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

# Image Import Best Practices

> Guidelines and requirements for importing and managing product images.

To ensure that product images load consistently and are available for merchant review and approval, fabric requires that all imported images meet specific hosting, accessibility, and performance criteria.

These guidelines help prevent broken images, reduce delays in image rendering, and maintain a smooth experience throughout the Dropship onboarding and approval workflow.

## Public Accessibility

* Images must be hosted at a **publicly accessible URL** that links **directly to the image file** (ending in `.jpg`, `.png`, `.webp`, etc.).

* The image must **not** require authentication, tokens, cookies, or temporary access keys to load.

## Source Image Availability

* Images **should remain hosted and accessible** for the duration of the merchant approval process.

* Removing or changing the hosted image before approval may result in failed image loading or review delays.

## Performance Constraints

* Images must be hosted on a server capable of being fetched by fabric **within 60 seconds**.

* Any image that exceeds this limit may appear **“broken”** or display a **gray placeholder box** in the Dropship UI.

* Image file size must be **250 MB or less**.

* Larger files will fail to load or may exceed the download-time threshold.

## Supported Link Types

fabric supports a variety of direct-hosting sources, including (but not limited to):

* **Shopify-hosted image URLs**
* **Dropbox direct links**
* **Salsify image URLs**
* **Cloudinary image URLs**

These sources reliably provide direct-access image URLs that meet visibility and download requirements.

## Unsupported Link Types

The following hosting sources **cannot** be used, as they do not provide stable, publicly accessible direct image URLs:

* **Google Drive links**

Google Drive URLs typically require access tokens, session authentication, or structured redirects, making them incompatible with Dropship ingestion.

## Summary

To ensure successful image ingestion:

* Use **public, direct-access image URLs**.
* Ensure the image **remains hosted** during the approval window.
* Keep files **≤ 250 MB** with **download times ≤ 60 seconds**.
* Use **supported hosting providers** such as Shopify, Dropbox, Salsify, or Cloudinary.

Following these guidelines helps ensure images load reliably within the fabric Dropship platform and are available for merchants to review without delays.