PrestaShop Update product using API

Perfect — updating a product via PrestaShop Webservice API is a bit stricter than creating one, so I’ll walk you through the safe + correct way 👇
(If you skip steps, PrestaShop throws a 500 😅)

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Core Rule (Don’t Skip This)

👉 UPDATE = GET → MODIFY → PUT
You cannot send partial XML like other APIs.

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1️⃣ Know the Product ID

Example:

Product ID = 123

Update endpoint:

/api/products/123

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2️⃣ Get Existing Product XML

This is mandatory.

CURL

curl -X GET "https://yourstore.com/api/products/123" \
-u API_KEY:

This returns full product XML.

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3️⃣ Modify Only What You Need

Common updates:

• price
• name
• active
• description
• category
• SEO fields

⚠️ Do NOT remove nodes
⚠️ Keep <id>123</id> inside <product>

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4️⃣ Sample XML – Update Product

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<prestashop>
  <product>
    <id>123</id>

    <price>1199</price>
    <active>1</active>

    <name>
      <language id="1">Updated Product Name</language>
    </name>

    <link_rewrite>
      <language id="1">updated-product-name</language>
    </link_rewrite>
  </product>
</prestashop>

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5️⃣ PUT Request (Update Product)

curl -X PUT "https://yourstore.com/api/products/123" \
-u API_KEY: \
-H "Content-Type: application/xml" \
-d @product-update.xml

✅ Success → 200 OK

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6️⃣ PHP Example – Update Product

$apiKey = 'YOUR_API_KEY';
$productId = 123;
$url = "https://yourstore.com/api/products/$productId";

// Step 1: Get product
$ch = curl_init($url);
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_USERPWD => $apiKey . ':'
]);
$xml = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

// Step 2: Modify XML
$xmlObj = simplexml_load_string($xml);
$xmlObj->product->price = 1199;
$xmlObj->product->name->language[0] = 'Updated Product Name';

// Step 3: PUT update
$ch = curl_init($url);
curl_setopt_array($ch, [
    CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
    CURLOPT_CUSTOMREQUEST => 'PUT',
    CURLOPT_USERPWD => $apiKey . ':',
    CURLOPT_HTTPHEADER => ['Content-Type: application/xml'],
    CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => $xmlObj->asXML()
]);

$response = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);

echo $response;

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7️⃣ Updating Stock (Separate API ❗)

Price ≠ quantity.

Get stock ID

/api/stock_availables?filter[id_product]=123

Update stock quantity

<prestashop>
  <stock_available>
    <id>STOCK_ID</id>
    <quantity>50</quantity>
  </stock_available>
</prestashop>

PUT to:

/api/stock_availables/STOCK_ID

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8️⃣ Common Errors & Fixes

Error	Cause	Fix
500	Missing XML fields	Use GET → PUT flow
401	Auth issue	Check API key
403	Permission	Enable PUT for products
406	Wrong lang ID	Use correct language ID
Update succeeds but not visible	Cache	Clear PS cache

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9️⃣ Best Practices (Battle-tested)

✔ Always GET before PUT
✔ Keep product <id>
✔ Use XML for updates
✔ Don’t touch manufacturer_name
✔ Stock updated separately
✔ Clear cache after bulk updates

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