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 😅)

Core Rule (Don’t Skip This)

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

1️⃣ Know the Product ID

Example:

Product ID = 123

Update endpoint:

/api/products/123

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.

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>

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>

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

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;

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

8️⃣ Common Errors & Fixes

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