Product Variations Management (Admin)

Flow ID: AD-16 Module(s): variations Complexity: High Last Updated: 2026-09-29

Business Context

Product variations allow grouping products by shared dimensions (e.g., Size, Color, Material) so customers can switch between related products on the storefront. The admin panel provides three management areas: variation group definitions (the dimension types), variation values (the options within each dimension), and product variation groups (which products belong together and which is the master). The entire feature is gated by the enableProductVariations config flag (default: false). When disabled, variation menu items are hidden and product-level variation UI is suppressed.

Architecture: Entirely legacy HMVC -- no modern Domain/REST layer exists for admin variations. The HMVC module lives in ecommercen/variations/ with controllers, models, DTOs, and helpers. A separate API controller (AdvApiVariationsController) serves the Vue frontend for product-level variation editing. The admin Vue app (AdminVariationsPage) manages groups/values, while AdminVariationProductsPage handles per-product variation assignment within the product edit form.

Database Schema

6 Tables

Table	Purpose	Key Columns
`variation_groups`	Dimension definitions (Size, Color, etc.)	`id`, `display_type`, `step`, `display_position`, `priority`, `force_display_all_values`
`variation_groups_mui`	MUI names per language	`variation_group_id`, `name`, `lang`
`variation_values`	Options within a group	`id`, `variation_group_id`, `display_value`, `priority`
`variation_values_mui`	MUI names per language	`variation_value_id`, `name`, `lang`
`product_variations`	Product-to-group assignments	`id`, `group_id`, `product_id`, `is_master`, `priority`
`product_variations_mui`	MUI names for product variation groups	`group_id`, `name`, `lang`
`product_variation_values`	Product-to-variation-value links	`product_id`, `variation_id` (unique composite)

Key relationships: variation_values.variation_group_id -> variation_groups.id; product_variations.group_id is an auto-incremented group identifier (not an FK to variation_groups); product_variation_values.variation_id -> variation_values.id.

Important distinction: variation_groups defines dimension types (e.g., "Size"), while product_variations.group_id defines product groupings (e.g., "Nike Air Max Family"). These are separate concepts with separate MUI tables.

Feature Gate

Config: $config['enableProductVariations'] = false; in application/config/app.php

When disabled:

Admin menu hides the "variations" route via AdminMenu::parseProductVariationMenu()
AdvVariationsProductsAdmin and AdvVariationsPageAdmin redirect to advisable
Product edit form hides the <admin-variation-products-page> component
Batch update actions assign_products_to_variation_group and assign_products_to_new_variation_group are suppressed

Authorization

Base class: AdvVariationsAdminBase extends Admin_c, requires roles: AUTH_ROLE_ADVISABLE, AUTH_ROLE_ADMIN, or AUTH_ROLE_PRODUCTS.

All four admin controllers inherit this base and share the same role check. The API controller (AdvApiVariationsController) extends Front_c but gates itself in its own _remap() (ecommercen/api/controllers/AdvApiVariationsController.php:22-35): every endpoint, read or write, requires a logged-in admin session holding one of the same three roles (isAuthorisedAdminCaller(), :40-52); any other caller gets HTTP 401 {"error":"Unauthorized"} and the action never runs. Unknown or non-public method names return 404 to authorised callers (isDispatchableMethod(), :67-79).

Area 1: Variation Groups (Dimension Types)

Controller: ecommercen/variations/controllers/AdvVariationsAdmin.phpPage controller: ecommercen/variations/controllers/AdvVariationsPageAdmin.phpModel: ecommercen/variations/models/AdvVariationGroupsModel.phpView: application/views/admin/variations/vue.php (Vue SPA mount point) Vue component: assets/admin/js/variations/AdminVariationsPage.vueRoute: /variations/variations

Display Types

Defined in AdvVariationsHelper::getVariationTypes():

Key	Description	Frontend rendering
`text`	Plain text labels	Text buttons/pills
`hex-color`	Color swatches	`VariationHexSelector.vue` renders color circles
`image`	Image thumbnails	`VariationImageSelector.vue` renders image pills
`text-range-per-value`	Numeric ranges by value	Groups values into ranges based on `display_value` and `step`
`text-range-per-count`	Numeric ranges by count	Groups values into ranges of `step` items each

Display Positions

Defined in AdvVariationsHelper::getVariationGroupDisplayPositionTypes():

Value	Meaning
0	ALL -- show on product page and in category filters
1	PRODUCT only -- show on product page, hide from filters
2	FILTER only -- show in category filters, hide from product page
3	NONE -- hidden everywhere (data-only)

