Help Centre
Getting started, common questions, and known limitations. If you can't find what you need, contact us.
Getting started
Catalogforge generates a complete variant matrix — every SKU your store needs — from your products, sizes, colours, and any exclusions. No accounts, no sign-up, no data leaves your browser.
Step 1: Enter your axes
On the App page, fill in the three required fields:
- Products — one per line, e.g.
T-Shirt,Hoodie,Mug,Poster - Sizes — one per line, e.g.
S,M,L,XL - Colours — one per line, e.g.
Red,Blue,Black
Step 2: Add exclusions (optional)
If your supplier doesn't carry certain combinations, list them one per line in the format Product, Size, Colour. For example: T-Shirt, S, Red excludes the small red T-shirt from the matrix.
Step 3: Generate
Click Generate Matrix. The tool computes every valid combination, subtracts exclusions, and shows you the reconciled count. The table appears below with every row.
Step 4: Download the CSV
Click Download CSV to save variants.csv (UTF-8 BOM for Excel compatibility). The file contains every row you see on screen, in the same order.
Everything runs in your browser. Close the tab and your data is gone — download before you navigate away.
Frequently asked questions
How is the total number of variants calculated?
The total is simple arithmetic: products × sizes × colours. If a combination is excluded, it's subtracted from the total. The page shows three independent numbers — total combinations, excluded count, and remaining — so you can verify the math. If the displayed total doesn't match the row count, the page flags it loudly as a reconciliation error (this should never happen, but if it does, the tool tells you).
Why does the number I count by hand not match what Catalogforge shows?
The most common reason is duplicate values. If you typed Red on two lines by accident, Catalogforge de-duplicates them automatically — your hand count counted them twice. Check the warnings section after generating; duplicates are reported there. The second common reason is an exclusion format mismatch — make sure the product, size, and colour names in your exclusions match exactly (case-insensitive).
How do I format exclusions?
One per line, in the exact format: Product, Size, Colour. Names must match your axes (case-insensitive, but spell the same). For example, if your products include T-Shirt, the exclusion t-shirt, S, Red is fine, but Tea Shirt, S, Red is silently ignored because it doesn't match any product. Invalid exclusions are always silently ignored — the tool warns you if it detects this pattern.
The CSV doesn't open correctly in Excel — numbers look wrong or special characters are garbled
The CSV is encoded in UTF-8 with a BOM (byte order mark). This tells Excel to interpret the file as UTF-8. If you're seeing garbled characters, the most likely cause is opening the CSV in an older version of Excel that doesn't detect the BOM. Try: open Excel first, then use Data → From Text/CSV and select UTF-8 encoding. For Google Sheets, the file should work directly. Numbers are stored as text (enclosed in quotes) to prevent Excel from auto-formatting SKU codes as dates or numbers.
Does Catalogforge save or store my product data anywhere?
No. Catalogforge has no backend server, no database, and no user accounts. Everything you enter stays in your browser's memory for that tab's session. When you close the tab, your data is gone. The only way to keep your data is to download the CSV before navigating away. There is no "saved catalogue," no login, and no cloud storage — by design.
What do the SKU codes mean?
Each row gets a generated SKU in the format SKU-{PRODUCT_3CHARS}-{SIZE}-{COLOUR_4CHARS}. For example, SKU-TSH-S-RED for a small red T-shirt. The product code is the first three uppercase characters of the product name. The colour code is the first four uppercase characters. If two colours produce the same code (e.g. Red and Redmond), a numeric suffix is added automatically: RED1, RED2.
Can I use Catalogforge for products other than apparel and mugs?
Yes. The tool doesn't care what your products actually are — it treats them as text labels. You can use it for any set of product variants: stickers, phone cases, tote bags, keychains, or any combination of items with multiple options. The only constraint is the per-plan limits on the number of products, sizes, and colours.
Can Catalogforge upload directly to Shopify, Etsy, or Printful?
No. Catalogforge does not integrate with any marketplace, supplier, or e-commerce platform. It generates a CSV file in a standard format that you can upload to most platforms' import tools. The CSV format is straightforward: columns for SKU, Product, Size, and Colour. We make no guarantee that any specific platform will accept the CSV — compatibility depends on the platform's import rules, not on Catalogforge.
I got a warning about duplicate colours — what does that mean?
If you typed the same colour on two lines (e.g. Red on line 2 and Red on line 5), Catalogforge flags it as a duplicate, keeps only one occurrence, and adjusts the total count. This is a safety check — duplicate values silently inflate your variant count, and without the warning you'd upload a CSV with too many rows. If the duplicate was intentional (two variations with the same name), rename one to distinguish it (e.g. Red (light) or similar).
Known limitations
These are honest about what Catalogforge currently is and what parts of the site are not fully operational yet:
Pro plan billing is a demo only
Stripe is connected in test mode. No real cards are charged. The Pro subscription flow shows what it would look like, but no payment is processed and no subscription is created. The "Pro" and "Enterprise" tiers on the pricing page are placeholders until payment infrastructure exists.
No email notifications or scheduled exports
This fleet has no email sender. Catalogforge cannot email you a CSV, send alerts, or schedule recurring exports. Download your CSV before closing the tab — there is no way to retrieve it later.
No supplier catalogue data
Catalogforge does not know what combinations any real supplier (Printful, Printify, Gelato, etc.) actually carries. All exclusions are provided by you, the user. Any example exclusions shown on the site are illustrative only and do not reflect any supplier's real catalogue.
No batch processing for multiple designs
You can generate one matrix at a time. If you have multiple designs (each with its own products, sizes, and colours), you need to generate each separately. There is no "batch" mode that processes a spreadsheet of designs.
No accounts, no saved history
Catalogforge has no backend and no database. Every session starts blank. Nothing is persisted between visits. This is a deliberate design choice for privacy, but it means you cannot return to a previously generated matrix.
No marketplace integration
The CSV you download is a generic format. Catalogforge does not format it for any specific platform's import requirements. You may need to adjust column mappings or headers when uploading to Shopify, Etsy, or other platforms.
No legal entity registered
The business has no registered legal entity, jurisdiction, or postal address. Terms and privacy policy are provided as statements of operational intent, not as legally enforceable contracts, until the owner registers an entity.
How to contact us
Email us at catalogforge@agen2ic.ai. A human reads this address. Include your question or issue, and for billing-related matters include enough detail to identify your account (such as the email address used during checkout).
We aim to respond within one business day. This is a small operation — genuine bugs and defects are prioritised over feature requests.
What to include in your email
- Bug reports: describe what you did, what you expected, and what happened instead. Include the URL and your browser/OS if relevant.
- Billing questions: mention "Pro subscription" in the subject line. (Note: no real billing is processed yet — see limitations above.)
- Feature requests: we read them, but cannot promise a timeline or a build.
- Enterprise inquiries: mention "Enterprise" in the subject line. (Note: no enterprise sales contact or infrastructure exists yet.)
No support mailbox exists for this service? It does. catalogforge@agen2ic.ai accepts mail at any local part. Your message identifies which product it's about — a human sees it.