This original M2City walkthrough uses the free NPC Shop Builder. Editing is free; export through the server requires a free account. Persistent storage is separate. Use a test shop and inspect the result before changing a game database.
Create a two-item example
Open the editor from the tool page. Set Name to m2city_demo, Shop VNUM to 91001 and NPC VNUM to 9001. These are illustrative IDs, not reservations in your server. Check your own data before adopting any ID.
Choose Clear items if the current shop contains sample rows. Enter Slot 0, Item 27001, Count 1 and Price 50, then Add / update item. Add Slot 1, Item 27002, Count 2 and Price 100. If the grid warns about an overlap, inspect item size in your own proto and choose a valid free slot; the example assumes single-cell items.
Import item_name.txt and item_proto.txt together if you want names and size references from your branch. A familiar icon is not proof that the item exists in the deployed server.
Selected shop or whole collection?
Export selected includes only the active shop. Export collection includes every shop in the collection. Review the collection list before exporting, especially after using Duplicate. Use distinct shop IDs for different definitions.
Read the ZIP before running anything
The current exporter writes shop.txt, shop_item.txt and shop.sql. For the two rows above, the tab-separated item data is:
91001 27001 1 50 0
91001 27002 2 100 1Spaces are used above for readability. The file uses tabs, in the order shop VNUM, item VNUM, count, price, slot. The SQL targets shop(vnum, npc_vnum, name) and shop_item(shop_vnum, item_vnum, count, price, slot).
Compatibility checkpoint
Compare those columns with your actual schema and shop loader. Some branches use different shop formats or pricing rules; this export is not a universal installer. The generated SQL contains INSERT statements, not an idempotent migration. Re-importing it can cause duplicate rows or key errors. Back up the affected data and test a reviewed adaptation on a staging copy first. Do not change production tables merely to match the exporter.
What remains to test in your game
Verify the NPC opens the intended shop, both item IDs exist, count and price match, and the transaction changes the correct currency and inventory amounts. Test insufficient funds and full inventory. Those game checks have not been performed by M2City for your branch.
Share a useful result
Reply in this discussion with your branch/revision, the relevant schema column names, the expected shop and the actual result. Include a tiny invented example if the format differs. No database credentials or full server archive are needed. This guide is based on M2City's current editor and exporter, not a copied third-party tutorial.