TikTok Product Feed: Every required field explained

TikTok catalog ads run on the same fuel as every other platform - a product feed - but TikTok's spec has its own personality: a five-value availability system, image URLs that must end in the file extension, deeplink fields for app retargeting, and freshness rules the platform actually enforces.

This is the field-by-field reference for building that feed. For strategy and campaign setup, see TikTok Catalog Ads; for the general workflow across platforms, start with product feed management.

The 9 required fields

TikTok's catalog product parameters require nine fields per product. Missing any of them fails the row on upload.

• sku_id - your unique product identifier. Note the name: TikTok calls it sku_id where Meta uses id. Keep the underlying value identical across platforms - it's also what your TikTok pixel events must reference for retargeting to work.

• title - the product name, up to 150 characters per TikTok's catalog quality guidance.

• description - up to 20,000 characters; plain, accurate, no keyword stuffing.

• availability - five values: in stock, available for order, preorder, out of stock, discontinued. More granular than Meta's two - use preorder and available for order where they apply instead of forcing everything into in stock.

• condition - new, refurbished, or used.

• price - number plus ISO currency code.

• link - the product landing page.

• image_link - JPEG or PNG, minimum 500 x 500 pixels, and the URL itself must end in a recognized image extension (.jpg, .jpeg, or .png). A CDN URL that serves a valid image without an extension can fail validation.

• brand - the product's brand name.

The image URL extension rule deserves emphasis because it breaks otherwise-perfect feeds: many image CDNs serve /image/12345?format=jpg style URLs. For TikTok, render or alias image paths so they end in the literal extension.

The optional fields worth using

TikTok documents 27 optional fields. The ones with real effect, grouped by what they do:

Selling and promotion:

• sale_price - the discounted price; pairs with price for sale display

• sale_price_effective_date - ISO-8601 range that schedules the sale window

• video_link - a product-level video; on TikTok, video assets matter more than anywhere else

Variants and organization:

• item_group_id - groups color/size variants; TikTok recommends per-variant sku_id values under one group

• color, size, gender, age_group, material, pattern - variant attributes

• google_product_category - Google's taxonomy, which TikTok also uses; 2-3 levels deep is the recommended precision

• product_type - your own category path

• custom_label_0 through custom_label_4 - segmentation slots, 100 characters each

Apps and tracking:

• ios_url and android_url - deeplinks into your app; required if you run app-retargeting catalog campaigns

• additional_image_link - up to 10 extra images (Meta allows 20 - one of the few places TikTok is tighter)

Everything else (shipping, shipping_weight, tax, gtin, mpn) maps 1:1 from the same values you already maintain for other platforms.

Formats and delivery

TikTok accepts CSV, TSV, and XML (RSS/ATOM) files, including zipped (.zip/.gz) uploads, managed under Catalog Manager. Delivery options:

• Manual upload - fine for a first test, wrong for production

• Scheduled URL fetch - TikTok pulls your hosted feed on a schedule; the standard setup

• API - for platforms and high-frequency updates

Two freshness rules make scheduling non-optional on TikTok:

1. Feeds not updated in 7 days get flagged in diagnostics

2. Catalogs with no advertising activity for 28 days are frozen until activity resumes

Daily sync minimum, same as everywhere - but on TikTok it's enforced rather than merely wise. If your products stop appearing, check the freshness flags before anything else; the full error-by-error reference is in TikTok catalog rejections.

An example file

A minimal valid CSV with a two-variant product:

Details worth copying: image URLs ending in .jpeg, per-variant sku_id under a shared item_group_id, sale price alongside base price, and a 3-level Google category.

TikTok vs Meta: the differences that bite

If your Meta feed works, 90% of your TikTok feed exists. The 10% that differs:

• Field name: sku_id, not id

• Availability: five values instead of two - map them, don't collapse them

• Image URLs: must end in .jpg, .jpeg, or .png

• Additional images: 10 max instead of 20

• Freshness: enforced with flags and catalog freezing

• Emojis and control characters: TikTok rejects them in text fields - strip them with a feed rule; store data is full of them

• Catalog images should be clean: white background, no watermarks or logos per TikTok's quality guidance - your enriched creative belongs in the ad layer, as covered in catalog ad design

A per-platform output from one source catalog - the approach from product feed management - handles all of these as mapping rules instead of manual work.

Giving TikTok its own compliant output

Flow's TikTok workflow gives the shared catalog a TikTok-specific path. The catalog engine maps and validates product fields, while reusable templates and variations handle vertical creative without modifying the clean images submitted for catalog review.

The final export still needs a TikTok check: sku_id, availability values, image dimensions and extensions, text restrictions, and Diagnostics after ingestion. That division keeps the source catalog reusable without pretending every destination has the same schema.

FAQ

Final thoughts

TikTok's feed spec is Meta's spec with sharper edges: stricter image rules, richer availability, enforced freshness. Treat those edges as mapping rules in your feed pipeline and the catalog becomes one more output of data you already maintain - leaving your attention where TikTok actually differs, which is the creative.