Configurable Products

Configurable vs Simple

Simple Product:
  TSHIRT-BLUE-L → Single SKU, one variant

Configurable Product:
  TSHIRT → Parent product (no stock)
    ├── TSHIRT-BLUE-L → Child (simple product)
    ├── TSHIRT-BLUE-M → Child (simple product)
    ├── TSHIRT-RED-L  → Child (simple product)
    └── TSHIRT-RED-M  → Child (simple product)

Configurable Product Structure

-- Parent configurable product
SELECT entity_id, sku, type_id
FROM catalog_product_entity
WHERE entity_id = 100;
+-----------+--------+--------------+
| entity_id | sku    | type_id      |
+-----------+--------+--------------+
|       100 | TSHIRT | configurable |
+-----------+--------+--------------+

-- Child simple products
SELECT entity_id, sku, type_id
FROM catalog_product_entity
WHERE entity_id IN (101, 102, 103, 104);
+-----------+---------------+--------+
| entity_id | sku           | type_id|
+-----------+---------------+--------+
|       101 | TSHIRT-BLUE-L | simple |
|       102 | TSHIRT-BLUE-M | simple |
|       103 | TSHIRT-RED-L  | simple |
|       104 | TSHIRT-RED-M  | simple |
+-----------+---------------+--------+

Link Table

-- catalog_product_super_attribute (configurable attributes)
SELECT * FROM catalog_product_super_attribute WHERE product_id = 100;
+----------+------------+---------------+------------+
| product_id | attribute_id | position    | label      |
+----------+------------+---------------+------------+
|      100 |         92 |             1 | Color      |
|      100 |        136 |             2 | Size       |
+----------+------------+---------------+------------+

-- catalog_product_super_link (parent-child)
SELECT * FROM catalog_product_super_link WHERE parent_id = 100;
+----------+------------+
| parent_id | product_id |
+----------+------------+
|      100 |        101 |
|      100 |        102 |
|      100 |        103 |
|      100 |        104 |
+----------+------------+

Creating Configurable Product

// Create configurable product
$configurableProduct = $objectManager->get(
    \Magento\Catalog\Model\ProductFactory::class
)->create();

$configurableProduct->setName('T-Shirt')
    ->setSku('TSHIRT')
    ->setPrice(29.99)
    ->setStatus(1)
    ->setVisibility(4)
    ->setAttributeSetId(4)
    ->setTypeId('configurable')
    ->save();

// Create configurable attributes
$configurableProduct = $objectManager->get(
    \Magento\Catalog\Model\Product\Configurable\Factory::class
)->create();

$configurableOptions = [
    [
        'attribute_id' => 92,  // color attribute
        'code' => 'color',
        'label' => 'Color',
        'position' => 1,
        'values' => [
            ['value_index' => 10, 'label' => 'Blue'],
            ['value_index' => 14, 'label' => 'Red'],
        ]
    ],
    [
        'attribute_id' => 136, // size attribute
        'code' => 'size',
        'label' => 'Size',
        'position' => 2,
        'values' => [
            ['value_index' => 166, 'label' => 'L'],
            ['value_index' => 167, 'label' => 'M'],
        ]
    ]
];

$configurableProduct->setConfigurableOptions($configurableOptions);
$configurableProduct->save();

Add Child Products

// Create child products
$childProducts = [
    ['sku' => 'TSHIRT-BLUE-L', 'color' => 10, 'size' => 166],
    ['sku' => 'TSHIRT-BLUE-M', 'color' => 10, 'size' => 167],
    ['sku' => 'TSHIRT-RED-L', 'color' => 14, 'size' => 166],
    ['sku' => 'TSHIRT-RED-M', 'color' => 14, 'size' => 167],
];

foreach ($childProducts as $childData) {
    $child = $objectManager->get(
        \Magento\Catalog\Model\ProductFactory::class
    )->create();

