Overview
By default, the Auto Create SKUs feature creates a new product record for every unmapped SKU that arrives on your selected sales channels. If your channels send non-product identifiers — gift-card codes, surcharge lines, platform-generated tracking SKUs — those become permanent (and unwanted) catalogue entries.
SKU match rules solve this by letting you describe exactly what a real product SKU looks like. A SKU is only auto-created when it matches at least one of your rules; within a rule, every condition must match.
Step 1 — Open the setting
- Go to Settings → Order Processing (or Purgatory Settings depending on your navigation).
- Scroll to the Auto Create SKUs Settings section.
- Make sure Enable Auto Create SKUs is checked and at least one channel is selected.
Step 2 — Add a rule
Under SKU Match Rules, click Add rule.
Each rule has:
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Rule name (optional) | A label that appears in the system log — useful for identifying which rule created a product. |
| Category for this rule (optional) | The product category applied to SKUs created by this rule. Falls back to the Default Category when left blank. |
Step 3 — Add conditions to the rule
Click Add condition inside the rule. Each condition has three parts:
Field
- SKU — matches against the incoming order SKU.
- Product name — matches against the product name the channel sends.
Operator
| Operator | What it checks |
|---|---|
| starts with | SKU/name begins with the value |
| ends with | SKU/name ends with the value |
| contains | SKU/name contains the value anywhere |
| does not contain | SKU/name does not contain the value |
| equals | SKU/name is exactly the value (case-insensitive) |
| matches regex | SKU/name matches a PHP-style regex — wrap it in slashes, e.g. /^PD.{8}X$/ |
| length is exactly | Character count equals the value |
| length is at least | Character count is ≥ the value |
| length is at most | Character count is ≤ the value |
All string comparisons are case-insensitive. Regex patterns automatically match case-insensitively unless you add a flag that overrides this.
Value
The text or number to compare against.
Step 4 — Add more rules (optional)
Click Add rule again for each SKU family you want to auto-create. A SKU is created when any rule matches — you do not need separate rules for every possible SKU; use multiple conditions within one rule to narrow it precisely.
Example — print-on-demand setup:
| Rule name | Conditions |
|---|---|
| Print on demand | SKU length is exactly 11 AND SKU ends with X |
| Accessories | SKU starts with ACC- |
With this setup, only SKUs that are 11 characters long and end with X (or start with ACC-) are auto-created. Everything else stays in Purgatory for manual review.
Step 5 — Save
Click Save Settings at the top of the page. Changes apply to orders processed from that point forward; existing purgatory orders are not retroactively affected.
How ignored SKUs interact with rules
Your Ignored SKUs, Ignored Product Names, and Ignored Patterns always take priority. A SKU that matches an ignore list is never auto-created, even when it also satisfies a rule. The ignore check runs first.
What happens with no rules configured?
If you enable Auto Create SKUs but add no rules, the behavior is the same as before this feature was introduced: every unmapped SKU on the selected channels is auto-created. Add at least one rule only when you want to restrict which SKUs are created.
Reading the logs
Each automated run records:
- Created — how many new SKUs were created and which rule matched each one.
- Skipped (ignored) — SKUs blocked by your ignore lists.
- Skipped (no rule matched) — SKUs that did not satisfy any rule.
- Skipped (already a product) — SKUs already in your catalogue.
If a SKU you expected to be created was skipped, check the logs for the SKU name and the reason noted there.