Shopify Setup

Shopify Setup

Set up working Shopify CLI authentication and Admin API access for a store. Produces a verified API connection ready for product and content management.

Workflow

Step 1: Check Prerequisites

Verify the Shopify CLI is installed:

shopify version

If not installed:

npm install -g @shopify/cli

Step 2: Authenticate with the Store

shopify auth login --store mystore.myshopify.com

This opens a browser for OAuth. The user must be a store owner or staff member with appropriate permissions.

After login, verify:

shopify store info

Step 3: Create a Custom App for API Access

Custom apps provide stable Admin API access tokens (unlike CLI session tokens which expire).

Check if an app already exists: Ask the user if they have a custom app set up. If yes, skip to Step 4.

If no custom app exists, guide the user through creation via browser:

1. Navigate to https://{store}.myshopify.com/admin/settings/apps/development 2. Click Create an app 3. Name it (e.g. "Claude Code Integration") 4. Click Configure Admin API scopes 5. Enable these scopes (see references/api-scopes.md for details):

• read_products, write_products
• read_content, write_content
• read_product_listings
• read_inventory, write_inventory
• read_files, write_files

6. Click Save then Install app 7. Copy the Admin API access token (shown only once)

Use browser automation (Chrome MCP or playwright-cli) if the user prefers assistance navigating the admin.

Step 4: Store the Access Token

Store the token securely. Never commit it to git.

For project use — create .dev.vars:

SHOPIFY_STORE=mystore.myshopify.com
SHOPIFY_ACCESS_TOKEN=shpat_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ensure .dev.vars is in .gitignore.

For cross-project use — store in your preferred secrets manager (environment variable, 1Password CLI, etc.).

Step 5: Verify API Access

Test the connection with a simple GraphQL query:

curl -s https://{store}.myshopify.com/admin/api/2025-01/graphql.json \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "X-Shopify-Access-Token: {token}" \
  -d '{"query": "{ shop { name primaryDomain { url } } }"}' | jq .

Expected response includes the shop name and domain. If you get a 401, the token is invalid or expired — recreate the app.

Step 6: Save Store Config

Create a shopify.config.json in the project root for other skills to reference:

{
  "store": "mystore.myshopify.com",
  "apiVersion": "2025-01",
  "tokenSource": ".dev.vars"
}

---

Critical Patterns

API Version

Always specify an explicit API version (e.g. 2025-01). Using unstable in production will break without warning. Shopify retires API versions quarterly.

Token Types

This skill sets up Admin API access tokens — the right choice for product and content management.

Rate Limits

Shopify uses a leaky bucket rate limiter:

• REST: 40 requests/second burst, 2/second sustained
• GraphQL: 1,000 cost points per second, max 2,000 points per query

For bulk operations, use the bulkOperationRunQuery mutation instead of looping.

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Reference Files

• references/api-scopes.md — Admin API scopes needed for product and content management

Shopify Admin API Scopes

Scopes needed for product and content management via the Admin API.

Required Scopes

Product Management

Content Management

File Management

Optional Scopes

Add these if needed for extended workflows:

Scope Selection by Task