---
title: Category Feeds
description: Source fields, identifiers, and hierarchy guidance for category feeds.
slug: indexing/feeds/categories
docKind: reference
hub: luigisbox-ai
---

Category feeds describe category pages and the category objects referenced by products. The configured object type is `category`.

## Core fields

| Source field | Type | Requirement | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| `id` | String | Required | Type-prefixed category identifier, such as `category/cat-men`. |
| `title` | String | Required | Category name shown to users. |
| `url` | String | Recommended | Canonical category page URL. |
| `image_url` | String | Optional | Category image URL. |

Use the same category IDs in product category references.

## Examples

```xml
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<categories>
  <category>
    <id>category/cat-men</id>
    <title>Men</title>
    <url>https://example.com/men</url>
  </category>
  <category>
    <id>category/cat-shoes</id>
    <title>Shoes</title>
    <url>https://example.com/men/shoes</url>
  </category>
</categories>
```

```json
{
  "categories": [
    {
      "id": "category/cat-men",
      "title": "Men",
      "url": "https://example.com/men"
    },
    {
      "id": "category/cat-shoes",
      "title": "Shoes",
      "url": "https://example.com/men/shoes"
    }
  ]
}
```

```csv
id,title,url
category/cat-men,Men,https://example.com/men
category/cat-shoes,Shoes,https://example.com/men/shoes
```

The same records in JSON Lines contain one category object per line:

```jsonl
{"id":"category/cat-men","title":"Men","url":"https://example.com/men"}
{"id":"category/cat-shoes","title":"Shoes","url":"https://example.com/men/shoes"}
```

## Mapping category relationships

Map product category IDs to canonical `@category` references. These references use stable, typed category IDs. A referenced category can be ingested after the product that refers to it.

See the [catalog object model](/concepts/catalog-object-model/#relationships) for the canonical relationship format.

## Hierarchy

Export each category's **immediate** parent, and map it to `@parent`. Luigi's Box assembles
the tree from those edges, so a category never carries its whole path.

If your export gives each category a full path string instead, the mapping can split it —
but the value `@parent` needs is the nearest ancestor's typed ID, not the path. See
[Hierarchies](/concepts/catalog-object-model/#hierarchies).

## Existing hierarchy paths

For new integrations, map products to categories using stable source IDs. If your existing export contains category hierarchy data, agree the mapping during setup.

If you are migrating an existing feed that uses title paths, such as:

```text
Men > Shoes > Sneakers
```

the delimiter can be configured during mapping so the path is preserved as a structured `hierarchy` value. The delimiter belongs to the feed mapping, not to the catalog object model.

## See also

- [Feeds overview](/indexing/feeds/)
- [Catalog object model](/concepts/catalog-object-model/)
- [Product feeds](/indexing/feeds/products/)
- [Feed troubleshooting](/indexing/feeds/troubleshooting/)