shopify-app-dev

Shopify App Development

Expert guidance for building custom Shopify apps using Shopify CLI, modern frameworks, and best practices.

When to Use This Skill

Invoke this skill when:

• Creating custom Shopify apps with Shopify CLI
• Setting up app development environment
• Implementing OAuth authentication for apps
• Building app extensions (admin blocks, theme app extensions)
• Creating admin UI components and pages
• Working with Hydrogen or Remix for headless storefronts
• Deploying apps to Cloudflare Workers or other platforms
• Integrating third-party APIs with Shopify
• Creating app proxies for custom functionality
• Implementing app billing and subscription plans
• Building public or custom apps

Core Capabilities

1. Shopify CLI Setup

Install and configure Shopify CLI for app development.

Install Shopify CLI:

# Using npm
npm install -g @shopify/cli @shopify/app

# Using Homebrew (macOS)
brew tap shopify/shopify
brew install shopify-cli

# Verify installation
shopify version

Create New App:

# Create app with Node.js/React
shopify app init

# Choose template:
# - Remix (recommended)
# - Node.js + React
# - PHP
# - Ruby

# App structure created:
my-app/
├── app/                    # Remix app routes
├── extensions/             # App extensions
├── shopify.app.toml       # App configuration
├── package.json
└── README.md

App Configuration (shopify.app.toml):

# This file stores app configuration

name = "my-app"
client_id = "your-client-id"
application_url = "https://your-app.com"
embedded = true

[access_scopes]
# API access scopes
scopes = "write_products,read_orders,read_customers"

[auth]
redirect_urls = [
  "https://your-app.com/auth/callback",
  "https://your-app.com/auth/shopify/callback"
]

[webhooks]
api_version = "2025-10"

[[webhooks.subscriptions]]
topics = ["products/create", "products/update"]
uri = "/webhooks"

2. Development Workflow

Start Development Server:

# Start dev server with tunneling
shopify app dev

# Server starts with:
# - Local development URL: http://localhost:3000
# - Public tunnel URL: https://random-subdomain.ngrok.io
# - App installed in development store

Deploy App:

# Deploy to production
shopify app deploy

# Generate app version and deploy extensions

Environment Variables (.env):

SHOPIFY_API_KEY=your_api_key
SHOPIFY_API_SECRET=your_api_secret
SCOPES=write_products,read_orders
HOST=your-app-domain.com
SHOPIFY_APP_URL=https://your-app.com
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://...

3. App Architecture (Remix)

Modern Shopify app using Remix framework.

app/routes/app._index.jsx (Home Page):

import { useLoaderData } from "@remix-run/react";
import { authenticate } from "../shopify.server";
import {
  Page,
  Layout,
  Card,
  DataTable,
  Button,
} from "@shopify/polaris";

export async function loader({ request }) {
  const { admin, session } = await authenticate.admin(request);

  // Fetch products using GraphQL
  const response = await admin.graphql(`
    query {
      products(first: 10) {
        edges {
          node {
            id
            title
            handle
            status
          }
        }
      }
    }
  `);

  const { data } = await response.json();

  return {
    products: data.products.edges.map(e => e.node),
    shop: session.shop,
  };
}

export default function Index() {
  const { products, shop } = useLoaderData();

  const rows = products.map((product) => [
    product.title,
    product.handle,
    product.status,
  ]);

  return (
    <Page title="Products">
      <Layout>
        <Layout.Section>
          <Card>
            <DataTable
              columnContentTypes={["text", "text", "text"]}
              headings={["Title", "Handle", "Status"]}
              rows={rows}
            />
          </Card>
        </Layout.Section>
      </Layout>
    </Page>
  );
}

app/routes/app.product.$id.jsx (Product Detail):

import { json } from "@remix-run/node";
import { useLoaderData, useSubmit } from "@remix-run/react";
import { authenticate } from "../shopify.server";
import {
  Page,
  Layout,
  Card,
  Form,
  FormLayout,
  TextField,
  Button,
} from "@shopify/polaris";
import { useState } from "react";

export async function loader({ request, params }) {
  const { admin } = await authenticate.admin(request);

  const response = await admin.graphql(`
    query GetProduct($id: ID!) {
      product(id: $id) {
        id
        title
        description
        status
        vendor
      }
    }
  `, {
    variables: { id: `gid://shopify/Product/${params.id}` },
  });

  const { data } = await response.json();

  return json({ product: data.product });
}

export async function action({ request, params }) {
  const { admin } = await authenticate.admin(request);

  const formData = await request.formData();
  const title = formData.get("title");
  const description = formData.get("description");

  const response = await admin.graphql(`
    mutation UpdateProduct($input: ProductInput!) {
      productUpdate(input: $input) {
        product {
          id
          title
        }
        userErrors {
          field
          message
        }
      }
    }
  `, {
    variables: {
      input: {
        id: `gid://shopify/Product/${params.id}`,
        title,
        description,
      },
    },
  });

  const { data } = await response.json();

  if (data.productUpdate.userErrors.length > 0) {
    return json({ errors: data.productUpdate.userErrors }, { status: 400 });
  }

  return json({ success: true });
}

export default function ProductDetail() {
  const { product } = useLoaderData();
  const submit = useSubmit();

  const [title, setTitle] = useState(product.title);
  const [description, setDescription] = useState(product.description);

  const handleSubmit = () => {
    const formData = new FormData();
    formData.append("title", title);
    formData.append("description", description);

    submit(formData, { method: "post" });
  };

  return (
    <Page title="Edit Product" backAction={{ url: "/app" }}>
      <Layout>
        <Layout.Section>
          <Card>
            <FormLayout>
              <TextField
                label="Title"
                value={title}
                onChange={setTitle}
                autoComplete="off"
              />
              <TextField
                label="Description"
                value={description}
                onChange={setDescription}
                multiline={4}
                autoComplete="off"
              />
              <Button primary onClick={handleSubmit}>
                Save
              </Button>
            </FormLayout>
          </Card>
        </Layout.Section>
      </Layout>
    </Page>
  );
}

4. App Extensions

Extend Shopify functionality with various extension types.

Admin Action Extension:

Create button in admin product page:

shopify app generate extension

# Choose: Admin action
# Name: Export Product

extensions/export-product/src/index.jsx:

import { extend, AdminAction } from "@shopify/admin-ui-extensions";

extend("Admin::Product::SubscriptionAction", (root, { data }) => {
  const { id, title } = data.selected[0];

  const button = root.createComponent(AdminAction, {
    title: "Export Product",
    onPress: async () => {
      // Call your app API
      const response = await fetch("/api/export", {
        method: "POST",
        body: JSON.stringify({ productId: id }),
        headers: { "Content-Type": "application/json" },
      });

      if (response.ok) {
        root.toast.show("Product exported successfully!");
      } else {
        root.toast.show("Export failed", { isError: true });
      }
    },
  });

  root.append(button);
});

Theme App Extension:

Add app block to themes:

shopify app generate extension

# Choose: Theme app extension
# Name: Product Reviews
`