CRUD Operations

Add (POST /variations/variations/add):

Validates: display_type (required), step (numeric), display_position, priority, force_display_all_values
Validates MUI: name_{lang} required for each admin language
AdvVariationGroupsModel::add() inserts into variation_groups + variation_groups_mui
Returns JSON {id} on success

Edit (POST /variations/variations/edit):

Same validation + requires id
AdvVariationGroupsModel::update() updates master row + upserts MUI via updateOrInsertMui()
Returns JSON {id} on success

Order (POST /variations/variations/order):

Accepts JSON array of {id, priority} pairs
AdvVariationGroupsModel::order() batch-updates priority column

Delete: Handled by AdvVariationGroupsModel::delete() -- checks canDelete() first: a group cannot be deleted if it has child variation values. Deletion cascades to variation_groups_mui within a transaction.

Page Data Endpoint

GET /variations/variations/getPageData returns all data needed by the Vue SPA:

variationGroups -- all variation_groups rows
variationGroupsMui -- all variation_groups_mui rows
variationValues -- all values joined with group info
variationValuesMui -- all value MUI for current language
variationTypes -- display type options
variationGroupDisplayPositionTypes -- position type options
configs, userRoles, configLanguages, translations

Area 2: Variation Values (Options)

Controller: ecommercen/variations/controllers/AdvVariationsValuesAdmin.phpModel: ecommercen/variations/models/AdvVariationValuesModel.phpRoute: /variations/values/{action}

Values are managed inline within the groups Vue page. Clicking a group opens its values list (VariationValuesList.vue), then values can be added/edited via VariationValuesForm.vue.

CRUD Operations

Add (POST /variations/values/add):

Validates: display_value (trim), MUI name_{lang} (required per language)
Validates variation_group_id exists via AdvVariationGroupsModel::getMain()
AdvVariationValuesModel::add() inserts into variation_values + variation_values_mui

Edit (POST /variations/values/edit):

Same validation + requires id
AdvVariationValuesModel::update() updates master + upserts MUI

Order (POST /variations/values/order):

Accepts JSON array of {variation_value_id, priority} pairs
Batch-updates priority column

Delete (POST /variations/values/delete):

Accepts variation value ID as JSON
canDelete() check: if the value is referenced in product_variation_values, deletion is blocked and the referencing product IDs are returned
On success: deletes from variation_values_mui + variation_values in a transaction

Batch Actions on Values

Two batch actions available via BatchAction.vue when values are selected:

Move to Another Group (BatchActionMoveValueToAnotherGroup.vue):

Calls api/variations/batchActionMoveVariationValues
Model: AdvVariationModel::moveVariationValuesToAnotherGroup() -- raw SQL UPDATE with JOIN to reassign variation_values.variation_group_id
Confirmation via SweetAlert2; page reloads after success

Mass Delete Values (BatchActionMassDeleteValues.vue):

Calls api/variations/batchActionMassDeleteValues
Model: AdvVariationModel::massDeleteVariationValues() -- deletes from both variation_values and variation_values_mui
No referential integrity check (unlike single-value delete) -- caution: can orphan product_variation_values rows

Area 3: Product Variation Groups

Controller: ecommercen/variations/controllers/AdvVariationsProductsAdmin.phpModel: ecommercen/variations/models/AdvVariationModel.phpViews: application/views/admin/variations/list.php, group.php, group_create.phpVue entry: assets/admin/js/variations/store/variations-page.jsRoutes: /variations/products, /variations/products/create, /variations/products/edit/{groupId}, /variations/products/delete/{groupId}

Product variation groups link multiple products together (e.g., same shoe in different colors). Each group has a MUI name and a designated master product.

List Page

AdvVariationsProductsAdmin::index():

Paginated list (20 per page) from product_variations_mui for current language
Displays group ID, name, edit/delete actions
Server-rendered table (no Vue)

Create

AdvVariationsProductsAdmin::create():

Renders group_create.php -> mounts AdminProductVariationGroup Vue component
Vue receives JSON state: configLanguages, allVariation (all variation values with groups), allAttributes, isNewGroup=true
On submit: parses variationProducts (product IDs with serialized variation selections), variationGroupName (MUI), masterProductId
AdvVariationModel::createVariationProductGroup():
1. Begins transaction
2. Auto-generates new group_id via createNewGroupId() (SELECT MAX + 1)
3. For each product: clears any existing variation data, inserts into product_variations and product_variation_values
4. Inserts MUI names into product_variations_mui
5. Commits or rolls back

Edit

AdvVariationsProductsAdmin::edit($groupId):

