Rewind Staging copies your store's metaobjects — the definitions, entries, and references that connect structured content to your products — as part of a store-to-store copy. This article explains what gets copied, how to run a metaobject copy, and the data access approval required on both stores.
Metaobjects are custom content types you create in Shopify to structure data beyond the standard products, collections, and pages. For example, a "Temperature rating" metaobject might hold an icon and a short description that your products reference. When you copy a store, Rewind Staging copies your metaobjects, the products that reference them, and the links between the two, so your structured content works the same way on the destination store.
There are two ways to copy metaobjects to a destination store: run a full store copy, which includes them automatically, or run a copy task for specific metaobject definitions. Both use the same copy flow as the rest of your store data — there's no extra setup for metaobjects.
Before you begin
Before starting, confirm the following:
- Rewind Staging is installed on both your source store and your destination store — see Connecting Your Stores For Copy
- Rewind Staging has access to edit custom data (metaobject definitions and metaobjects) on both your source store and your destination store
What gets copied
| Component | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Metaobject definitions | The definition's name and the fields it contains. For example, a "Temperature rating" definition is copied with its icon field and description field. |
| Metaobject entries | The individual records created from each definition. For example, each temperature rating your products display is one entry. |
| Metafield-to-metaobject references | The links from a product's metafields to your metaobjects. These links are preserved on the destination store. |
| Nested references and merge behavior | Links from a field in one metaobject to another metaobject. The copy also correctly handles definitions or entries that already exist on the destination store, such as from an earlier copy. |
Copy works at the definition level: copying a definition brings all of its entries with it. Rewind Staging also copies product and product variant metafield definitions, so your metafields match correctly on the destination store.
How to copy metaobjects
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If Shopify shows an Update data access prompt when you open the Rewind Staging app, select Update to let Rewind Staging edit your custom data (metaobject definitions and metaobjects). Approve this on both the source store and the destination store — the copy won't complete otherwise.
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In the Rewind Staging app, select New task, then choose Copy specific metaobjects — or Copy your store to bring everything across at once.
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On the Configure copy metaobject definitions task screen, choose your destination store(s), then select the metaobject definitions you want to copy. Each row shows how many entries that definition holds. Select Begin task.
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Your copy runs. You'll see it under Active Copy Tasks marked Running, with the item count, and you'll get an email when it's finished.
Limitations
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Private or third-party-app metaobjects are not copied
Metaobjects marked private, or created by another app, cannot be read or recreated by Rewind Staging. This is a Shopify platform constraint on how that content is exposed. Metaobjects you define and own copy normally. -
Metaobjects aren't included in continuous copies
A continuous copy doesn't bring metaobjects to your destination store. To copy them, run a metaobject copy or a full store copy. -
Copy is one direction only
Data copies from your source store to your destination store. There is no sync in the other direction. -
Copy is at the definition level
Copying a definition includes all of its entries. You can't copy individual entries on their own. -
Only product and product variant metafields are copied
Rewind Staging doesn't copy metafields on collections, pages, the shop, or orders.
Related articles
- What can Rewind Staging copy? — The full reference for what Rewind Staging can and cannot copy between stores.
- Connecting Your Stores For Copy — How to install Rewind Staging and link your source and destination stores before running a copy.
- How To Copy Specific Items — How to copy selected items to your destination store instead of copying everything.
- What does Rewind backup for Shopify? — Backup coverage for Shopify, including metaobject definitions and entries.
Need help?
If you have questions or need assistance, contact help@rewind.com or submit a request.