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Categories in Meneja give you a way to organize products so that shoppers can browse and find what they need on the storefront. You can create a flat list of categories or build a multi-level hierarchy by assigning a parent_id to any category — making it a subcategory of another. Each category also has an is_active toggle that controls whether it appears on the storefront without requiring you to delete it.

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Category fields

Each category record contains the following fields:
The slug is automatically derived from the name when you create a category and leave the slug field blank. If you edit the slug manually, the auto-generation stops for that session so your custom value is preserved.

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Hierarchical categories with parent_id

Setting parent_id on a category makes it a child of another category. This lets you build multi-level category trees — for example:
  • Electronics (top-level, parent_id is empty)
    • Phones (parent_id = Electronics)
    • Laptops (parent_id = Electronics)
There is no hard limit on nesting depth, but keep hierarchies shallow enough for shoppers to navigate comfortably. A category cannot be set as its own parent.
In the category table, the Parent Category column resolves the parent_id to its display name automatically. If the parent category is deleted or unavailable, the column shows a dash.

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Creating a category

1

Open the Categories page

Navigate to Categories in the sidebar. Click New Category (or the equivalent create button) to open the category form.
2

Fill in the required fields

Enter a Name (required, minimum 2 characters) and a Slug (required, minimum 2 characters). The slug auto-populates as you type the name — you can leave it as-is or customize it.
3

Add optional details

Optionally add a Description, select a Parent Category from the dropdown to nest this category under another, and upload an Image to represent the category visually.
4

Set the active state

Use the Active toggle to control whether the category is visible on the storefront immediately. It defaults to active (true).
5

Save the category

Submit the form. The new category appears in the category table and is immediately available for assignment to products.

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Editing a category

To edit an existing category, open the row actions menu (the ⋯ icon) next to the category in the table and select Edit. The same form used for creation opens pre-filled with the current values. Update any fields and save. The slug field is editable — changing it will update the category’s URL path on the storefront.
Changing a category’s slug after products have been published may affect storefront URLs. Ensure any links or SEO references to the old slug are updated accordingly.

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Toggling a category’s active state

You can activate or deactivate a category without deleting it. In the row actions menu, select Activate or Deactivate depending on the current state. The is_active field is updated immediately and the category table reflects the new status with a badge.
Use is_active: false to temporarily hide a category during seasonal transitions or catalog restructuring without losing the category’s configuration or its associated products.

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Deleting a category

To permanently remove a category, open the row actions menu and select Delete. A confirmation dialog appears before the deletion is committed. Deleting a category does not automatically remove products assigned to it — products retain their category_ids references and must be updated separately if needed.
Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone. Consider deactivating the category instead if you may need it again in the future.