Yes. Shopify CLI is free and open-source under the MIT license. You can install and use it without any charge. The CLI itself has no pricing — costs come from Shopify platform plans (for stores) and Shopify Partner program (free to join) for app development. There are no premium CLI features or paid tiers.

How do you install Shopify CLI?

For app development, run npm init @shopify/app@latest to scaffold a new app with the CLI included as a dependency. For theme development, install globally with npm install -g @shopify/cli @shopify/theme. On macOS, you can also use Homebrew with brew tap shopify/shopify && brew install shopify-cli. The CLI requires Node.js 22 or later.

What is the difference between Shopify CLI 2.0 and 3.0?

Shopify CLI 3.0 is a complete rewrite in TypeScript (previously Ruby). It installs as an npm package instead of a standalone binary, supports app extensions natively, and integrates Hydrogen storefront development. CLI 2.0 is deprecated and no longer maintained. All documentation and features now target CLI 3.x.

Does Shopify have an MCP server?

Yes. Shopify has released official MCP servers for dev, customer account, and storefront integration. Community-built MCP servers like omniimpact-shopify-mcp-server also exist for connecting AI assistants to Shopify store data. These are separate from the CLI and enable AI tools to interact with Shopify APIs directly.

Can you use Shopify CLI with multiple stores?

Yes. For theme development, pass the --store flag to specify which store to connect to, for example shopify theme dev --store my-store.myshopify.com. For app development, the CLI manages store connections through the partner dashboard configuration. You can switch between development stores as needed.

Shopify CLI

622 stars

official open-source Has MCP Cross-platform macOS Actively maintained

Shopify's official command-line interface. Initialize, build, dev, and deploy Shopify apps, extensions, themes, and Hydrogen storefronts from your terminal.

Shopify CLI has both a CLI and an MCP server. See when to use each

When to use

Shopify CLI is the official command-line tool for building on the Shopify platform, and you should install it the moment you start any Shopify development work. It covers three major workflows — app development, theme development, and Hydrogen custom storefronts — each with dedicated commands that handle scaffolding, local development, and deployment.For app developers, the CLI eliminates the boilerplate of setting up a Shopify app from scratch. Running npm init @shopify/app@latest scaffolds a complete app project with the correct directory structure, dependencies, and configuration. The shopify app dev command starts a local dev server with an authenticated tunnel to your development store, so you can test your app inside the Shopify admin without manual ngrok setup or OAuth configuration. When your app is ready, shopify app deploy pushes your configuration and extensions to Shopify in one step.Theme developers benefit from shopify theme dev, which starts a local development server connected to a live store. You see your Liquid template changes reflected in real time against actual store data — products, collections, and settings. This is a significant improvement over editing themes in the browser-based code editor, where you cannot preview changes locally or use your preferred editor. The push and pull commands sync theme files between your local environment and the store, enabling proper version control workflows with Git.For Hydrogen custom storefronts, the CLI integrates with the Hydrogen framework to provide local development, deployment to Oxygen (Shopify's hosting), and Storefront API access. This gives you a full-stack development experience for headless Shopify commerce.The CLI also handles authentication, partner account management, and extension scaffolding. If you work with Shopify Functions, checkout UI extensions, or admin UI extensions, the CLI generates the correct boilerplate and connects them to your app automatically.

When to skip

Skip Shopify CLI if you are not building on the Shopify platform. This is not a general-purpose e-commerce tool — every command targets the Shopify ecosystem specifically. If your store runs on WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Magento, or any other platform, this CLI has no relevance to your workflow.If your only interaction with Shopify is store administration — managing products, processing orders, configuring shipping — you do not need the CLI. The Shopify admin dashboard handles all day-to-day store operations. The CLI is strictly a developer tool for building apps, customizing themes, and creating custom storefronts.For theme-only work where you prefer a visual editor, the Shopify admin's Online Store Editor may be sufficient. The CLI adds value when you want local development, Git-based version control, and the ability to use your own code editor. If you only make occasional text or image changes to an existing theme, the browser-based editor is simpler.If you are building a Shopify app but prefer to manage your own tunneling and deployment pipeline, you can technically work without the CLI by using the Shopify Partner Dashboard and manual API configuration. However, this approach requires significantly more setup and the CLI is strongly recommended by Shopify's official documentation. The tradeoff is rarely worth it.Teams that only consume the Shopify Admin API or Storefront API from an external backend (not a Shopify app) do not need the CLI. You can call those APIs directly with any HTTP client or SDK without the CLI being involved. The CLI is specifically for projects that live within Shopify's app, theme, or Hydrogen frameworks.

Key Commands

shopify app dev Start a local development server for your Shopify app with hot reload and a tunnel for real-time testing

shopify app deploy Deploy your app configuration and extensions to Shopify

shopify theme dev Start a local development server for a Shopify theme with live preview

shopify theme push Upload your local theme files to a Shopify store

shopify theme pull Download a theme from your Shopify store to your local environment

shopify app generate extension Scaffold a new app extension from a template

shopify hydrogen dev Start a local Hydrogen storefront development server

GitHub Stats

repo Shopify/cli

stars 622

language TypeScript

license MIT

last commit Mar 13, 2026

Links

Official documentation (Apps) shopify.dev/apps/tools/cli Official documentation (Themes) shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/themes/tools/cli Official documentation (Hydrogen) shopify.dev/docs/custom-storefronts/hydrogen/cli GitHub repository github.com/Shopify/cli Release notes github.com/Shopify/cli/releases Community forums community.shopify.dev/c/shopify-cli-libraries/14

Alternatives

tool	description
Shopify CLI	current tool
Shopify Theme Manager (stm)	A Go-based CLI tool for simplified Shopify theme workflows with multi-store configuration management.

FAQ

Is Shopify CLI free?: Yes. Shopify CLI is free and open-source under the MIT license. You can install and use it without any charge. The CLI itself has no pricing — costs come from Shopify platform plans (for stores) and Shopify Partner program (free to join) for app development. There are no premium CLI features or paid tiers.
How do you install Shopify CLI?: For app development, run npm init @shopify/app@latest to scaffold a new app with the CLI included as a dependency. For theme development, install globally with npm install -g @shopify/cli @shopify/theme. On macOS, you can also use Homebrew with brew tap shopify/shopify && brew install shopify-cli. The CLI requires Node.js 22 or later.
What is the difference between Shopify CLI 2.0 and 3.0?: Shopify CLI 3.0 is a complete rewrite in TypeScript (previously Ruby). It installs as an npm package instead of a standalone binary, supports app extensions natively, and integrates Hydrogen storefront development. CLI 2.0 is deprecated and no longer maintained. All documentation and features now target CLI 3.x.
Does Shopify have an MCP server?: Yes. Shopify has released official MCP servers for dev, customer account, and storefront integration. Community-built MCP servers like omniimpact-shopify-mcp-server also exist for connecting AI assistants to Shopify store data. These are separate from the CLI and enable AI tools to interact with Shopify APIs directly.
Can you use Shopify CLI with multiple stores?: Yes. For theme development, pass the --store flag to specify which store to connect to, for example shopify theme dev --store my-store.myshopify.com. For app development, the CLI manages store connections through the partner dashboard configuration. You can switch between development stores as needed.