Shopify CLI

Shopify CLI is a command-line tool for building Shopify apps, themes, and Hydrogen storefronts. It provides commands for local development, testing, and deployment.

Installation

Install via npm (requires Node.js 18+):

npm install -g @shopify/cli @shopify/theme

Or via Homebrew on macOS:

brew tap shopify/shopify
brew install shopify-cli

Command Structure

All commands follow the pattern: shopify [topic] [command] [flags]

Main topics:

• theme - Theme development commands
• app - App development commands
• hydrogen - Hydrogen storefront commands

Theme Development

Starting Local Development

Start a local development server with hot reload:

shopify theme dev --store your-store.myshopify.com

This uploads the theme as a development theme and returns a preview URL at http://127.0.0.1:9292. Development themes don't count toward theme limits and auto-delete after 7 days of inactivity.

Key flags:

• --store - Target store domain
• --theme - Use existing theme ID instead of creating dev theme
• --host - Network interface (default: 127.0.0.1)
• --port - Port number (default: 9292)
• --live-reload - Enable/disable live reload (default: hot-reload)

Theme Commands Reference

Command	Purpose
theme init	Clone a Git repo as theme starting point
theme dev	Start local dev server with hot reload
theme push	Upload local theme to store
theme pull	Download theme from store
theme list	Show all themes with IDs
theme check	Run Theme Check linter
theme publish	Make theme live
theme delete	Remove theme from store
theme share	Create shareable preview link
theme package	Create ZIP for Theme Store submission

Pushing and Pulling Themes

Push local changes to store:

shopify theme push --store your-store.myshopify.com

Pull theme from store:

shopify theme pull --store your-store.myshopify.com --theme THEME_ID

Use --only or --ignore flags to filter files:

shopify theme push --only "sections/*" --only "snippets/*"
shopify theme pull --ignore "config/settings_data.json"

Theme Check (Linting)

Run Theme Check to validate Liquid code:

shopify theme check

Auto-fix issues where possible:

shopify theme check --auto-correct

App Development

Creating a New App

Initialize a new Shopify app:

shopify app init

This scaffolds an app with Remix, Prisma, and Polaris.

Running App Locally

Start the local development server:

shopify app dev

This:

• Starts a local server with hot reload
• Creates a Cloudflare tunnel for OAuth callbacks
• Syncs app configuration with Partners dashboard

App Commands Reference

Command	Purpose
app init	Create new app from template
app dev	Start local dev server
app deploy	Deploy app to Shopify
app info	Show app configuration
app generate extension	Add new extension
app function	Manage Shopify Functions
app env	Manage environment variables

Generating Extensions

Add extensions to an existing app:

shopify app generate extension

Extension types include:

• Theme app extensions
• Checkout UI extensions
• Admin UI extensions
• Shopify Functions
• Web pixels

Multi-Environment Configuration

Configure multiple environments in shopify.theme.toml:

[environments.development]
store = "dev-store.myshopify.com"
theme = "123456789"

[environments.production]
store = "prod-store.myshopify.com"
theme = "987654321"

Run commands against specific environments:

shopify theme push --environment production
shopify theme dev --environment development

Authentication

Log in to Shopify:

shopify auth login --store your-store.myshopify.com

Log out:

shopify auth logout

Check current auth status:

shopify auth info

Common Workflows

Theme Development Workflow

1. Clone or init theme: shopify theme init
2. Start dev server: shopify theme dev --store STORE
3. Make changes (hot reload active)
4. Run linter: shopify theme check
5. Push to store: shopify theme push

App Development Workflow

1. Create app: shopify app init
2. Start dev server: shopify app dev
3. Add extensions: shopify app generate extension
4. Deploy: shopify app deploy

Troubleshooting

Authentication issues: Run shopify auth logout then shopify auth login

Theme not syncing: Check .shopifyignore file for excluded patterns

Port conflicts: Use --port flag to specify different port

Permission errors: Ensure store access via Partners dashboard or staff account

Additional Resources

For detailed command documentation, run:

shopify help
shopify theme --help
shopify app --help