    $child->setName('T-Shirt ' . $childData['color'] . ' ' . $childData['size'])
        ->setSku($childData['sku'])
        ->setPrice(29.99)
        ->setStatus(1)
        ->setVisibility(1) // Not visible individually
        ->setAttributeSetId(4)
        ->setTypeId('simple')
        ->setStockData(['qty' => 50, 'is_in_stock' => 1])
        ->save();

    // Link to parent
    $link = $objectManager->get(
        \Magento\ConfigurableProduct\Model\LinkFactory::class
    )->create();
    $link->setProductId($child->getId())
        ->setParentId($configurableProduct->getId())
        ->setPosition(0)
        ->save();
}

Price Configuration

// Configurable product price (base)
$configurableProduct->setPrice(29.99);

// Child product prices (can differ)
$child->setPrice(29.99); // Same as parent
// Or different:
$child->setPrice(34.99); // Premium variant

// Special price on parent
$configurableProduct->setSpecialPrice(24.99);

// Special price on child
$child->setSpecialPrice(27.99);

Price Index

-- Price index includes all combinations
SELECT * FROM catalog_product_index_price 
WHERE entity_id IN (100, 101, 102, 103, 104) 
AND customer_group_id = 0 AND website_id = 1;
+-----------+-------------------+-----------+-------+-------+--------+
| entity_id | customer_group_id | website_id | price | final_price | min_price |
+-----------+-------------------+-----------+-------+-------+--------+
|       100 |                 0 |         1 | 29.99 |    29.99 |    29.99 |
|       101 |                 0 |         1 | 29.99 |    29.99 |    29.99 |
|       102 |                 0 |         1 | 29.99 |    29.99 |    29.99 |
|       103 |                 0 |         1 | 34.99 |    34.99 |    34.99 |
|       104 |                 0 |         1 | 34.99 |    34.99 |    34.99 |
+-----------+-------------------+-----------+-------+-------+--------+

Price Display

// Get configurable product price range
$priceInfo = $configurableProduct->getPriceInfo();
$minPrice = $priceInfo->getPrice('final_price')->getMinimalPrice();
$maxPrice = $priceInfo->getPrice('final_price')->getMaximalPrice();

// Get price for specific option
$optionPrice = $priceInfo->getPrice('final_price')->getValue();

// Display price range on frontend
// $29.99 - $34.99

Stock Configuration

// Configurable product stock (not tracked)
$configurableProduct->setStockData([
    'use_config_manage_stock' => 1,
    'is_in_stock' => 1,  // Based on children
    'manage_stock' => 0, // Don't manage parent stock
]);

// Child product stock (tracked)
$child->setStockData([
    'qty' => 50,
    'is_in_stock' => 1,
    'manage_stock' => 1,
]);

Stock Status Logic

Configurable product is in stock if:
  ✓ At least ONE child product is in stock

Configurable product is out of stock if:
  ✗ ALL child products are out of stock

Example:
  TSHIRT-BLUE-L: qty=50 (in stock)
  TSHIRT-BLUE-M: qty=0 (out of stock)
  TSHIRT-RED-L: qty=0 (out of stock)
  TSHIRT-RED-M: qty=25 (in stock)

  → TSHIRT (configurable) is IN STOCK

Stock Index

-- Check stock status for configurable
SELECT entity_id, is_salable
FROM cataloginventory_stock_status
WHERE product_id = 100;
+-----------+-----------+
| product_id | is_salable |
+-----------+-----------+
|       100 |         1 |
+-----------+-----------+

-- Check child stock
SELECT product_id, qty, is_salable
FROM cataloginventory_stock_status
WHERE product_id IN (101, 102, 103, 104);
+-----------+------+-----------+
| product_id | qty  | is_salable |
+-----------+------+-----------+
|       101 |   50 |         1 |
|       102 |    0 |         0 |
|       103 |    0 |         0 |
|       104 |   25 |         1 |
+-----------+------+-----------+

Best Practices

1. Create simple products first, then configurable
2. Set child visibility to 1 (not visible individually)
3. Use meaningful SKUs for variants
4. Manage stock on child products
5. Set appropriate prices per variant
6. Test all option combinations
7. Use swatch attributes for visual selection