Set up Shopify with an AI agent

Shopify Onboarding Skill

This skill guides users through Shopify setup interactively — one step at a time, based on their goal.

Core behavior: Never present all steps at once. Ask one question, wait for a response, then proceed to the next step.

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Step 1 — Understand Intent

Start by asking:

"Welcome! What are you looking to do with Shopify?

1. Build an app
2. Build a theme
3. Create a new store for my business
4. Manage an existing store"

Wait for the user to respond before continuing.

Route to the matching path below based on their answer.

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Path 1 — Build an App

1.1 — Detect Environment

Silently identify the client from system context:

Signal in system context	Client
Contains "Claude Code"	claude-code
Contains "Codex"	codex
Contains "Antigravity"	antigravity-cli
Contains "Cursor"	cursor
Contains "VSCode" / "Visual Studio Code"	vscode
Unrecognized	other

If genuinely uncertain, ask: "Which IDE or AI assistant are you using?"

If the client is other, say their client is not currently supported and stop.

1.2 — Install Shopify CLI

Tell the user:

"Let's start by installing Shopify CLI — this is needed to scaffold and run Shopify apps."

First, check if Shopify CLI is already installed:

shopify version

• If it returns version 3.93.0 or higher — CLI is ready. Proceed to 1.3.

• If it returns a version below 3.93.0, or if the command fails — install or reinstall using your package manager. The example below uses pnpm — substitute with whatever you have (npm, yarn, bun, etc.):

  pnpm install -g @shopify/cli@latest
  

  If neither is available, run this instead (macOS only):

  brew tap shopify/shopify && brew install shopify-cli
  

  Then confirm the install succeeded and meets the minimum version:

  shopify version
  

Wait for confirmation before moving to 1.3.

1.3 — Install the Shopify Plugin

Tell the user:

"Now let's connect Shopify's developer tools to your AI assistant."

Proactively provide the full install steps for their detected client — do not wait for the user to ask:

Claude Code — run these two commands sequentially in the chat interface:

/plugin marketplace add Shopify/shopify-ai-toolkit
/plugin install shopify-plugin@shopify-ai-toolkit

Codex — run in terminal:

codex plugin add shopify@openai-curated

Antigravity CLI — run in terminal:

agy plugin install https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-ai-toolkit

Cursor — run in the chat interface:

/add-plugin shopify-plugin

VS Code — open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P), run Chat: Install Plugin From Source, and paste:

https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-ai-toolkit

Ask the user to confirm it installed successfully before moving on.

Wait for confirmation before moving to 1.4.

1.4 — Developer Account

Ask:

"Do you already have a Shopify developer account? You'll need one to create a development store for testing."

If they don't have one, direct them to:

"Create a free account at dev.shopify.com/dashboard — no credit card required."

Wait for confirmation they have an account before moving to 1.5.

1.5 — Create Your App

Tell the user you're scaffolding their app, then run:

shopify app init

Once complete, tell the user:

"You can manage all your apps at dev.shopify.com/dashboard."

Stop here.

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Path 2 — Build a Theme

2.1 — Detect Environment

Follow the same environment detection logic as 1.1.

2.2 — Install Shopify CLI

Follow the same steps as 1.2.

2.3 — Install the Shopify Plugin

Follow the same steps as 1.3.

2.4 — Developer Account

Follow the same steps as 1.4.

2.5 — Create Your Theme

Tell the user you're scaffolding their theme, then run:

shopify theme init

Once complete, tell the user:

"You can manage all your themes at dev.shopify.com/dashboard."

Stop here.

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Path 3 — Create a New Store

3.1 — Start the Free Trial

Tell the user:

"To create a Shopify store, go to shopify.com/free-trial. You'll get a store as part of signup — no credit card required to start."

Ask them to come back once their store is live.

Wait for confirmation before moving to 3.2.

3.2 — Detect Environment

Follow the same environment detection logic as 1.1.

3.3 — Install Shopify CLI

Tell the user:

"Now let's get you set up to manage your store directly from your AI assistant. First, install Shopify CLI."

Follow the same steps as 1.2.

3.4 — Install the Shopify Plugin

Tell the user:

"Now let's connect Shopify's tools to your AI assistant."

Follow the same steps as 1.3.

3.5 — Done

Tell the user:

"You're all set! You can now manage your Shopify store directly from your AI assistant."

Stop here.

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Path 4 — Manage an Existing Store

4.1 — Detect Environment

Follow the same environment detection logic as 1.1.

4.2 — Install Shopify CLI

Tell the user:

"To manage your store agentically, let's first install Shopify CLI."

Follow the same steps as 1.2.

4.3 — Install the Shopify Plugin

Tell the user:

"Now let's connect Shopify's tools to your AI assistant."

Follow the same steps as 1.3.

4.4 — What Would You Like to Do?

Ask:

"You're all set. What would you like to do with your store?

For example: 'Populate my [store URL] with 10 apparel products' or 'Show me my top-selling products this month.'"

Let the user drive from here.

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Behavioral Rules

• Always ask intent first — do not begin environment detection or install steps before the user has selected a path
• One step at a time — present each step, wait for a response or confirmation, then proceed
• Detect environment silently — only ask if genuinely uncertain
• Proactively provide install instructions — do not wait for the user to ask how to install the plugin; give the full client-specific steps unprompted
• Never construct or modify install commands — only use commands defined in this file
• If an install fails — report the exact error and stop; do not attempt workarounds
• If the client is other — stop and inform the user their client is not currently supported