Loads existing group data via getVariationProductsByGroupId() -> returns VariationGroupProductDTO[]
Renders group.php -> mounts AdminProductVariationGroup Vue component with existing data
On submit: processAllVariationGroupProducts():
1. For each product in POST: delete-then-reinsert pattern (processProductVariation)
2. Removes products no longer in the submitted list via removeOtherProductIds()
3. Updates MUI names separately

Delete

AdvVariationsProductsAdmin::delete($groupId):

deleteProductVariationGroup() removes all product_variations and product_variations_mui rows for the group in a transaction
Note: does NOT clean up product_variation_values for affected products

Master Product Management

Each product group designates one product as master (is_master = 1). The master product:

Appears as the primary product in category listings (non-master variants are hidden via ProductVariationsListingTrait)
Serves as the canonical URL/display product

updateGroupMaster(): Transactional unset-all then set-one pattern. setAnotherProductAsMaster(): When removing the current master, auto-promotes the next product by priority.

Area 4: Per-Product Variation Assignment (Product Edit Page)

Vue component: assets/admin/js/products/variations/AdminVariationProductsPage.vueAPI controller: ecommercen/api/controllers/AdvApiVariationsController.phpApplication wrapper: application/modules/api/controllers/Api_variations.phpRoutes: /api/variations/{action}

This component appears as a tab in the product edit form (when enableProductVariations is true). It allows:

Selecting which variation groups apply to this product (multiselect dropdown)
Choosing specific variation values per group (via VariationGroupQuickActions)
Viewing/managing the product's variation group (modal with full group management)

Internal API Endpoints

Method	Action	Purpose
POST	`getVariationGroupProductsApi`	Get all products in a product's variation group
POST	`updateProductVariation`	Save variation value selections for a product
POST	`updateVariationGroupMaster`	Change master product in a group
POST	`getAllVariation`	Get all variation values with group info
POST	`getVariationGroupMui`	Get MUI names for a group
POST	`getVariationGroupName`	Get group name by product ID
POST	`getVariationGroupId`	Get group ID by product ID
POST	`getProductVariations`	Get variation data for multiple product IDs
POST	`deleteProductFromVariationGroup`	Remove product from its group
POST	`addVariationProductToGroup`	Add product to existing group, or create new group
POST	`batchActionMoveVariationValues`	Move variation values between groups
POST	`changeVariationGroupProductsPriority`	Reorder products within a group
POST	`batchActionMassDeleteValues`	Bulk delete variation values
POST	`updateProductVariationGroupNameMui`	Update group MUI names
POST	`updateProductStock`	Update stock for a product code (SKU)
POST	`getVariationByVariationValueId`	Lookup variation details by value ID

Validation Rules

All endpoints validate via CI form_validation. Responses follow sendOutput()/sendError() pattern:

Unauthorized (no admin session or missing role, checked before validation): {"error":"Unauthorized"} with 401
Success: {data} with 200
Validation error: {errors} with 400
Business rule violation: {error} with 422 (e.g., product already in another group, empty variation group names)

Area 5: Batch Product Assignment (Product Listing)

Controller: ecommercen/eshop/controllers/Adv_products_admin.php (batch update actions) View: application/views/admin/products/batch_update.php

Two batch actions on the product listing page:

Assign to Existing Group

Action: assign_products_to_variation_group

Admin selects products and chooses an existing variation group from dropdown
batchActionDropdown() provides the group combo (name + group_id from product_variations_mui)
Pre-check: if any selected product already belongs to a variation group, the entire batch is rejected with error message
batchAssignProductsToVariationGroup(): insert_batch into product_variations (all as non-master)

Assign to New Group

Action: assign_products_to_new_variation_group

Admin selects products, provides MUI group names per language
If any products are already in groups, manageExistingProductsInGroups() handles removal:
- If product is master and group has >1 member: auto-promotes another member, then removes
- If product is the only member: deletes entire group
- If product is non-master: just removes from group
batchAssignProductsToNewVariationGroup(): creates new group_id, inserts all products (first product becomes master), inserts MUI names

DTOs

Three DTOs in ecommercen/variations/DTO/ provide typed data transfer:

VariationGroupProductDTO: Represents a product within a variation group with its assigned variation values. Properties: id, product_id, group_id, variation_value_id, variation_group_id, variation_value_name, variation_group_name, is_master, priority.

VariationProductDTO: Represents a variation group with all its values for a product. Properties: variationGroupName, variationGroupId, variationDisplayType, variationGroupStep, variationGroupDisplayPosition, variationGroupOrder, variationGroupForceDisplayAllValues, variations[] (array of VariationValueDTO), variationProductVariationId, variationProductVariationGroupId.

