> ## Knowledge Base Index
> Fetch the complete knowledge base index at: https://help.pricer24.com/sitemap.xml
> Use this file to discover available pages before exploring further.
> Pure-Markdown content can be obtained by appending a '.md' suffix to the content URLs listed in the sitemap (without the trailing slash).

# Main catalog and virtual catalog: what they are and how they differ

**Catalogs** are your databases that contain product information. 
Each account can have several catalogs, which can be **created and updated manually or automatically**.

Pricer24 supports two types of catalogs: main and virtual.

# Main catalog

* Contains** your current products.**
* Loaded **manually** or through **automatic updates**, such as via API or file.
* Used as the source of truth for matching and price update processes.
* Acts as the central point for working with your data.

**Actions available in the catalog:**

| **Розділ** | **Опис** |
| **Basic information** | Product data: name, brand, code, etc. |
| **Prices** | Prices from contractors matched with the product. |
| **Duplicates / Analogs** | Checking and merging identical products; searching for analogs. |
| **Tags** | Labels for categorizing products (${color}[#000000](more information about tags) [here](https://help.pricer24.com/en/article/product-tags-1gq6ecr/)). |
| **Operations** | Checking whether operations have been created for the product. |
| **Contractor links** | A link to the product can be added manually if automatic parsing is unavailable. |
| **Masks** | Additional product attributes, such as barcode or series code, are used for automatic matching. |
| **Settings** | Additional settings for product display and processing. |

# Virtual catalog

* Allows information about **products that are not in your catalog but are available from contractors** to be stored manually.
* Populated **manually**: usually by an analyst or through import.
* Not updated automatically from external sources.
* Used for comparative analysis, price monitoring, and expanding the matching team's area of responsibility.

### What it is used for:

* Monitoring products that are not yet in your assortment.
* Creating conditions for future matching with contractors.
* Collecting market data beyond the main catalog.