Quick Start Guide | PBLISH Documentation

Before You Begin

Before starting, make sure you have the following ready:

A PBLISH account (sign up at app.pblish.net)
Your product data in a Google Sheet (recommended) or as a CSV/Excel file
Product images accessible via public HTTPS URLs (not local files)
The social platform(s) where you intend to run your catalog ads

Google Sheets is strongly recommended

Google Sheets provides fully automatic, real-time updates to your feed whenever you edit the spreadsheet. CSV uploads require manual re-uploading each time your data changes. For any live catalog use case, Google Sheets is the right choice.

Step 1: Create Your Feed

A Feed is the data source that powers your catalogs. It connects PBLISH to your product data and defines how often that data is refreshed. Navigate to Feeds in the left sidebar and click + Add Feed.

Add Feed basic information — Step 1 of 4: Enter your feed name, select the data source, and set the status to Active.

The feed creation wizard has four steps: Basic Information, Schedule, Platforms, and Column Mapping. In the first step:

Name: Give your feed a descriptive name (e.g., "Summer Collection 2025" or "Electronics Catalog")
Source: Choose between Google Drive (Google Sheets) or Upload File (CSV/Excel)
Status: Keep this checked to activate the feed immediately

The Source dropdown: Google Drive (live Google Sheets) or Upload File (CSV/Excel).

Google Sheets URL format

When using Google Drive, paste the full URL from your browser's address bar. The sheet must be set to "Anyone with the link can view." PBLISH will automatically detect the available sheet tabs for you to select.

Step 2: Configure Your Schedule

The schedule determines how often PBLISH checks your data source for changes and triggers a new catalog generation cycle. Choose the interval that matches your business's update frequency.

Feed schedule — Step 2: Select Interval Type (Hourly, Daily, or Weekly) and the specific interval value.

Interval	Best For	Example Use Case
Hourly (every 1-24h)	E-commerce, flash sales	Stock levels, live pricing, limited-time offers
Daily	Most businesses	Regular price updates, new arrivals, seasonal items
Weekly	Stable catalogs	Furniture, real estate, slow-moving inventory

Step 3: Select Target Platforms

Select the social platforms where you plan to run your catalog ads. This selection is important because PBLISH uses it to determine the required and optional columns for your column mapping in the next step.

Platform selection — Step 3: Select all platforms you intend to target.

Select all platforms you need upfront

You can always add more platforms later by editing the feed. However, selecting all your target platforms now ensures the column mapping step shows you all required and optional fields in one pass, saving you time.

Step 4: Map Your Columns

Column mapping is where PBLISH's intelligence shines. Each social platform uses different column names for the same data, for example, Facebook expects image_link while TikTok uses sku_link. PBLISH asks you to map your source columns to its universal fields once, and then handles the platform-specific naming automatically on every generation.

The mapping interface shows your source columns on the left and the PBLISH universal column on the right. The Required Items section at the bottom shows exactly which fields each platform needs.

One-time setup, permanent benefit

Once you complete column mapping for a feed, you never need to redo it, even when you add new catalogs from the same feed. The mapping persists and is applied automatically to every generation cycle.

Step 5: Create Your Catalog

With your feed configured, navigate to Catalogs and click Add Catalog +. A catalog ties together a feed, a target platform, a canvas size, and a design template.

Add Catalog modal — The Add Catalog dialog: enter a name, select your feed, choose the platform, and pick the canvas size.

Configure the following fields:

Catalog Name: A descriptive identifier (e.g., "Facebook Square, Summer 2025")
Select Feed: Choose the feed you just created
Select Set (optional): Filter to a specific product set instead of the entire feed
Platform: The social network this catalog targets (Facebook, TikTok, etc.)
Platform Size: Square (1080×1080), landscape (1200×630), or story (1080×1920)

Step 6: Design Your Template & Generate

After creating the catalog, the Catalog Setup Guide walks you through the remaining steps. Click Create Template to open the visual design editor where you can build your ad layout using dynamic variables from your feed (such as {{price}}, {{name}}, {{image}}, etc.).

Once the template is saved, PBLISH will automatically generate images for all products in your feed on the next scheduled cycle. Once complete, the catalog status changes to Completed and your public feed URL becomes available.

Catalog setup complete public feed URL — All four setup steps completed. The PUBLIC FEED URL is now active and ready to paste into your ad platform.

Step 7: Use Your Magic Link

The Public Feed URL shown in Step 4 of the Catalog Setup Guide is your magic link. Copy it and paste it into the catalog feed section of your chosen ad platform (e.g., Facebook Commerce Manager, TikTok Catalog Manager).

From this point forward, PBLISH handles everything automatically. On every scheduled generation cycle, the platform re-fetches the URL and receives an updated catalog that reflects changes to your product data (prices, stock, new or removed SKUs) with no manual work on your side.

The link never changes

The public feed URL is permanent. You only need to paste it into your ad platform once. All future updates happen automatically behind the scenes based on your configured generation frequency.

What's Next?

Now that your first catalog is live, explore these topics to get more value from PBLISH:

Next
Feeds: Full Reference Next
Column Mapping Deep Dive Next
Catalogs: Full Reference Next
Monitoring Generation Status

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