Default values

A product attribute can carry a default value. When a new product is created without a value for that attribute, minipim fills in the default before validating and saving. Defaults are a starting point for new products only. They never change products that already exist.

In the admin

1. Go to Catalog → Attributes and click Edit on a product attribute (or create a new one).
2. In Default value, enter the value. For a select, add options under Validation first, then pick one.
3. Click Save changes. Use Clear default to remove it.

If the section says the attribute can’t carry a default, its type or flags don’t allow one (see the rules below).

With the API

Set defaultValue on POST /v1/attributes or PATCH /v1/attributes/{id}. Send the bare value, not a { locale, channel, value } record. Send null to clear it.

curl -X PATCH https://api.minipim.com/v1/attributes/c41d… \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer pim_…" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{ "defaultValue": true }'

Full reference: api.minipim.com/docs.

When defaults apply

Defaults are filled in only when a product is created through the API:

• POST /v1/products, which the admin’s New product form uses;
• POST /v1/products/bulk, which CSV import uses.

They are not applied:

• to existing products, ever. Setting or changing a default is never retroactive. Use bulk editing to fill existing products.
• on updates. PATCH never adds defaults.
• to duplicates, which copy the source product’s values.
• to products imported by a connector.
• to variants, categories, brands or content pages.

Rules and limits

• Only product attributes can have a default. Setting one on a content, category or brand attribute returns 422.
• Allowed types: boolean, text, textarea, number, decimal, select, date, datetime, url, email. Other types return 422. See Attribute types.
• The attribute must be neither localizable nor scopable, because a per-locale or per-channel default has no single answer.
• The default is validated against the attribute’s type and validation rules when you set it, just like a typed-in value.
• A select default must be one of the existing options, even if the list accepts new values.
• The default is only used for products in families that include the attribute.
• To create a product without the default, send the code with an empty list ("code": []). An explicit empty list is kept.
• A default counts as a value, so a default on a required attribute can let a product be created as active.
• Changing an attribute’s type or flags re-checks its existing default; an edit that would make it invalid is rejected with 422.