shopify-reference-architecture

Shopify Reference Architecture

Overview

Production-ready architecture based on Shopify's official Remix app template. Covers project structure, session storage with Prisma, extension architecture, and the recommended app patterns.

Prerequisites

• Understanding of Remix framework basics
• Shopify CLI 3.x installed
• Familiarity with Prisma ORM

Instructions

Step 1: Official Project Structure (Remix Template)

my-shopify-app/
├── app/
│   ├── routes/
│   │   ├── app._index.tsx          # Main app dashboard
│   │   ├── app.products.tsx        # Product management page
│   │   ├── app.settings.tsx        # App settings
│   │   ├── auth.$.tsx              # OAuth catch-all route
│   │   ├── auth.login/
│   │   │   └── route.tsx           # Login page
│   │   └── webhooks.tsx            # Webhook handler
│   ├── shopify.server.ts           # Shopify API config (singleton)
│   ├── db.server.ts                # Database connection
│   └── root.tsx
├── extensions/
│   ├── theme-app-extension/        # Theme blocks for Online Store
│   │   ├── blocks/
│   │   │   └── product-rating.liquid
│   │   └── locales/
│   ├── checkout-ui/                # Checkout UI extension
│   └── product-discount/           # Shopify Function
├── prisma/
│   ├── schema.prisma               # Database schema
│   └── migrations/
├── shopify.app.toml                # App configuration
├── shopify.web.toml                # Web process config
├── remix.config.js
└── package.json

Step 2: Core App Configuration

// app/shopify.server.ts — the heart of the app
import "@shopify/shopify-app-remix/adapters/node";
import { AppDistribution, shopifyApp } from "@shopify/shopify-app-remix/server";
import { PrismaSessionStorage } from "@shopify/shopify-app-session-storage-prisma";
import prisma from "./db.server";

const shopify = shopifyApp({
  apiKey: process.env.SHOPIFY_API_KEY!,
  apiSecretKey: process.env.SHOPIFY_API_SECRET!,
  appUrl: process.env.SHOPIFY_APP_URL!,
  scopes: process.env.SHOPIFY_SCOPES?.split(","),
  apiVersion: "2024-10",
  distribution: AppDistribution.AppStore, // or SingleMerchant
  sessionStorage: new PrismaSessionStorage(prisma),
  webhooks: {
    APP_UNINSTALLED: {
      deliveryMethod: "http",
      callbackUrl: "/webhooks",
    },
    PRODUCTS_UPDATE: {
      deliveryMethod: "http",
      callbackUrl: "/webhooks",
    },
  },
  hooks: {
    afterAuth: async ({ session }) => {
      // Register webhooks after successful auth
      shopify.registerWebhooks({ session });
    },
  },
  future: {
    unstable_newEmbeddedAuthStrategy: true,
  },
});

export default shopify;
export const apiVersion = "2024-10";
export const addDocumentResponseHeaders = shopify.addDocumentResponseHeaders;
export const authenticate = shopify.authenticate;
export const unauthenticated = shopify.unauthenticated;
export const login = shopify.login;
export const registerWebhooks = shopify.registerWebhooks;
export const sessionStorage = shopify.sessionStorage;

Step 3: Session Storage with Prisma

// prisma/schema.prisma
datasource db {
  provider = "sqlite"  // or "postgresql" for production
  url      = env("DATABASE_URL")
}

model Session {
  id            String    @id
  shop          String
  state         String
  isOnline      Boolean   @default(false)
  scope         String?
  expires       DateTime?
  accessToken   String
  userId        BigInt?
  firstName     String?
  lastName      String?
  email         String?
  accountOwner  Boolean   @default(false)
  locale        String?
  collaborator  Boolean?  @default(false)
  emailVerified Boolean?  @default(false)
}

// Your app's custom models
model ProductSync {
  id          String   @id @default(cuid())
  shop        String
  productId   String
  lastSynced  DateTime @default(now())
  status      String   @default("pending")
  @@unique([shop, productId])
}

Step 4: Route Pattern — Authenticated Admin Page

// app/routes/app.products.tsx
import { json } from "@remix-run/node";
import { useLoaderData } from "@remix-run/react";
import { authenticate } from "../shopify.server";
import { Page, Layout, Card, DataTable } from "@shopify/polaris";

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

  // admin.graphql is a pre-authenticated GraphQL client
  const response = await admin.graphql(`{
    products(first: 25, sortKey: UPDATED_AT, reverse: true) {
      edges {
        node {
          id
          title
          status
          totalInventory
          priceRangeV2 {
            minVariantPrice { amount currencyCode }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }`);

  const data = await response.json();
  return json({ products: data.data.products.edges.map((e: any) => e.node) });
}

export default function Products() {
  const { products } = useLoaderData<typeof loader>();

  return (
    <Page title="Products">
      <Layout>
        <Layout.Section>
          <Card>
            <DataTable
              columnContentTypes={["text", "text", "numeric", "text"]}
              headings={["Title", "Status", "Inventory", "Price"]}
              rows={products.map((p: any) => [
                p.title,
                p.status,
                p.totalInventory,
                `$${p.priceRangeV2.minVariantPrice.amount}`,
              ])}
            />
          </Card>
        </Layout.Section>
      </Layout>
    </Page>
  );
}

Step 5: Theme App Extension

{% comment %} extensions/theme-app-extension/blocks/product-rating.liquid {% endcomment %}

{% schema %}
{
  "name": "Product Rating",
  "target": "section",
  "settings": [
    {
      "type": "range",
      "id": "max_stars",
      "label": "Maximum Stars",
      "min": 1,
      "max": 5,
      "default": 5
    },
    {
      "type": "color",
      "id": "star_color",
      "label": "Star Color",
      "default": "#FFD700"
    }
  ]
}
{% endschema %}

<div class="product-rating" style="--star-color: {{ block.settings.star_color }}">
  {% assign rating = product.metafields.custom.rating.value | default: 0 %}
  {% for i in (1..block.settings.max_stars) %}
    <span class="star {% if i <= rating %}filled{% endif %}">&#9733;</span>
  {% endfor %}
  <span class="rating-text">{{ rating }}/{{ block.settings.max_stars }}</span>
</div>

<style>
  .product-rating .star { color: #ccc; font-size: 1.2em; }
  .product-rating .star.filled { color: var(--star-color); }
</style>

Output

• Remix app with Shopify authentication
• Prisma session storage (production-ready)
• Authenticated admin routes with GraphQL data loading
• Theme app extension for Online Store customization

Error Handling

Issue	Cause	Solution
Session not found	DB not migrated	Run npx prisma migrate dev
Auth redirect loop	Missing APP_UNINSTALLED handler	Implement webhook to clean sessions
Extension not showing	Not deployed	Run shopify app deploy
Polaris styles missing	Missing provider	Wrap app in <AppProvider>

Examples

Quick Scaffold

# Fastest way to start — uses official template
shopify app init --template remix

# Or clone directly
npx degit Shopify/shopify-app-template-remix my-shopify-app
cd my-shopify-app
npm install
shopify app dev

Resources

• Shopify Remix App Template
• @shopify/shopify-app-remix
• Prisma Session Storage
• Polaris Components
• Theme App Extensions

Next Steps

For multi-environment setup, see shopify-multi-env-setup.