Shopify

Shopify Admin API API Skill

Overview

The Shopify Admin API allows you to manage products, orders, and customers. This skill focuses on the GraphQL API using the @shopify/shopify-api package.

Installation

npm install @shopify/shopify-api

Authentication

Custom apps use an Admin API Access Token (X-Shopify-Access-Token header). Public apps use OAuth 2.0.

Core Concepts

• Global ID (GID): GraphQL identifier (e.g., gid://shopify/Product/123).
• Bulk Operations: Used to extract massive datasets efficiently.
• Webhooks: Subscriptions to store events.

Common Workflows

1. Initialize Shopify client with credentials.
2. Construct a GraphQL query.
3. Call client.graphql(query, variables).

Error Handling

Handle userErrors inside the GraphQL payload. Unlike REST, GraphQL often returns HTTP 200 even if the mutation fails; check the payload fields.

Security

Validate all incoming Shopify Webhooks using the HMAC signature (X-Shopify-Hmac-Sha256).

Rate Limits

GraphQL uses a Calculated Query Cost limit (50 points/sec). Complex queries cost more.

Best Practices

Use GraphQL instead of REST. REST is slower and prone to over-fetching. Use Bulk Operations for exports larger than 250 items.

Troubleshooting

If you receive 'Access denied' on a valid query, verify your Admin API Token was generated with the correct Access Scopes (e.g., write_products).

References

• API Reference

Why use this skill

Use this when your agent works with shopify — structured patterns beat pasted docs and prevent common hallucinations.

AI pitfalls

• Mixing test and live API keys in the same code path
• Retrying POST requests without idempotency keys
• Hardcoding currency or amount formats incorrectly

Production checklist

• Secrets in environment variables, not source code
• Error handling and logging in place
• Rate limits and timeouts configured

Related skills

• nextjs — integrates with
• stripe — works well with

Last Verified: 2026-07-02