Shopify inventory settings

Every setting on the Shopify Inventories Configuration, which controls how stock levels are sent to Shopify.

These settings live on the Inventories Configuration of a Shopify Integration. They control how stock levels from your inventory system are written to Shopify. For the other Shopify Document types, see Shopify order settings, Shopify shipment settings and Shopify product update settings.

Dates and timing

Setting	What it does	Values / default	When to change it
Setup date `setupDate`	Only inventory changes on or after this date are processed, so historical changes aren't processed at go-live.	Date. Set automatically when the Integration is first configured.	Not normally changed afterwards.
Import delay `importDelay`	A wait before an inventory update is processed, so other systems can make their changes first.	Duration, for example `00:05:00` for five minutes.	Set it when other systems need to make changes before the update is picked up.

Which stock figure is updated

Setting	What it does	Values / default	When to change it
Quantity name `quantityName`	The Shopify inventory quantity that's updated.	`available` (the default) or `on_hand`.	Use `on_hand` when the figure you send should update Shopify's on-hand quantity rather than its available quantity.
Update reason `updateReason`	The reason code recorded against each adjustment in Shopify's inventory history.	Default `cycle_count_available`. See Shopify's inventory documentation for the full list of valid values.	Change it if you want adjustments recorded under a different Shopify reason.
Prevent negative quantities `preventNegativeQuantities`	Floors quantities at zero: negative values are sent as `0`.	`true` or `false`. When off or not set, negatives are sent as they are.	Turn on if your inventory system can go negative and Shopify shouldn't show it.

Locations

Setting	What it does	Values / default	When to change it
Activate missing locations `activateMissingLocations`	Tries to activate a Shopify inventory location for a product that isn't already stocked there.	`true` or `false`. When off or not set, products not stocked at a location are skipped without error.	Turn on when products should be stocked at a location automatically once stock arrives.

Volume and batching

Setting	What it does	Values / default	When to change it
Use a bulk operation `useBulkOperation`	Sends all quantities as one asynchronous Shopify bulk operation instead of one call per batch.	`true` or `false`. When off or not set, the one-call-per-batch route is used.	Worth trying for a feed covering a whole catalogue, where the normal route runs to hundreds of calls. Prove it against the shop first (see below).
Quantity chunk size `quantityChunkSize`	How many quantities go in each `inventorySetQuantities` call.	Default `250`, which is the largest Shopify accepts. A larger value is reduced to 250 and the reduction is logged.	You can only lower it. Lower it to limit the damage of one bad quantity (see below).

Bulk operations

Shopify documents that any Admin API mutation can be run in bulk, but doesn't name inventorySetQuantities either way, so test it against the shop before enabling useBulkOperation.

Why lower the chunk size? Shopify rejects any array input longer than 250 items. That's input validation, not rate limiting, so it applies inside a bulk operation too. Each call is one entry in the merchant's inventory history in Shopify admin, and if a call is atomic across its array, one rejected quantity takes the rest of that call with it. Smaller calls contain the damage.

Lead times

Setting	What it does	Values / default	When to change it
Lead time configurations `leadTimeConfigurations`	A list of rules for how lead times are sent to Shopify for particular products or locations. Each rule can target specific products or locations and give the lead time for them.	List of rules.	Use it when lead times differ by product or location.
Default lead time destination `defaultLeadTimeDestination`	The lead time destination used when no lead time rule matches, so every inventory update has a lead time value.	A destination.	Set it if you use lead times at all.