Bulk SKU Generator

Build a SKU pattern from category, colour and size, then generate SKUs for a whole product list.

SKU pattern

First product → ACME-TSH-NBL-M-0001

Prefix
Category codefrom Category
Product name codefrom Product
Attribute 1 (e.g. colour)from Colour
Attribute 2 (e.g. size)from Size
Sequence numberstart digits restart per category

SeparatorUPPERCASE

Products

Paste from a spreadsheet (with a header row) or type one product per line. The example is there to show how it works.

Name columnCategory columnAttribute 1 columnAttribute 2 column

5 unique SKUs.

Products: 5
Duplicates made unique: 0

SKUs 5

#	Product	Category	Attributes	SKU
1	Cotton Crew Tee	T-Shirts	Navy Blue / M	ACME-TSH-NBL-M-0001
2	Cotton Crew Tee	T-Shirts	Navy Blue / L	ACME-TSH-NBL-L-0002
3	Cotton Crew Tee	T-Shirts	Black / M	ACME-TSH-BLA-M-0003
4	Hooded Sweatshirt	Hoodies	Heather Grey / XL	ACME-HOO-HGR-XL-0004
5	Ceramic Mug	Mugs	White	ACME-MUG-WHI-0005

Runs in your browserNo upload

How it works

A SKU here is built from up to six segments, joined by the separator you pick. Turn each one on or off and move it up or down; the preview at the top shows the SKU for your first product as you go.

Prefix is fixed text, usually a brand or supplier code.
Category code, Attribute 1 and Attribute 2 come from columns in your list and are shortened to the number of characters you choose, or kept whole. Values with several words use their initials first, so “Navy Blue” becomes NBL and “T-Shirts” becomes TSH.
Product name code uses the initials of each word (“Cotton Crew Tee” → CCT) or the first letters of the name.
Sequence number counts up from a start number with zero padding, for the whole list or restarting for each category.

Accents are folded (é becomes e) and anything other than letters and numbers is removed, so the result is safe in any spreadsheet or platform. With UPPERCASE on, every letter is capitalised.

Paste your products into the box: a copy from a spreadsheet with a header row, or one product name per line. Pick which column feeds each segment. Every SKU in the result is unique; repeats get a numbered suffix and a note. The download keeps your original columns and adds a SKU column.

Choosing a pattern: put the parts that change least first — brand, then category, then product, then variant attributes — so every variant of one product sorts together in a spreadsheet. Keep each segment to two or three characters where you can; a short SKU is quicker to read, type and print on a label.

Example

With the prefix ACME, a 3-character category code, a 3-character colour, the whole size and a 4-digit sequence, joined by dashes:

Product	Category	Colour	Size	SKU
Cotton Crew Tee	T-Shirts	Navy Blue	M	ACME-TSH-NBL-M-0001
Cotton Crew Tee	T-Shirts	Navy Blue	L	ACME-TSH-NBL-L-0002
Cotton Crew Tee	T-Shirts	Black	M	ACME-TSH-BLA-M-0003
Hooded Sweatshirt	Hoodies	Heather Grey	XL	ACME-HOO-HGR-XL-0004
Ceramic Mug	Mugs	White		ACME-MUG-WHI-0005

The mug has no size, so that segment is simply skipped rather than leaving a double dash. With “restart per category” ticked and 3 digits, the hoodie and the mug would both end in 001.

FAQ

What makes a good SKU?

A good SKU is unique, short enough to read out loud, and built the same way for every product, so staff can tell what an item is from the code. Use letters and numbers only, put the most general part first (brand or category), and avoid starting with zero, because spreadsheets remove leading zeros.

Is a SKU the same as a barcode, UPC or GTIN?

No. A SKU is your own internal code and you can make it up however you like. A GTIN, UPC or EAN is a globally registered number that comes from GS1 and identifies the product everywhere it’s sold. Most marketplaces ask for both: your SKU to match their listing to your stock, and a GTIN for the product.

What happens when two products get the same SKU?

The second one gets “-2” added, the third “-3”, and each is listed in the table with a note, so every SKU in the download is unique. If this happens often, switch on the sequence number or another attribute segment so the pattern itself tells the products apart.

Can I use my existing spreadsheet?

Yes. Copy the rows from Google Sheets or Excel, including the header row, and paste them into the products box. The tool guesses which columns hold the name, category, colour and size, and you can change each one. The download keeps all your original columns and adds the SKU at the end.

How does the sequence number work?

It counts up from the start number you choose, padded with zeros to the number of digits you pick, so 1 with four digits becomes 0001. Tick “restart per category” to number each category separately, which keeps codes short when you have many categories. Leave it off if the attributes already make every SKU unique.

Will these SKUs work on Shopify, Amazon and Etsy?

The generated SKUs use only letters, numbers and the separator you choose, which every major platform accepts. Each platform has its own maximum length, so keep segments short if you sell on several. Once you have the CSV, paste the SKU column into your product import file or the platform’s bulk editor.