# Difference between /catalog and /library/items

**URL:** <https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/difference-between-catalog-and-library-items/1483>\
**Category:** Questions\
**Tags:** catalog-api\
**Created:** [December 22, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/difference-between-catalog-and-library-items/1483 "2020-12-22T17:24:41Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![teekayzee](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/teekayzee/32/306_2.png) [@teekayzee](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/teekayzee)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/difference-between-catalog-and-library-items/1483/1 "2020-12-22T17:24:41Z")

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Attempting to assist my wife and not understanding Square.

I have a folder locally that has 4000 photos - trying to upload them through the API.

When I create a catalog item, it succeeds **but** it never shows up in the web (when I go to Dashboard -\> Items ( url: [https://squareup.com/dashboard/items/library](https://squareup.com/dashboard/items/library) ).  
REF: [https://developer.squareup.com/reference/square/catalog-api/upsert-catalog-object](https://developer.squareup.com/reference/square/catalog-api/upsert-catalog-object)

However…  
When I go to Dashboard -\> Items and click New Item & attach a photo - it shows up instantly.

Am I misunderstanding the difference between the catalog and the library?

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**Author:** ![wiggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/53a042/32.png) [@wiggins](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/wiggins)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/difference-between-catalog-and-library-items/1483/2 "2020-12-22T17:57:25Z")

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Hey there – Are you creating an Item _and_ a Variation? See our quick walkthrough [here](https://developer.squareup.com/docs/catalog-api/build-with-catalog#step-2-create-two-catalogitemvariation-objects-for-the-size-variations) for an explanation. Variations are the actual “thing” being sold, and is considered a sub-set of Items.

When you create an item through our dashboard or mobile app, we automatically create a variation called “Regular” for you.

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**Author:** ![teekayzee](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/teekayzee/32/306_2.png) [@teekayzee](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/teekayzee)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 6:21pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/difference-between-catalog-and-library-items/1483/3 "2020-12-22T18:21:57Z")

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> [@wiggins](#):
>
> there – Are you creating an Item _and_ a Variation?

I think just an item (with an image) ?

request = {  
“idempotency\_key”: repr(guid.bytes),  
“image”: {  
“type”: “IMAGE”,  
“id”: “#df5443”,  
“is\_deleted”: False,  
“version”: 23,  
“present\_at\_all\_locations”: True,  
“image\_data”: {  
“name”: “pic”,  
“caption”: “pic”  
},  
“item\_data”: {  
“name”: “TESTING!”,  
“description”: “this is a test upload”,  
“available\_online”: True,  
“available\_for\_pickup”: True,  
“available\_electronically”: True  
}  
}  
},  
image\_file = f\_stream

the reply goes through and gives me the expected response - but I never see the item turn up on [https://squareup.com/dashboard/items/library](https://squareup.com/dashboard/items/library)

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**Author:** ![sjosey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/sjosey/32/40_2.png) [@sjosey](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/sjosey)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/difference-between-catalog-and-library-items/1483/4 "2020-12-22T18:33:32Z")

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An item needs a variation before it will show up in the dashboard, so you will need to include (or add later) a variation to see it show up. An item itself can’t be sold as mentioned by @wiggins above; a variation is required.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![teekayzee](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/teekayzee/32/306_2.png) [@teekayzee](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/teekayzee)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 9:55pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/difference-between-catalog-and-library-items/1483/6 "2020-12-22T21:55:07Z")

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I think I understand now - was able to set an item successfully and have it show up.

Only missing 1 piece now - how do you set the visibility when creating the item? All my items are initially Unavailable.  
 ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/square/original/1X/bd241e9719978d9ea2dd2a7bb76d65449fdd9fff.png)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![sjosey](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/square/forums/user_avatar/developer.squareup.com/sjosey/32/40_2.png) [@sjosey](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/u/sjosey)\
**Post date:** [December 22, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://developer.squareup.com/forums/t/difference-between-catalog-and-library-items/1483/7 "2020-12-22T22:18:03Z")

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I actually don’t think there is a way to do that unfortunately. I think this is tied to the `ecom_available` field, which is read-only at this time and can’t be set by the API.