Sync and Index
The Sync and Index page controls which products are searchable and which product data VIBE indexes.
The page has two tabs: Overview, where you check the index and run a sync, and Configuration, where you choose searchable products and indexed product signals.
The Overview tab
Section titled “The Overview tab”
The Index status panel shows a Healthy badge when the catalog is ready. It includes:
- Products indexed is how many products are searchable, out of your total catalog. When these match, your whole catalog is in the index.
- Collections indexed is how many collections are synced.
- Exclusion rules is how many active rules are hiding products from search. Zero means nothing is hidden.
- Last index update is when the index last changed.
- Last full sync is when you last rebuilt the whole index, with the result and how long it took.
- Next auto-sync shows when the next automatic update runs. On changes means VIBE updates the index whenever you add, edit, or remove a product in Shopify.
The Recent full sync jobs table lists your sync history. Each row shows the Status, Job, Scope, when it Started, the Duration, and the Result.
Statuses include:
- Pending: the job is waiting for a worker.
- Running: VIBE is processing products, variants, or collections.
- Completed: every eligible item in that run finished successfully.
- Partial: most items finished but some still need attention.
- Cancelled: a merchant stopped the job.
- Failed: the job could not complete.
During a live job, the page shows separate progress for products, variants, and collections when those areas are part of the run. Failed items are retried automatically up to the limit shown by the app.
Run a full sync
Section titled “Run a full sync”VIBE syncs automatically when the Shopify catalog changes. Run a full sync after a large catalog import, after changing indexed data on the Configuration tab, or when results appear out of date.
Select Run full sync in the top right. The job processes the eligible catalog. You can keep working while it runs.
While it is active, select Cancel sync only when you need to stop the work. Cancellation leaves the previously indexed catalog available. Run a new full sync when you are ready.
If a run finishes as Partial, the primary action changes to Finish sync. Use it to process the remaining items without treating the completed portion as lost.
What gets indexed
Section titled “What gets indexed”VIBE indexes the products shoppers should be able to find, and leaves out the rest. A product is left out of search when any of these is true:
- Its status is not Active (drafts and archived products are skipped).
- It is not published, or not published to the Online Store sales channel.
- It is hidden from search engines (the
seo.hiddensetting). - It matches one of your exclusion rules (see Hide an item below).
There is no product limit. VIBE indexes your full catalog on every plan.
The Configuration tab
Section titled “The Configuration tab”
Catalog visibility
Section titled “Catalog visibility”Hidden from search controls which products and collections stay out of results. Select Hide an item to add an exclusion.
Choose what to hide:
- Product hides specific products you pick.
- Collection hides a whole collection at once.
- Tag hides every product carrying a tag.
Use exclusions for clearance, internal, placeholder, or other products that should not appear in search. Exclusions do not remove products from Shopify.
Out-of-stock products decides how sold-out products are ordered:
- Hide removes them from results.
- Show last puts them after in-stock products.
- Mix in ranks them normally with the rest of the catalog.
Search profile status
Section titled “Search profile status”This card shows the active catalog-understanding preference, collection and variant search status, and image-indexing status. Select Analyze catalog again after a substantial change to the catalog or product presentation.
Search profile
Section titled “Search profile”Catalog understanding tells VIBE which signals usually explain your products best:
- Balanced combines product text, structured details, and images.
- More visual gives product imagery more importance.
- More text favors descriptions and structured product data.
Changing this preference guides the next catalog analysis.
Search capabilities controls optional result types and shopper features:
- Collection search includes matching collections beside products.
- Variant search indexes variants separately so exact colors, sizes, and options can match.
- Search by image lets shoppers upload a photo and search against indexed product images.
Some capability changes activate a new search profile and may queue a catalog sync.
Image matching
Section titled “Image matching”- Product photos chooses the primary product-image source used for matching. Variants use their own image when Shopify provides one.
- Context photos optionally adds lifestyle, model, room, or detail images as another visual signal.
Tracking
Section titled “Tracking”Send search events to Google Tag Manager pushes searches, result clicks, no-result searches, and filter activity to your storefront’s data layer. Turn it on only when Google Tag Manager is already installed on the store.
Recipe: hide your clearance collection from search
Section titled “Recipe: hide your clearance collection from search”- Open the Configuration tab and select Hide an item.
- Choose Collection and select your clearance collection.
- Run a full sync to apply the change immediately.
The products remain available by direct link but stop appearing in VIBE search. Use Tag to hide products carrying a tag such as discontinued.
Troubleshooting
Section titled “Troubleshooting”A product is missing from search. Why? VIBE excludes products that are not Active, not published to the Online Store, hidden from search engines, or matched by a Hide rule. Check those conditions, then run a full sync. Search Preview shows the product’s sync state.
I changed a product in Shopify but search is out of date. VIBE updates the index automatically a short time after you save in Shopify. Give it a moment, then hard refresh your storefront. If it still has not caught up, run a full sync to rebuild from your current catalog.
A sync job shows as Failed. Open the Recent full sync jobs table to see the result, then select Run full sync to try again. A failed job does not remove what was already indexed.
A sync job shows as Partial. Review the failed count and select Finish sync. If the same products fail again, inspect those products in Shopify and include their identifiers in a support request.
I cancelled a sync. Is live search empty? No. Cancellation does not intentionally remove the last usable index. Search continues with the previously indexed catalog until a later sync updates it.