VariationValueDTO: Represents a single variation value. Properties: variationId, variationName, variationDisplayValue, variationOrder.

Frontend Architecture (Admin Vue)

Variation Groups/Values Page

Entry point: assets/admin/js/variations/store/variations-page.js mounts the Vue app.

Component tree:

AdminVariationsPage
  ├── VariationGroupList     (list all groups, drag-to-reorder, click to open values)
  ├── VariationGroupForm     (add/edit group with display type, step, position, MUI names)
  ├── VariationValuesList    (list values for selected group, drag-to-reorder, batch actions)
  │   └── BatchAction
  │       ├── BatchActionMoveValueToAnotherGroup
  │       └── BatchActionMassDeleteValues
  └── VariationValuesForm    (add/edit value with display_value and MUI names)

Product Variation Group Page

Entry point: same variations-page.js, also mounts AdminProductVariationGroup.

Component tree:

AdminProductVariationGroup
  ├── AdminProductVariationGroupSearch     (product search to add)
  ├── AdminProductVariationGroupList       (product cards in group)
  │   └── AdminProductVariationGroupCard   (individual product with variation selectors)
  │       ├── AdminProductVariationGroupVariations  (variation value dropdowns)
  │       ├── AdminProductVariationGroupMaster      (master toggle)
  │       └── AdminProductVariationGroupActions     (remove, stock edit, priority)
  └── AdminProductVariationGroupInput      (hidden inputs for form submission)

Per-Product Variation (Product Edit Page)

Component: AdminVariationProductsPage.vue (mounted in product edit template). Uses Vuex stores: product (product store) and variation (variation store via variationStore.js).

Storefront Integration

Listing Behavior

ProductVariationsListingTrait (used by category/vendor/search controllers):

processProductsQueryForVariationMaster(): Filters product listings to show only master products; non-master variants are hidden
fillVariationMasterInfo(): Adds group name and member count to master product display
renderListingVariationGroupCombosJsonData(): Provides variation group combos for listing-level variation selectors

Filter Behavior

ProductVariationsListingTrait::initializeVariationFiltersJson():

Query string parameter per language: el -> προιοντα-με, en -> products-with
Registry setting VARIATIONS.MERGE_DUPLICATE_VALUES_BY_NAME controls whether values with identical names across groups are merged in filters
Active filters validated against all variation records; invalid combinations trigger 404

Product Page Behavior

ProductVariationsTrait::getVariationGroupProducts():

Retrieves all products in the same variation group
Merges live product data (prices, stock, images, URLs) via mergeProductVariationsWithLiveData()
Returns unique products with variation metadata for the Vue variation selector

Registry Settings

Group	Key	Purpose
`VARIATIONS`	`MERGE_DUPLICATE_VALUES_BY_NAME`	When true, variation values with the same name across groups are merged in filter display

Key Files Reference

Category	Path
Controllers	`ecommercen/variations/controllers/AdvVariationsAdminBase.php`
	`ecommercen/variations/controllers/AdvVariationsAdmin.php`
	`ecommercen/variations/controllers/AdvVariationsValuesAdmin.php`
	`ecommercen/variations/controllers/AdvVariationsProductsAdmin.php`
	`ecommercen/variations/controllers/AdvVariationsPageAdmin.php`
API Controller	`ecommercen/api/controllers/AdvApiVariationsController.php`
App Wrapper	`application/modules/api/controllers/Api_variations.php`
Models	`ecommercen/variations/models/AdvVariationGroupsModel.php`
	`ecommercen/variations/models/AdvVariationValuesModel.php`
	`ecommercen/variations/models/AdvVariationModel.php`
DTOs	`ecommercen/variations/DTO/VariationGroupProductDTO.php`
	`ecommercen/variations/DTO/VariationProductDTO.php`
	`ecommercen/variations/DTO/VariationValueDTO.php`
Helper	`ecommercen/variations/helpers/AdvVariationsHelper.php`
Traits	`ecommercen/eshop/traits/ProductVariationsTrait.php`
	`ecommercen/eshop/traits/ProductVariationsListingTrait.php`
Views	`application/views/admin/variations/vue.php`
	`application/views/admin/variations/list.php`
	`application/views/admin/variations/group.php`
	`application/views/admin/variations/group_create.php`
Vue (Groups/Values)	`assets/admin/js/variations/AdminVariationsPage.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/VariationGroupList.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/VariationGroupForm.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/VariationValuesList.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/VariationValuesForm.vue`
Vue (Batch Actions)	`assets/admin/js/variations/batchActions/BatchAction.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/batchActions/value/BatchActionMoveValueToAnotherGroup.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/batchActions/value/BatchActionMassDeleteValues.vue`
Vue (Product Groups)	`assets/admin/js/variations/productGroups/AdminProductVariationGroup.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/productGroups/AdminProductVariationGroupList.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/productGroups/AdminProductVariationGroupCard.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/productGroups/AdminProductVariationGroupSearch.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/productGroups/AdminProductVariationGroupMaster.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/productGroups/AdminProductVariationGroupActions.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/productGroups/AdminProductVariationGroupVariations.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/productGroups/AdminProductVariationGroupInput.vue`
Vue (Per-Product)	`assets/admin/js/products/variations/AdminVariationProductsPage.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/products/variations/ProductVariationInput.vue`
	`assets/admin/js/products/variations/VariationGroupQuickActions.vue`
Vuex Store	`assets/admin/js/variationStore.js`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/store/state.js`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/store/actions.js`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/store/mutations.js`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/store/getters.js`
	`assets/admin/js/variations/store/variations-page.js`
Routes	`application/config/routes.php` (lines 353-374, 578-581)
Config	`application/config/app.php` (`enableProductVariations`)
Admin Menu	`application/libraries/AdminMenu.php` (`parseProductVariationMenu`)

