?

Yes. Images and text are reviewed in Photopilot first and are included in the delivery only after approval. You can see what is new or changed for each variant.

What if a commercetools product does not have images yet?

It then appears in the missing images overview. Photopilot can use a simple product photo to create AI model photos, a ghost mannequin, or a packshot, which you then approve yourself.

How often does Photopilot synchronize with commercetools?

Every two hours by default, filtered by lastModifiedAt, so only changed products are processed. This keeps large catalogs easy to maintain.

How often does Photopilot read from commercetools?

Every two hours by default, with only the products changed in the project.

What does Photopilot need to connect commercetools?

The project key and an API client with a client ID, secret, and read access to products.

Where does Photopilot's output go?

Via FTP/SFTP, the Webshop Excel, or the API to your ERP, DAM, or publishing layer. Photopilot does not write directly back to commercetools.

Knowledge base

Read also

How to start

First the trial route, then the technique

The integration is the starting point. After that, Photopilot keeps linking, editing, writing, checking, and publishing together.