Question 1

How do I scan my store media?

Accepted Answer

Go to Media Library and click 'Scan Store'. The scanner goes through all products, collections, content files, and blog articles to collect every image and video. Large stores may take a minute or two — you can navigate away and the scan continues in the background.

Question 2

Do I need to rescan after adding new products?

Accepted Answer

Yes — the library doesn't update automatically. Run a new scan any time you add products, upload new images, or change media in your store. Only new or changed items are updated; existing alt tags you've already set are preserved.

Question 3

What Shopify permissions does Code Magic: Altify AI need?

Accepted Answer

The app requires read_products, write_products, read_content, write_content, read_files, and write_files. These scopes let it read your store media and write alt text back to Shopify. You'll be prompted to approve any new scopes on next login.

Question 4

What is an alt tag and why does it matter?

Accepted Answer

An alt tag (alternative text) describes an image for screen readers and search engines. Good alt tags improve accessibility for visually impaired users and boost your store's SEO — Google uses them to understand image content and rank your products in image search.

Question 5

What is the ideal alt tag length?

Accepted Answer

Shopify recommends keeping alt tags under 125 characters. For SEO, aim for 60–100 characters — descriptive but concise. Code Magic: Altify AI enforces a 512-character maximum per field. Avoid keyword stuffing; write naturally as if describing the image to someone who can't see it.

Question 6

How do I update alt tags in bulk?

Accepted Answer

In the Media Library, edit each row's alt text inline and click 'Save X changes' in the sticky bar at the bottom. For larger batches, use Templates (auto-fill from product data) or export to CSV, fill the new_alt column, and re-import.

Question 7

Why are some of my media records locked or greyed out?

Accepted Answer

Your current plan has a media item limit. Records beyond that limit are shown but not editable until you upgrade. The most recently scanned items within your plan's limit are always editable first.

Question 8

What template variables are available?

Accepted Answer

You can use {{product.title}}, {{product.vendor}}, {{product.type}}, {{product.tags}}, {{variant.title}}, {{variant.sku}}, {{variant.option1}}, {{variant.option2}}, and {{shop.name}} in any combination. Variables are replaced with live product data when the template is applied.

Question 9

Can I apply a template to specific products only?

Accepted Answer

Yes — scroll to 'Apply Template to Specific Products' on the Templates page, choose a template for each product, and click Apply. This updates only that product's images without touching others.

Question 10

What happens if I downgrade my plan and have more templates than my new limit allows?

Accepted Answer

The oldest templates beyond your plan's limit are hidden (not deleted). Upgrading back to Pro immediately restores access to all of them. You can still use and edit the templates within your plan limit.

Question 11

How do I apply a template to my entire store at once?

Accepted Answer

Click the play button on any template in 'Your Templates'. A background job will apply that template to every matching product image in your store. A progress bar shows the live status — you can navigate away while it runs.

Question 12

How does the CSV import/export work?

Accepted Answer

Go to Import & Export → Export to download all media data as a CSV. Open it in Excel or Google Sheets, fill in the new_alt column for the rows you want to update, save as CSV, then use the Import tab to upload. The importer previews all changes before applying.

Question 13

Which columns does the CSV need?

Accepted Answer

The importer reads media_id and new_alt. All other columns (product title, image URL, current alt, etc.) are informational. Only rows with a value in new_alt are updated — empty new_alt rows are skipped.

Question 14

Is CSV import/export available on all plans?

Accepted Answer

CSV Import & Export is a Pro plan feature. On Free and Starter you can still update alt tags inline in the Media Library or via Templates.

Question 15

Is the AI Generator available right now?

Accepted Answer

The AI Generator is temporarily paused while we roll out an improvement — generating alt text and translations from a provider key is coming back soon. Manual editing, templates, and everything else in the Media Library work as normal in the meantime.

Question 16

Which AI providers will the AI Generator support?

Accepted Answer

Code Magic: Altify AI supports OpenAI (GPT-4o, GPT-4o mini), Anthropic (Claude Sonnet, Claude Haiku), Google Gemini (1.5 Pro, 2.0 Flash), Groq, and Kimi (Moonshot). Vision-capable models analyze the actual image; text-only models use the product title for context.

Question 17

Do I need my own API key?

Accepted Answer

Yes — you supply your own API key from whichever provider you choose. Go to Settings → AI Provider, paste your key, and save. Your key is stored encrypted and never exposed to the browser.

Question 18

Is the AI Generator available on all plans?

Accepted Answer

The AI Generator is a Pro plan feature. Upgrade to Pro so it's ready to use the moment it's back.

Question 19

Why are Content → Files or blog images not showing?

Accepted Answer

Make sure the app has read_files and read_content permissions (you'll be prompted on next login after a scope update). Then run a full rescan. Content files and blog article images are scanned in a separate phase after products.

Question 20

An alt tag I saved isn't showing in Shopify — what's wrong?

Accepted Answer

Shopify can take a few minutes to reflect changes in the admin UI. If the update was successful (no error shown), wait 2–3 minutes and refresh Shopify's media editor. If an error was shown, check that the app's write_products permission is still active.

Question 21

The scan seems stuck or shows no progress — what do I do?

Accepted Answer

Reload the Media Library page. If the scan job is still showing as running after 10+ minutes, try starting a new scan. Very large stores (10,000+ products) may take longer but should still show incremental progress.

Questions merchants ask us