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

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 oauth_consumer_key, oauth_nonce, oauth_signature, oauth_signature_method=HMAC-SHA1, oauth_timestamp, oauth_version=1.0

Never log or output consumer_key or consumer_secret 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=<filter_status>&per_page=100&page=1
  [&category=<filter_category_id>]
  [&tag=<filter_tag_id>]

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": "<meta_key>", "value": "<meta_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) < 100: break
  page += 1

Maximum per_page is 100 for most endpoints. The X-WP-Total and X-WP-TotalPages response headers report totals. Always read X-WP-TotalPages on the first request to estimate job size.

Session Tracking

Claude MUST emit the following output at each stage. This is mandatory.

STARTUP:

╔══════════════════════════════════════════╗
║  SKILL: woo-meta-field-bulk-update       ║
║  STORE: <store_url>                      ║
║  TIME:  <ISO-8601 UTC>                   ║
║  MODE:  <DRY RUN | LIVE>                 ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════╝

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

[N/TOTAL] <METHOD> <endpoint> → <result_count> records | params: <key>=<val>

COMPLETION (human format):

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

COMPLETION (json format):

{
  "skill": "woo-meta-field-bulk-update",
  "store": "<store_url>",
  "completed_at": "<ISO-8601>",
  "records_processed": <n>,
  "output_file": null,
  "dry_run": <bool>
}

Output Format

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

Error Handling

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.