Attributes

Attributes are reusable option definitions. Once you create a "Color" attribute with values Red, Blue, Green, you can attach it to any product and Brainerce will auto-generate one variant row per combination.

They serve two jobs:

1. Variant generation. "Size" × "Color" on a t-shirt generates S/Red, S/Blue, M/Red, M/Blue automatically.
2. Storefront filtering. Customers can filter the product list by attribute values ("show only Red items in size M").

Attributes vs Modifier Groups

Rule of thumb: if every option needs its own stock count → attribute. If it's a customization at checkout → modifier group.

The attributes list

Go to Products → Attributes to see all attributes. The columns are Name, Display Type, Options (a preview of the values, with a count), Platform (a small icon for where the attribute was imported from, empty for one you made here), Products (how many products use it), Created and Updated. Name and Display Type can be edited in place in the list. The split arrow beside New Attribute offers Add via form or Add empty row, and on a store with more than one language Translate in the selection bar translates the selected attributes.

Deleting an attribute. Tick rows and delete them, then confirm: it is permanent. An attribute that products still use cannot be deleted: the message says how many were skipped and to remove them from the products first. Deleting an option inside an attribute is described under Deleting an option.

Don't see it in the sidebar? Attributes is a module, and it can be switched off for a store; some store types start with it off. Turn it back on under Settings → Modules.

Creating an attribute

Click New Attribute:

If you type a name that already exists, the dialog says so ("already exists. You can add new options to it") and lets you add new options to that attribute with Add Options instead of creating a duplicate.

Display Types

The Display Type dropdown has four options:

Tip: You can always change the Display Type after creation; it only affects storefront rendering, not the underlying variant data. In the Edit Attribute dialog the Display Type change is saved the moment you pick it, without waiting for Save Changes.

Managing options

Options are the individual values inside an attribute: for a "Size" attribute they might be Small, Medium, Large, XL. There are two places to manage them, and they do slightly different things:

To rename an option, use the Options column popover.

Adding an option

Type the value in the Add new option… field and click the + button (or press Enter). An option name that already exists on the attribute is refused with "This option already exists", and an empty name is refused. The option appears immediately in the list below with a count badge updating in the header (e.g. "3 options").

Setting the swatch of each option

Once the Display Type is a swatch type, each option row shows the swatch control next to its name. The swatch only shows to shoppers if the shop's own code draws it, as with any storefront feature (see A feature you turned on is not showing on your website).

• Color Swatch and Mixed Swatch: click the round color control on the option row to pick its color. You can add a second color, which draws the circle in two halves (for a two-tone item).
• Image Swatch and Mixed Swatch: click the image box on the option row to pick a picture from the media library. In the Edit Attribute dialog a small x next to the picture removes it again; in the Options column popover, click the picture itself to remove it.
• When it saves: in the Options column popover a swatch saves the moment you pick it. In the Edit Attribute dialog, pick as many as you like and click Save Changes once; Cancel, Escape or clicking outside discards them.
• A language other than your default (when you switch the Edit Attribute dialog to a translation) shows the swatches but cannot change them: swatches are the same in every language.

Reordering options

Options appear in the order you add them. The grip on the left of each row is a visual handle only; reordering an existing list isn't supported yet. To change the order, delete the options and re-add them in the order you want (check first that no variants depend on them).

Deleting an option

Click the trash icon on the right of the option row. If the option is already assigned to variant rows on any product, those variants are not automatically deleted, so you'll need to clean them up from the product's variant editor.

Renaming an option value

Rename an option in place in the Options column popover: click the pencil on its row, type the new name, then press Enter or click the check mark (Escape cancels). It is saved at once. The new name replaces the old one on every product that uses the attribute. Rename "S" to "XS" on Size, and every variant called "S" becomes "XS". You do not need to add a new option and move variants across.

Renaming changes the name shown to shoppers, not a separate internal code, so there is nothing left pointing at the old spelling.

Translation works differently and does not rename anything: switch the Edit Attribute dialog to a non-default language and each option becomes editable so you can type its translated name. That writes a translation alongside the original, which is what every product still stores.

Important: Changes to option values (rename, delete) immediately affect all products using this attribute. Renaming "S" to "XS" on the Size attribute changes it everywhere. If you need a value only for one product, add it as an option here first, then select it in that product's variant editor.

Attaching attributes to a product

Attributes are attached inside the Manage Variations dialog. Open any product, then:

1. Click the gear icon ⚙️ next to the product type dropdown (only visible when the product type is "Variable Product").
2. In the Product Attributes section at the top of the dialog, click an attribute chip (like size, color) or type a new attribute name.
3. Click the Select options… dropdown next to each attribute and add the values you want for this product.
4. Click Generate Variations and Brainerce creates one row per combination.
5. Fill in Price, SKU, and Inventory per variant row.
6. Click Save Changes.

See Add variants to a product for a full walkthrough with screenshots.

What's next?

• Add variants to a product is the full variant editor walkthrough.
• Modifier groups (add-ons) are for options that don't need separate stock.
• Bulk import from CSV loads hundreds of variant rows at once.