Frequently asked questions

Everything we’re commonly asked about Sandcastle Admin Search.

What does this app do?

It’s a power-user replacement for Shopify admin’s built-in product list. Sandcastle Admin Search adds multi-field search, audit filters (missing images, no SKU, metafield value, etc.), sortable columns Shopify doesn’t support natively, saved views, a duplicate finder, CSV export of filtered results, and bulk-edit shortcuts.

Is it free?

Yes, currently. We may introduce paid tiers in the future, with reasonable advance notice and no surprise charges. See the terms of service for details.

Will it slow down my store?

No. Sandcastle Admin Search runs entirely inside the Shopify admin and your merchant browser; it does not load anything on your storefront and does not affect page speed for shoppers.

Will it work with a large catalogue?

Yes. Search, most filters and the sorts Shopify supports load one page at a time, so they stay fast however many products you have. Some things need every matching product checked: sorting by price, SKU or barcode, and filtering by image presence, variant count, sale price or metafield value. Those take a couple of seconds the first time on a big store (about two seconds for 5,000 products), and are instant for 15 minutes afterwards. Above 5,000 products, the first 5,000 appear straight away and the page updates itself with your complete catalogue a few seconds later. The duplicate finder checks up to 2,000 products by default.

What permissions does the app request?

Two OAuth scopes:
  • write_products — needed to read product data and to apply bulk edits (status changes, vendor, tags, etc.)
  • read_publications — needed to populate the sales-channel filter
We do not request access to customer data, orders, payment information, or any other store data.

Is my data safe?

We do not store product, customer, or order data on our servers. We only persist your per-shop preferences (search field defaults, column visibility, saved views, page size). Product data is read live from Shopify’s API on each request. See our privacy policy for full details, including the third-party processors we use (Fly.io for hosting, Neon for database, Sentry for error monitoring).

How do I uninstall?

From your Shopify admin: Apps → Sandcastle Admin Search → remove. Shopify will notify us, and we delete your session and per-shop preferences within 48 hours per GDPR requirements.

What’s the difference between “Quick edit” and “Open in Shopify editor”?

Both appear when you select one or more products.
  • Quick edit is an inline modal inside our app for fast changes: status, vendor, type, add tags, remove tags. Edits apply immediately via the Shopify API.
  • Open in Shopify editor hands the selected products off to Shopify’s native bulk editor — a spreadsheet-style UI that supports many more columns (variant pricing, inventory, taxonomy, images, etc.). When you click back, you return to our app at the same view you left.

Why do some bulk actions open in a new tab?

Some Shopify admin flows — Delete, Unlist, Add to collection, Add to sales channel, etc. — are popups overlaid on Shopify’s native products page. Opening them in a new tab lets you complete the action without losing your place in our app. Close the new tab when you’re done and your selection and filters are still where you left them.

Why is your search better than Shopify’s built-in?

Shopify’s admin product list has a single search box that matches across all fields with no filter scoping. Sandcastle Admin Search lets you target specific fields (e.g. “search only in barcodes”) and combine search with structured filters Shopify’s native UI doesn’t expose — metafield value matching, image presence, no-SKU detection, multi-variant filtering, and more.

Do saved views transfer between stores if I install on multiple shops?

No. Saved views are stored per shop. If you install Sandcastle Admin Search on a second store, that installation gets its own set of saved views.

Does the CSV export include all my products?

It exports the products matching your current filters and sort order, with the columns you have visible in the table. There’s a soft cap of 5,000 products per export to keep response times reasonable. If you need more, narrow the filter first.

I have a feature request or bug to report.

Email support@sandcastle-web.com. Please include your shop domain, what you were trying to do, and what actually happened. Screenshots help a lot.