Manuals

Manual: How to Import Free Product Content Into Your E-commerce System via Icecat

This guide will quickly show you how to import free product content from Icecat into your commerce environment. A lot of product content, so-called product data sheets (PDSs) are provided for free by Icecat’s sponsoring brands. However, if you want to push brand product content into Icecat, check out the Push-API (JSON) manual instead.

Access to Content

To access Open Icecat, you will need a username and password provided by Icecat. If you do not have these, please register online for Open Icecat. The Open Icecat catalog is free and contains millions of product datasheets.

Tip: During the registration, you need to choose the URL or Data (XML, JSON) version. If you want to use XML or JSON, make sure you choose the “Open Icecat Data” subscription. You can always change this afterward or create a second subscription for the URL (links to hosted data-sheets) download format.

If you need higher product content coverage, you will need to upgrade to Full Icecat. You can make a request via our contact page or through your account pages.

In short, access to the product content of Full Icecat is protected. If you want to access Full Icecat product content, you must unlock your IP address. Fill in the IP address(es) of your server(s) and office in the “Allowed IP addresses” field. If you do not know your office IP addresses, visit What is my IP to find your (office) IP. For your server IP address, please ask your system operator or provider.

You can fill in several IP addresses, separated by a space.

Popular Add-ons

If you are searching for a way to connect your app and integrate Icecat product content, check the most popular Icecat Add-ons.

Download PDSs from Icecat to your platform

Download the relevant product content, pictures, videos, marketing text, and add them manually to your webshop.

XML or JSON

Download product content, pictures, videos, marketing text. automatically, and add them to your webshop or app.

Also, see the complete Icecat XML manual. Please note that the data is also available in JSON format

Access our MCP server

Especially, for agentic AI, the Model Context Protocol (MCP) has become a de-facto standard. Icecat supports MCP to support your AI Agents.

CSV or Excel

Download product information, pictures, videos, etc., and automatically add them to your webshop or app.

Icecat Live pages and Product Stories

Show real-time product content, pictures, videos, specifications through JavaScript directly on your shop pages. The simple method shows complete PDSs or a few popular objects like Videos, Reasons-To-Buy, and 3D images. Check the advanced Live manual if you want to have complete control over what content assets to show where and how (CSS).

Icecat Live is the modern variant of the good-old URL integration method.

Access to Product Reviews

Are you interested in adding product reviews professional and user reviews to your webshop? Then check out our review manual.

Important information

Flow – importing relevant product data from Icecat

  • Download the relevant index.
    1. files.index.xml.gz (.csv.gz) for all products in Icecat. Use this index once at the start of setting up the onboarding for Icecat.
    2. daily.index.xml.gz (.csv.gz) for the daily new and updated products. Use this index daily to select new and updated products.
  • In order to import only certain products from the list, you can make your query based on:
    1. Brand
    2. Manufacturer product code(s)
    3. GTINs (EANs, UPCs)
    4. Category
    5. Quality
    6. On market
  • Download the relevant product XMLs you need.

Important links and files

Important Links & filesYou need to login to Icecat to access and download these files
Index file – Full Icecathttps://data.icecat.biz/export/level4/EN/files.index.xml.gz
Index file – Open Icecathttp://data.Icecat.biz/export/freexml/EN/files.index.xml
Daily index file – Full Icecathttps://data.icecat.biz/export/level4/EN/daily.index.xml.gz
Daily index file – Open Icecathttps://data.Icecat.biz/export/freexml/EN/daily.index.xml.gz
Reference files – Full Icecathttps://data.icecat.biz/export/level4/refs/
Reference files – Open Icecathttps://data.icecat.biz/export/freexml/refs/
Icecat CategoryCategoriesList.xml.gz
Icecat taxonomyCategoryFeaturesList.xml.gz
BrandsSuppliersList.xml.gz

Icecat is a global leader in product content syndication, helping brands, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers deliver enriched and consistent product information across multiple platforms. Trusted by 40,000+ e-commerce brands, Icecat helps turn browsers into buyers.

icecat

Icecat is a global leader in product content syndication, helping brands, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers deliver enriched and consistent product information across multiple platforms. Trusted by 40,000+ e-commerce brands, Icecat helps turn browsers into buyers.

View Comments

    • Dear Philipp
      There is no specific time for this action. We would like to suggest to make HEAD requests to the file, updated timestamp will be returned in response

    • Can't be pinpointed exactly, given multiple daily batch processes. You could first query the file creation date before pulling the index.

  • Salut ,
    Mon lecteur affiche un message d'erreur : 5-PROTEC et s'arrête .comment puisse résoudre ce problème ?

    • Hi George, thanks for your comment. A country manager will contact you soon. Regards, Wouter

  • about the daily file: suppose we missed for whatever reasons some of the daily files. Then we do not know which products should be updated or not.
    Is there a way to download historical daily files?

    • Hi Edwin, thanks for your response. A country manager will contact you soon. Regards, Wouter

    • Hi Edwin, a general advice is to use the full index at regular intervals for a full sync to ensure you didn't miss certain updates in addition to using the daily indexes for efficiency.

  • Hello,
    We’re integrating Icecat and want to run a one-time full import, but the API process takes too long.
    Is there a faster way to get the full database?
    Also, can we get a full list of product categories to structure our API requests?

    Thank you!

    • Dear Yaryna

      You need to use index file to match your portfolio against the Icecat data base and download the products via XML or JSON calls. Of course it is possible to get the full list of the Icecat category tree.
      Icecat country manager for Switzerland, Lana Buschhoff will contact you to explain the details.

      Kind regards

      Vazha Abramishvili

Recent Posts

Icecat Studio – Sprint 88 Release Notes

Sprint 88 is focused on improving story styling control, Amazon synchronization reliability, and a range…

1 day ago

Bruneau Enhances Online Product Pages with Icecat Product Stories

Bruneau, the European leader in office supplies, furniture, and equipment for professionals, is now enriching…

2 days ago

Icecat Release Notes 242: Smarter MCP Tools, Stronger Platform, and Enhanced Partner Experience

In this sprint, we delivered a set of improvements designed to make Icecat even more…

3 days ago

EU–India Trade Pact: What It Could Change for European E-commerce

On 27 January 2026, the European Union and India concluded negotiations on a landmark Free…

4 days ago

Icecat Reintroduces Expert Reviews Bridging the Trust Gap

In an era where digital shoppers are increasingly wary of "spec-sheet fatigue," the value of…

5 days ago

Icecat’s product data-sheet production nearly doubled in H2 2025

The revenues of Icecat N.V. (ISIN: NL0012751226) increased slightly during the second half (H2) of…

1 week ago