Quick answer
Use Shopify's official AI Toolkit to give Codex or Claude Code current Shopify documentation, API schemas and code-validation tools. For store changes, authenticate separately to the correct Shopify store and review the requested operation. Start a theme task in an unpublished theme copy and publish only after checking the result.
Applies to
Customers working on a Shopify store or theme, including customers who also use Interactive Online for a domain or email. Shopify storefront themes are hosted by Shopify. Uploading a Liquid theme into cPanel does not install it in your Shopify store. The toolkit is separate from WordPress/Divi/Elementor skills and does not make Shopify accounts part of a hosting account.
1. Install the publisher's toolkit
- Open Shopify's official AI Toolkit documentation and GitHub repository. Review the supported clients, current Node.js requirements, installation scope, MIT license and telemetry notice. The current documentation lists Node.js 18 or newer for the toolkit; other tools in your project may require a newer version.
- Use one supported install method. Shopify recommends its plugin bundle. In a terminal for Codex, use:
codex plugin add shopify@openai-curatedFor Claude Code, Shopify's current terminal instruction is:
claude plugin install shopify-ai-toolkit@claude-plugins-official- Inspect the plugin in the client's installed list and reload as instructed. If the command is unavailable, check the client's supported plugin version and the current publisher instructions. Do not install a similarly named unofficial package to work around the error.
- For a skills-only installation, follow the repository's supported agent-skills method and select the task you need. Avoid duplicate plugin-managed and manually installed copies.
2. Choose the right Shopify workflow
Use Liquid/theme guidance for sections, snippets and theme behavior. Use Admin API guidance for supported product or store data operations. Use the appropriate dedicated skill for Functions, checkout extensions or a custom storefront instead of applying a theme recipe to every surface. Not every checkout change is a theme edit or available on every plan.
The toolkit's documentation and validation capabilities do not by themselves prove authenticated store access. Its store-management operations use Shopify CLI's authenticated context and permissions. Verify the actual connected store and available scopes before reading private data or making a change. A Dev MCP documentation server and a merchant account connection have different purposes.
3. Prepare one theme change
- Identify the store and the exact live and draft theme names and IDs. Keep a recoverable copy of the intended theme. Work in an authorized local theme checkout or a protected unpublished duplicate.
- Describe the section, desired text or behavior, and acceptance checks. Keep customer details, order exports and access tokens out of prompts used for a storefront presentation task.
- Ask the assistant to consult current Shopify references and show a bounded diff. Preserve section settings, translations, app blocks, analytics behavior and unrelated templates unless they are part of the request.
- Run the project's applicable theme checks and toolkit validation. Preview the specific draft theme, including a nested page, phone/tablet layouts, navigation and any affected cart or form behavior. A validator pass does not prove a complete customer journey.
- Review and approve publication to the exact target theme separately. Verify the customer-facing result and retain the previous theme until acceptance.
Use the Shopify AI Toolkit for this local theme project.
Inspect the existing announcement section without changing the store.
Propose a native editable text setting for the wording I supply.
Preserve translations, links, app blocks and existing theme settings.
Show the file diff and validation steps.
Do not modify products, customers, orders or the live theme.Privacy, errors and recovery
Shopify's repository discloses usage reporting by its skill scripts, including search queries, validation context and, for some calls, supplied prompt text. Read the current notice before sending private information. It documents OPT_OUT_INSTRUMENTATION=true to opt out of that instrumentation; this does not change your AI provider's own data policies.
For a permission error, check the authenticated store, user role and required scope. For a theme error, compare the code with the installed theme structure and current API surface. Recover the affected files or return to the previous approved theme. Do not overwrite newer merchant changes while restoring an old copy.
When to contact support
Contact Interactive Online when the hosting account, WordPress installation, document root or available access method is unclear. Provide the affected page URL, tool and plugin versions, time and time zone, and the exact redacted error. Exclude passwords, Application Passwords, keys, tokens, cookies and customer records. Skill publishers handle their own installation defects and feature requirements; AI subscriptions, paid builders and connector licenses are separate from hosting.
Related help
- Install AI skills and verify the active session
- Cloudflare DNS and optional O2O for Shopify
- Review who has access to connected services
Documentation and downloads
- Shopify official toolkit setup and install commands
- Shopify skill sources, license and telemetry controls
- Shopify CLI theme development and previews
Documentation and source review by Interactive Online: November 2, 2026. Installation sources and instructions were reviewed. A new installation or connected editing test was not performed for this article; confirm the versions, tools and permissions available in your own environment.
