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  • Masonry Paid theme
  • By Clean Canvas
  • $220
  • Native swatches: product page only
  • Version 8.0.0

Color swatch guide

How to add color swatches to the Masonry theme.

Masonry is a paid Clean Canvas theme, $220 in the Theme Store and at version 8.0.0 (December 22, 2025) when we checked on October 23, 2026. That release added Shopify's native swatches on the product page only, through a Show swatches setting in the Variant picker block. Masonry's Theme Store page lists swatch filters but not color swatches, so plan collection pages around filters or an app.

Checked Masonry theme profile

Which route fits Masonry?

Route 1

Shopify's native swatches.

Native swatch support in Masonry from version 8.0.0.

  1. Update Masonry to 8.0.0

    Native swatch support arrived in Masonry 8.0.0 on December 22, 2025. Check your version in Online Store > Themes and update if you're behind.

  2. Give each product a category

    In Products, open a product and choose the most specific match in the Category field. Categories come from Shopify's Standard Product Taxonomy, and picking one adds that category's attributes to the product as category metafields. You want a category that lists Color (or a color attribute such as Frame color or Band color). If Color is missing under Category metafields, try a narrower category.

  3. Add the colors you sell

    Under Category metafields, open Color and select every color your variants come in. Each color is a reusable entry. You can rename an entry, set its exact hex value or upload a pattern image later in Content > Metaobjects, and the change shows everywhere that entry is used.

  4. Link the Color option to the metafield

    In the Variants section, add an option and pick Color from the suggestions so its values come from the entries you just chose. If the product already has a Color option, open it, use the connect icon beside the option name and choose the Color category metafield. Swatches only appear for options linked this way, so do this on every product you want swatches on in Masonry.

  5. Turn on Show swatches in the Variant picker

    In the theme editor, pick Products > Default product, select the Variant picker block and turn on Show swatches.

  6. Product cards: no swatch setting

    Clean Canvas documents Masonry's native swatches for the product page only. There's no product card swatch setting to turn on; see Collection pages below.

  7. Check it on a real product page

    Save, then open a product in a private browser window and on your phone. Click each swatch and confirm the price, photo and stock message change with it. If Masonry shows plain text buttons instead, go back to the linking step: the option is probably not linked to the Color category metafield yet.

Route 2

A swatch app.

Masonry's own swatches cover the product page, but Clean Canvas documents no product card swatches for Masonry. GLO Color Swatch Variant Image and Color Swatch Pug both list collection-page swatches, and OP Color Swatch Variant Images restyles the product-page picker with stock badges.

  1. Duplicate Masonry first

    In Online Store > Themes, open the menu beside Masonry and choose Duplicate. Set up the app on the copy, preview it, and publish the copy only when the swatches look right. Your live store keeps working while you test.

  2. Install the app and start its trial or free plan

    Install the app from the Shopify App Store and approve the access it asks for. Every app suggested on this page had a free plan, a free listing or a free trial of 7 to 30 days when we checked on October 23, 2026, so you can test before you pay.

  3. Switch on the app embed

    Open the theme editor on your copy (Online Store > Themes, then Customize or Edit theme), click the App embeds icon in the left sidebar, switch on the app's embed and click Save.

  4. Match each color name to a swatch

    In the app's own settings, give each color name a hex value or a small image. Apps read your option values as text, so Navy on one product and Navy Blue on another need two swatches. Tidy the names first and you only set each color once.

  5. Avoid two sets of swatches

    If the app replaces the product-page picker too, turn off Show swatches in Masonry's Variant picker block.

  6. Preview a product page and a collection page

    Use the theme editor preview, then a phone, to check both page types in Masonry. If the app adds collection-page swatches, click one on a product card and confirm the card's photo or link changes to that color.

Apps that fit Masonry

Swatch apps for Masonry, from each App Store listing on October 23, 2026
AppFromRatingWhat it does
GLO Color Swatch Variant Image $9.90/month 4.9 (1,906 reviews) A dedicated swatch app whose free plan already covers collection-page swatches and hiding sold-out options; image swatches start on the $9.90 Silver plan.
Color Swatch Pug $6.99/month 4.6 (55 reviews) One $6.99 monthly plan with a 14-day trial for color and pattern swatches on collection and product pages; it isn't Built for Shopify, and its listing still links to this site, which is independent of the publisher.
OP Color Swatch Variant Images $11.90/month 5.0 (802 reviews) Replaces your theme's text picker with color and image swatches plus stock badges; pricing follows your Shopify plan, from $11.90 a month.

Prices and ratings change often; check the listing before you install. This site is not affiliated with any of these publishers.

