> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.uselayers.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Automatic families from metafields

> Use Shopify list.product_reference metafields to automatically create and maintain product families in Layers without curating them in the dashboard.

Layers can build [product families](/platform/product-families) automatically from Shopify `list.product_reference` metafields. Configure which metafields to watch, and Layers groups the referenced products into a family on every catalog sync.

Use this when an existing Shopify metafield already encodes "these products belong together" — for example, a *Related styles* or *Color siblings* list maintained on each product.

## How it works

1. You configure one or more metafield namespace/key pairs in **Settings → Product Families**.
2. During a bulk catalog import or a product webhook sync, Layers reads the configured metafields on each product.
3. For every non-empty `list.product_reference` value, Layers creates (or updates) a family named `Auto: {namespace}.{key}`.
4. The product that owns the metafield is always included in the resulting family, even if it isn't listed in the metafield value itself.
5. Layers sorts product IDs before building the family, so the same set of products always maps to the same family regardless of metafield ordering.

A family is only created when it would contain at least two unique products.

## Configure family metafields

1. Go to **Settings → Product Families**.
2. In the **Family Metafields** card, click **Add Metafield**.
3. Select the metafield from the combobox. Only `list.product_reference` metafields produce families; other types are ignored.
4. Click **Save**.
5. Trigger a catalog resync (or wait for the next product update) to backfill families from existing metafield values.

You can configure multiple metafields. Each configured metafield produces its own family per unique product set.

## Example

Given a `custom.related_styles` metafield on three products that all reference each other:

| Product | `custom.related_styles` value |
| ------- | ----------------------------- |
| `1001`  | `[1002, 1003]`                |
| `1002`  | `[1001, 1003]`                |
| `1003`  | `[1001, 1002]`                |

Layers creates a single family **Auto: custom.related\_styles** containing products `1001`, `1002`, and `1003`. The owning product is auto-included, and the sorted product IDs collapse to one family regardless of which product is being processed.

## Conflict resolution

* If a product is moved into a new metafield-driven family for the same `namespace.key`, Layers removes it from any older metafield family for that same key. A family left with fewer than two products is deleted.
* Manual and attribute-driven families are **never** overridden by metafield families. If a product already belongs to a manual or attribute family, the manual or attribute assignment wins.

## Limitations

* Only Shopify metafields of type `list.product_reference` produce families.
* A family must contain at least two unique products to be created.
* Metafield-driven families are read-only in the Product Families dashboard. To change their membership, edit the underlying metafield values on your products in Shopify.

## See also

* [Product families](/platform/product-families)
* [Create a product family](/help/product-families/create-product-family)
* [Automatic sequences from metafields](/developers/product-schema/metafields/automatic-sequences)
* [Metafields](/developers/product-schema/metafields)