How to Sync an External WhatsApp Catalog

WhatsApp chat and Flows data_exchange must respond within Meta’s 15 second SLA. ProfilePilot therefore never calls WooCommerce/Shopify on every customer message.

Instead:

``` External store → scheduled sync → whatsapp_products → chat / Flows / kitchen ```

• Cron runs every 30 minutes for due sources (`/api/cron/whatsapp-catalog-sync`).
• Sync now on the Catalog tab runs a full manual ingest.
• Test connection validates credentials and fetches a sample — it does not replace a full sync.

Manual rows on Products (`sync_managed = false`) are untouched by sync. Synced rows get `catalog_source_id` and can be auto-disabled when they disappear from the feed (stale count in ingest logs).

Open WhatsApp Orders → Catalog (retail mode).

| Source | You need | | --- | --- | | WooCommerce | Store URL + REST consumer key/secret | | Shopify | Shop domain + Admin API access token | | Magento | Base URL + integration token | | eSolve | API base + credentials per your deployment | | GMC / Meta feed | Public HTTPS XML/CSV feed URL (Merchant Center shape) | | Generic REST | JSON product list endpoint + field mapping |

One primary source per org (V1). Legacy org-level feed URLs are migrated to a `gmc_feed` source automatically.

Required mapped fields: SKU (`id`), title, price, availability, image_link (recommended), product_type / category (recommended).

1. Add or edit the catalog source on the Catalog tab.
2. Click Test connection — confirm sample products appear and credentials work.
3. Click Sync now — wait for ingest to finish; check Products for Synced badges and counts.
4. Review latest ingest run (added/updated/stale/errors).

Tips:

• WooCommerce: use REST API keys with read access to products.
• Shopify: custom app token with `read_products`.
• GMC feed: must be HTTPS and reachable from ProfilePilot servers (no localhost).
• After changing source, run Sync now before testing Flows — the Flow CATALOG screen reads `whatsapp_products`, not your store API.

Synced products power:

• Product name search in WhatsApp chat (retail).
• Specials browse — mark `is_special` on Products (manual or feed field if mapped).
• Departments / categories — mapped from `product_type` or category columns.
• Flows checkout dropdown on the CATALOG screen (titles truncated to Meta’s 30-character limit; SKU used as stable id).

If chat says “No matches” for `menu` or `products`, confirm retail browse intents are configured and the catalog sync completed with available items (`is_available = true`).

| Symptom | Check | | --- | --- | | 0 products after sync | Test connection errors; API permissions; empty store | | Products in PP but empty Flow dropdown | Wrong org selected; run Sync now; products must be `is_available` | | Stale prices in chat | Wait for cron or Sync now; chat never hits live API | | Manual product disappeared | Only synced SKUs are stale-disabled; manual rows stay | | Duplicate SKUs | SKU is unique per org — dedupe in source system |

Wholesale RESTOCK numbers and B2B pricing are separate roadmap items — B2C catalog sync does not expose wholesale price lists to consumer chat.