# How to switch Magento v2 to use a flat catalog

> Enable the Flat Catalog feature in Magento 2 to consolidate product and category data into simpler tables for faster queries.

Source: https://www.kualo.com/knowledgebase/magento-performance/how-to-switch-magento-v2-to-use-a-flat-catalog
Updated: 2026-06-09

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Magento uses the Entity-Attribute-Value (EAV) model to store customer, product, and category data, spreading attributes across multiple tables. This can make SQL queries long and complex. The Flat Catalog feature creates consolidated tables where each row contains all the data about a product or category, which can noticeably improve storefront performance.

## Enabling flat catalog

1. In the Magento Admin, go to **Stores > Settings > Configuration**.
2. In the left-hand menu, select **Catalog > Catalog**.
3. Expand the **Storefront** section.
4. Set both **Use Flat Catalog Category** and **Use Flat Catalog Product** to **Yes**.
5. Click **Save Config**.

![Flat Catalog settings in Magento 2 admin](https://kb-cdn.kualo.com/44/89/4489caa801220a73656f38bac3f33ef767ef22ca.png)

![Flat Catalog configuration walkthrough](https://kb-cdn.kualo.com/f6/fc/f6fc19d117fd67aebcf45bda3b664045b4fc8fc0.gif)

When prompted to clear the cache, click **Cache Management** and flush the cache.

## Verifying the results

Once you have enabled flat catalog and flushed the cache, use one of the methods below to confirm the change is working.

### Method 1: verify for a single product

1. In the Admin Dashboard, go to **Products > Catalog**.
2. Choose a product, then open it in edit mode via **Actions > Edit**.
3. In the **Product Name** field, append `_DEMO` to the name.
4. Click **Save**.
5. In a new browser tab, go to your store's home page.
6. Search for the product you edited, or browse to its assigned category.

If the change does not appear immediately, refresh the page. Updates will show within a minute or according to your cron job schedule.

### Method 2: verify for multiple products

1. In the Admin Dashboard, go to **Products > Categories**.
2. In the upper-left corner, set the store view to **All Store Views**.
3. In the left-hand panel, select an existing category, then click **Add Subcategory**.
4. In the **Category Name** field, enter `Test Category`.
5. Set **Enable Category** to **Yes**.
6. Click **Save Category**.

![Adding a test subcategory in Magento 2](https://kb-cdn.kualo.com/59/39/59397af8ab78322fd2a609ed18d15538cf04c1be.png)

7. Click the **Products in Category** tab, then click **Reset Filter** to display all products.

![Products in Category tab with Reset Filter](https://kb-cdn.kualo.com/85/56/8556f1a309ff6942d20bcafebe6b79cf6f4be3a4.png)

8. Select the checkboxes of several products to add them to the new category, then click **Save Category**.
9. In a new browser tab, navigate to your store's home page and find the category you created.

If the change does not appear immediately, refresh the page. Updates will show within a minute or according to your cron job schedule.

:::tip
Flat catalog works best on stores with large product catalogues. On smaller stores the performance benefit may be minimal.
:::

If you need any further help, please [contact us](https://www.kualo.com/company/contact).

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_Source: Kualo Knowledgebase — https://www.kualo.com/knowledgebase/magento-performance/how-to-switch-magento-v2-to-use-a-flat-catalog · © Kualo Ltd._