Woo Meta Field Bulk Update

woo-meta-field-bulk-update

Purpose

Set or update a single meta_data key-value pair across a bulk-filtered set of WooCommerce products. Useful for adding custom fields (warranty period, supplier code, origin country) or updating plugin-specific meta values in bulk. Includes dry-run preview before any updates.

Prerequisites

• WooCommerce store with REST API enabled
• Consumer Key with Read/Write scope
• Minimum WooCommerce version: 3.5.0

Parameters

| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description | |-----------|------|----------|---------|-------------| | store_url | string | yes | — | Base URL of the WooCommerce store | | consumer_key | string | yes | — | WooCommerce REST API consumer key (ck_...) | | consumer_secret | string | yes | — | WooCommerce REST API consumer secret (cs_...) | | dry_run | bool | no | true | Preview changes without executing | | format | string | no | human | Output format: human or json | | meta_key | string | yes | — | The meta_data key to set (e.g., _supplier_code) | | meta_value | string | yes | — | The value to set for the key | | filter_category_id | int | no | — | Limit to products in this category | | filter_tag_id | int | no | — | Limit to products with this tag | | filter_status | string | no | publish | Product status to filter | | only_if_missing | bool | no | false | Only write if the key doesn't already have a value |

Authentication

WooCommerce uses OAuth 1.0a for HTTP and Basic Auth over HTTPS.

For HTTPS stores (recommended):

Authorization: Basic base64(consumer_key:consumer_secret)

For HTTP stores (development only): Use OAuth 1.0a — include oauthconsumerkey, oauthnonce, oauthsignature, oauthsignaturemethod=HMAC-SHA1, oauthtimestamp, oauthversion=1.0

Never log or output consumerkey or consumersecret values.

See docs/AUTHENTICATION.md for full setup instructions.

Safety

Step 3 writes meta_data fields. Always run with dry_run: true first (the default). Overwriting existing meta values may affect plugin behavior — confirm the meta_key is correct before proceeding.

Workflow Steps

Step 1 — Fetch filtered products

GET /wp-json/wc/v3/products
  ?status=&per_page=100&page=1
  [&category=]
  [&tag=]

Extract: id, name, sku, meta_data

Step 2 — Evaluate meta_data

For each product, check if meta_key already exists in meta_data. If only_if_missing: true, skip products where the key already has a value.

Step 3 — Preview or execute

If dry_run: true: output preview table and stop.

If dry_run: false and confirmed:

PUT /wp-json/wc/v3/products/{id}
  Body: { "meta_data": [{ "key": "", "value": "" }] }

API Endpoints Used

GET  /wp-json/wc/v3/products         — filtered product list
PUT  /wp-json/wc/v3/products/{id}    — write meta_data field

Pagination Strategy

WooCommerce REST API uses page/per_page pagination (not cursor-based).

Standard pattern:

page = 1
while True:
  response = GET /endpoint?per_page=100&page=page
  process(response)
  if len(response)                       ║
║  TIME:                     ║
║  MODE:                   ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════╝

PER-OPERATION (emit after each API call batch):

[N/TOTAL]   →  records | params: =

COMPLETION (human format):

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  COMPLETE: woo-meta-field-bulk-update    ║
║  RECORDS PROCESSED:                   ║
║  OUTPUT: stdout                          ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════╝

COMPLETION (json format):

{
  "skill": "woo-meta-field-bulk-update",
  "store": "",
  "completed_at": "",
  "records_processed": ,
  "output_file": null,
  "dry_run": 
}

Output Format

Human format: table of product ID, SKU, name, previous meta value, and new value.

Error Handling

| Error | Cause | Resolution | |-------|-------|------------| | 401 Unauthorized | Invalid credentials | Verify consumerkey and consumersecret | | 403 Forbidden | Key lacks Read/Write scope | Regenerate with Read/Write scope | | 429 Too Many Requests | Rate limit | Wait 2 seconds and retry |

Best Practices

• Always run with dry_run: true first (the default).
• Use only_if_missing: true to safely add a field without overwriting existing values.
• Prefix custom meta keys with an underscore (_) to mark them as hidden in standard WP admin views.
• Document all custom meta keys used across skills in your team's catalog operations guide.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: navarroido
• Source: navarroido/Woocommerce-skill
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.