Glossary · Amazon
Amazon image variant codes (MAIN, PT01, SWCH…)
Amazon image variant codes are the labels, such as MAIN, PT01 and SWCH, that tell Amazon which slot an uploaded image fills: the main image, an additional image or a colour swatch.
Sellers meet variant codes when they upload images in bulk rather than one at a time in Seller Central. The code sits in the file name after the product identifier, for example an ASIN followed by .MAIN.jpg, and Amazon uses it to decide where the file goes on the detail page.
MAIN is the first image and carries the strictest rules: a pure white background (RGB 255, 255, 255), the product filling 85% of the frame, the whole product shown once, and no mannequins. The PT codes, PT01, PT02 and onwards, are the additional gallery images, where lifestyle scenes, close-ups and infographics belong. SWCH is the swatch, the small image shoppers see when they pick a colour or pattern; Amazon's rules keep text and pricing details off swatch images.
Amazon recommends at least six images and one video, so a complete set normally uses MAIN plus several PT slots. Planning the order before export saves re-uploads: the main image first, then the angles that answer the most common questions, then context and detail.
The costly mistakes are labelling ones. A lifestyle shot accidentally named MAIN will fail the white-background rule. A swatch cut from a full product photo, rather than a close crop of the colour or material, is too small to read. A swatch made by recolouring another variant can show a colour the buyer will not receive.
PicBarn's gallery pack keeps your own photo first, which is the file to label MAIN when you upload.
See also
- Main imageThe main image is the first photo in a product listing, the one buyers see in search results, and on most marketplaces it must show the real product alone on a plain white background.
- Gallery image (secondary image)A gallery image is any listing photo after the main image, used for other angles, details, scale, lifestyle scenes and infographics, and held to looser rules than the first slot.
- ColourwayA colourway is one of the colour combinations a product is made in, such as a trainer in black and white or in red and navy, and each one usually needs its own accurate photos and swatch.
Related
- Amazon image requirements checkerFree: upload an image, see which marketplace rules it passes.
- Amazon main image rules: pure white background, 2000 px, and how to pass themThe Amazon main-image requirements in plain language — white background, product fill, size — and the fastest way to produce a compliant image plus lifestyle gallery shots.