Alternatives: Swatchy (Color Swatches) has a free plan for one product, and option builders such as Globo Product Options and Aris Product Options include swatches alongside text fields and add-on prices. Prices and ratings are in the apps table on the color swatch guide hub.

Route 3

Editing the theme code.

You don't need to edit code for swatches in Masonry. Product-page swatches are a setting, and the missing card swatches are better added by an app or a swatch filter than by an edit you'd redo after updates.

Collection pages.

Masonry has no product card swatch setting. Its collection-page help covers swatches in filters, through Search & Discovery, so filters and apps are your two routes.

  1. Add color filters with swatches (optional)

    The Theme Store lists swatch filters for Masonry (checked October 23, 2026). Open the Search & Discovery app, go to Filters > Add filter, choose Color with the type Category metafield, then open Manage values and turn on Include swatch. For patterns, turn on Use images when available so the filter shows each entry's image.

  2. Or add an app for card swatches

    GLO Color Swatch Variant Image and Color Swatch Pug both list collection-page swatches. Test on a duplicate of Masonry first.

Masonry at a glance.

The theme's facts from the Shopify Theme Store and Clean Canvas' documentation, checked October 23, 2026. Anything we could not confirm says so.

Full Masonry profile Check images against Masonry's sizes
Masonry: theme facts
Theme Masonry
Vendor Clean Canvas
Price $220 One-time license price in the Shopify Theme Store, in US dollars, checked October 23, 2026.
Free or paid Paid
Where it is sold Shopify Theme Store
Status Current theme
Online Store 2.0 Yes
Current version 8.0.0 (December 22, 2025)
Native color swatches Product page only From version 8.0.0.
Variant picker block Variant picker
Swatch setting Theme editor > Products > Default product > Variant picker block > Show swatches
Swatches on product cards No setting documented
Theme Store swatch features Swatch filters, combined listings
Swatch documentation Clean Canvas' documentation
Last checked October 23, 2026

Swatch problems on Masonry, and fixes.

  • Swatches not showing

    Work through three checks in order: the product has a category that includes Color, its Color option is linked to the Color category metafield, and the swatch setting is on in Masonry. In Masonry, that's Show swatches in the Variant picker block, on version 8.0.0 or later. Swatches won't appear on product cards, because Masonry doesn't offer them there.

  • Wrong colors

    A native swatch takes its color from the entry in Content > Metaobjects, not from the color's name. Open the entry, correct the hex value and save, and every product linked to it updates at once. If two products show different shades of the same color, they're probably linked to two separate entries, so point both at one.

  • Pattern or image swatches

    Upload a square image to the color's entry. Crop it to the fabric or finish itself rather than a product photo, because at swatch size a busy photo turns into a blur. Multicolor has no preset hex value, so it always needs an image. Clean Canvas states no pixel sizes for Masonry; keep swatch images small.

  • Out-of-stock variants

    How a sold-out color looks is decided by the variant picker in Masonry, so test it: set one color to zero stock and open the product. If you'd rather hide sold-out colors completely, Color Swatch Pug and GLO Color Swatch Variant Image both list that option (checked October 23, 2026).

  • Speed

    Native swatches are drawn by Masonry itself, so they add no app script to your pages. A hex swatch costs nothing extra to load; an image swatch adds one small image per color, so keep those files small. The swatch loading speed guide shows how to measure a collection page before and after a change.

Masonry swatch questions.

Does Masonry support native color swatches?

Yes, on the product page, from version 8.0.0 (December 22, 2025). Clean Canvas's release note describes it as product-page support, so collection cards don't get swatches from the theme.

Why doesn't the Theme Store list color swatches for Masonry?

We don't know; on October 23, 2026 Masonry's listing showed swatch filters but not the color swatches tag. Clean Canvas's own docs and release notes confirm product-page swatches, so the tag may lag behind.

How do I get swatches on Masonry collection pages?

Use swatch filters from Search & Discovery, or an app that adds swatches under product cards. Masonry has no product card swatch setting.

Where is the swatch setting in Masonry?

In the theme editor, open Products > Default product, select the Variant picker block and turn on Show swatches.

What image sizes does Masonry need?

Clean Canvas's image FAQ for Masonry states no pixel sizes. For product photos, upload large, consistent images; for swatch images, a small square crop of the pattern is enough.

Related guides and tools.

Themes like Masonry

About this page

This page replaces "CSP App setup for Masonry Theme", a guide published March 26, 2018 on this domain for an earlier version of the Color Swatch Pug app. The domain changed hands in September 2026, and the old guide's manual code steps no longer apply to the app.

Checked

Sources

Make the swatch files.

Turn your colors into hex values, swatch images and a printable sheet, ready for Shopify.

Open the swatch generator All theme guides