Known Issues & Security Gaps

~~Unauthenticated /api/variations/* exposure~~ — Fixed (#850). AdvApiVariationsController::_remap() now gates every routable method behind an admin session (ecommercen/api/controllers/AdvApiVariationsController.php:22-35): callers must be logged in and hold AUTH_ROLE_ADVISABLE, AUTH_ROLE_ADMIN or AUTH_ROLE_PRODUCTS (:40-52, else a 401 is sent), and _remap() returns a 404 when isDispatchableMethod() (:67-79) rejects the method (non-existent, _-prefixed, non-public, static, constructor or inherited CI_Controller method).

No open issues were found in this resync.

CF-25 Product Variations -- frontend variation selectors, filtering, SKU-level stock
AD-02 Product Management -- product edit form integration
AD-15 Attributes & Tags -- complementary product dimension system (attributes at SKU level vs. variations at product level)
AD-13 Settings -- enableProductVariations config and VARIATIONS.MERGE_DUPLICATE_VALUES_BY_NAME registry
SY-23 MUI Translation Pattern -- variation_groups_mui, variation_values_mui, and product_variations_mui companion tables store per-language names for each variation dimension

Product Variations Management (Admin) ​

Business Context ​

Database Schema ​

6 Tables ​

Feature Gate ​

Authorization ​

Area 1: Variation Groups (Dimension Types) ​

Display Types ​

Display Positions ​

CRUD Operations ​

Page Data Endpoint ​

Area 2: Variation Values (Options) ​

CRUD Operations ​

Batch Actions on Values ​

Area 3: Product Variation Groups ​

List Page ​

Create ​

Edit ​

Delete ​

Master Product Management ​

Area 4: Per-Product Variation Assignment (Product Edit Page) ​

Internal API Endpoints ​

Validation Rules ​

Area 5: Batch Product Assignment (Product Listing) ​

Assign to Existing Group ​

Assign to New Group ​

DTOs ​

Frontend Architecture (Admin Vue) ​

Variation Groups/Values Page ​

Product Variation Group Page ​

Per-Product Variation (Product Edit Page) ​

Storefront Integration ​

Listing Behavior ​

Filter Behavior ​

Product Page Behavior ​

Registry Settings ​

Key Files Reference ​

Known Issues & Security Gaps ​

Related Flows ​

Product Variations Management (Admin)

Business Context

Database Schema

6 Tables

Feature Gate

Authorization

Area 1: Variation Groups (Dimension Types)

Display Types

Display Positions

CRUD Operations

Page Data Endpoint

Area 2: Variation Values (Options)

CRUD Operations

Batch Actions on Values

Area 3: Product Variation Groups

List Page

Create

Edit

Delete

Master Product Management

Area 4: Per-Product Variation Assignment (Product Edit Page)

Internal API Endpoints

Validation Rules

Area 5: Batch Product Assignment (Product Listing)

Assign to Existing Group

Assign to New Group

DTOs

Frontend Architecture (Admin Vue)

Variation Groups/Values Page

Product Variation Group Page

Per-Product Variation (Product Edit Page)

Storefront Integration

Listing Behavior

Filter Behavior

Product Page Behavior

Registry Settings

Key Files Reference

Known Issues & Security Gaps

Related Flows