Items & Catalog: Update Items in Bulk with an LLM

Changing the same field on dozens or hundreds of items is slow in any screen. With the Flourish MCP server, you can describe the change once and let your AI assistant apply it across every matching item. It shows a preview before anything is saved. For connection steps, see Connecting to Flourish with an LLM Using Our MCP Server.

Items belong to your whole company, not one facility. A change applies everywhere the item is used.

Core things it can do

1. Find the right items

Search by item name, retail display name, part number or SKU, and filter to active or inactive items. The assistant pages through every match, so a change covers the full list, not just the first page.

2. Change approved fields

The item update tool works from an approved list of fields, including:

Tracking: lot tracking, sell by lot, serial number tracking
Selling: sellable, purchasable, retail display name, SKU, part number, barcode
Handling: storage instructions, special instructions, helpful tips, shelf days, reorder point
Product details: serving size, servings per unit, THC/CBD per dose, allergens, ingredients
Reference fields 1–5

Ask your assistant "which item fields can you change?" for the current list.

3. Preview, then apply

The assistant shows a table with each item's current value and new value, and skips items that already have the new value. After you approve, it updates the items one at a time and reports how many changed, were skipped, or failed.

4. Work from a spreadsheet

Attach or share a spreadsheet with item names or SKUs and new values (for example, reorder points). The assistant matches each row to exactly one item and asks about any row it can't match.

Things to know

Metrc-integrated companies: some fields sync from Metrc and can't be changed here, such as brand (when it syncs to Metrc), item description, allergens, serving size and dosing fields. The assistant will tell you which fields are excluded.
SKU can be changed but can't be left empty.
Creating items isn't available through the assistant. Create new items in Flourish first, then use the assistant to update them. NOTE: you may use the MCP with the item CSV export to do updates with a spreadsheet review. You also may stage a CSV and submit a support request for Flourish to import items.
Big batches: for large changes, ask the assistant to update the first few items, check them in Flourish, and then continue.

Recommended Tool Permissions

Tool	Type	Recommended Setting	Notes
Items: Query (`items_query`)	Read	Always allow	Searches items by name, display name, part number or SKU.
Item Categories / Classes: Query (`item_categories_query`, `item_classes_query`)	Read	Always allow	Reference data for narrowing a selection.
Brands: Query (`brands_query`)	Read	Always allow	Lists brands.
Items: Update (`items_update`)	Write	Needs approval	Updates approved fields on one item per call; the assistant repeats it for each item in a batch.

Example Prompts

"Make lot tracking required on every active item from the Alpine brand." (write — asks first)
"Set storage instructions to 'Keep refrigerated' on all our gummy items." (write — asks first)
"Apply the reorder points in this spreadsheet." (write — asks first)
"Which of our active items don't have a barcode?"
"Mark all the Summer 2025 items as not sellable." (write — asks first)

Troubleshooting

The assistant says a field can't be changed.

It isn't on the approved list, or it's controlled by Metrc for your company. Change it in Flourish instead.

Some items failed.

The assistant lists each failure with the reason. Fix the cause (for example, an empty SKU), then ask it to retry just those items.