Exporting Files
The Files export gets your Shopify media library — the images, videos, and generic files (PDFs and more) under Content → Files — out as a CSV or Excel file. It spans every connected store by default, so you can list all your media, from all your stores, in one run. For the wizard itself — picking columns, formats, destinations, and schedules — see the exporting overview.
What you can export
Files are polymorphic — a row can be an image, a video, or a generic file — so the picker shows every column for every row and type-specific cells fall to empty when they don't apply. In Simple mode the key fields are:
| Field | What it is |
|---|---|
| File Name | The display name parsed from the file's source URL. |
| File Type | The Shopify subtype — MediaImage, GenericFile, or Video. |
| Alt | The merchant-supplied alt text describing the file. |
| File Status | Processing status — UPLOADED, PROCESSING, READY, or FAILED. |
| Format | A short token from the MIME type — JPG, PDF, MP4, and so on. |
| URL | The primary CDN source URL for the file. |
| Size | File size as raw Size Bytes, Size MB, or a human-readable Size (e.g. 1.24 MB). |
| Width / Height / Duration | Pixel dimensions for images and video; duration for video (blank for other files). |
| Store | Which store the file belongs to (name, domain, email, or store id). |
Template (Advanced) mode opens the full column tree, where you can also add the Shopify-generated preview image fields, the full Shopify GID, and (for images only) the file's metafields, and rename any column header.
Filtering what you export
Each entity in the wizard has its own filter, independent of whatever filter you last used on the Files dashboard. Common slices:
- Store — limit the export to one or more connected stores.
- File type — only images, only videos, or only generic files.
- File status — for example only READY files, or only FAILED ones.
- Format — a specific format such as JPG or PDF.
- MIME type — a specific content type.
- Used in — files that are attached to a product vs unused.
- File name or Alt — files whose filename or alt text contains a term.
- Created / Updated date — files within a date range.
Exporting from the dashboard vs the wizard
Every Files dashboard has an Export button (the Export Builder) for a quick single-entity export scoped to what you're viewing — the Current page of rows, everything matching your Filtered view, only the rows you've Selected, or All files across your stores. The full Export Wizard is the place for multi-entity bundles and scheduled exports.
Scheduling
Any Files export can run on a recurring daily, weekly, or monthly schedule instead of once — each run rebuilds from live data and is delivered to your destination. See scheduled exports.
Tutorial: audit your media library across every store
- Go to Exports → New export (
/exports/new). - In Step 1, tick Files and click Next.
- In Step 2, keep Simple columns — File Name, File Type, Alt, Format, URL, and Size are good defaults — and add Store so you can see which shop each file came from.
- Add a File status filter set to READY, or a File type filter, if you want to narrow the list.
- In Step 3, choose Excel and set the destination to Email.
- In Step 4, name it "Media audit" and click Run now.
Permissions
Exporting is gated by two permissions: View Exports (viewExports) lets a
team member open the Exports area and build an export; Download Exports
(downloadExports) lets them download the finished file. Account owners always
have both.
FAQ
Can I export my Shopify media library to Excel? Yes — choose Excel (.xlsx)
in Step 3, or CSV if you prefer. Both carry the same columns.
Does the export include the file URL? Yes — the URL column holds the primary CDN source URL for each file.
Can I get each file's size and dimensions? Yes — add Size (bytes, MB, or human-readable) and the Width / Height / Duration columns.
Which files have alt text and metafields? Alt is available on every file; metafields apply to images only (GenericFile and Video don't carry them).
Can I export files from all my stores at once? Yes — a Files export spans every connected store by default. Add a Store filter to narrow it to one.
Can I schedule a files export? Yes — save it as a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule and each run rebuilds from live data.
Do I need a permission to download the file? Yes — Download Exports gates the download itself, while View Exports gates building the export. Owners have both.