Duplicate sku/item_variation appearing

Questions
1

I have recently noticed the ‘REGULAR’ item variation for many items appear to become duplicated.

Here is an example of what I am seeing.

ivdup1
ivdup11009×846 71.4 KB

If I click either > symbol, both variations expand in unison and appear to be identical, like this.

ivdup2
ivdup2996×852 108 KB

When I search the catalog via the API, I only find one ITEM_VARIATION with sku value listed, not two.

When I retrieve the ITEM via the API, I only see each unit variation appear once, not duplicated.

I am running an automated process that updates unit variations based on changes in an external database, but it is designed only to update attribute values and should not be adding any unit variations.

I am reluctant to make changes via the dashboard without understanding what is going on, but I did test with a similar item and was able to delete the apparently duplicate instance. The behavior was weird in that deleting the second variation made both disappear from the edit screen, but when I exited the edit screen and clicked the Discard Changes button, the duplicated variation disappeared and the original remained.

This is unexpected and disturbing behavior and I am eager to understand where the problem is.

Please let me know if you need any additional details.

2

Did this happen to only the one item or have you seen this with multiple items. I haven’t been able to replicate the issue. Also if you inspect the page are their any console errors or messages? :slightly_smiling_face:

3

Hi Bryan,

This condition exists on nearly all of the items that I update programmatically. I haven’t really looked at other (more static) items.

I did not think to inspect the page. It does show these errors and warnings.

ivdup3
ivdup31182×434 41.2 KB

ivdup4
ivdup41178×635 62.4 KB

ivdup5
ivdup51180×424 24.6 KB

I do have a text/log file of the 77 warnings if you want those details.

Thanks

4

Okay, great! What are the steps to reproduce. Do you have the item open on the Dashboard then programmatically update the item and then you see the duplicates? Or do you update the item then go to Dashboard and when you click on the item you see the duplicate? :slightly_smiling_face:

5

Hi Bryan,

Actually I have a lot of plates spinning, so I haven’t had time to replicate the steps.

I discovered this by spot checking items, which I do periodically. The updates are event driven off changes to the other database and just happen when something changes.

When I first noticed this problem on Sunday, it seemed to correct itself about an hour after I noticed it. Today the duplicates seem to be sticking around, and I haven’t messed with them in case that aids your research.

I am happy to do any sequence that might be helpful.

Thanks

6

As of right now, the duplicate sku/item_variations seem to have disappeared and returned to normal.

I did nothing intentional to make this happen.

Did anyone at Square do anything that would have “fixed” this?

If it happens again, is there anything I can do to help you identify the cause?

Thanks!

7

If this happens again please do reach out so the team can look into the issue. We appreciate you bringing this to our attention. :slightly_smiling_face: