Custom app - Find Admin API access token

Shopify Apps
1

Hey guys,

I have a problem that I can not solve for hours. If someone knows the answer, thank you! I am trying to create a custom app. I’ve been reading these docs: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/apps/app-types/custom-apps .

I might be missing something. The problem is, I can not figure out where the Admin API access token is located.

Steps:

- Go to the store admin > Settings > Apps and Sales channel > Develop apps > Build apps in dev dashboard

- Create the app, I selected some Admin API scopes. (Ex: read_products)

- Set distribution method (Custom distribution one store)

- I got the install link, the app gets installed in the shop, and after that immediately redirects to the app URL (even if I did not set an app redirect URL)

- Everything looks good, except that I can not find the “Admin API access token”

- I believe I did try everything, got back to the store > Apps and Sales channel > My app … nothing related to credentials

Thank you!

2

Hi ionel,

You should use your Dev Dashboard to create new custom apps. You can allow legacy app development from store admin. But it will best to go with dev dashboard. There you can create a new app and then check app settings for credentials.

3

Hi, thank you for taking the time to answer. I am using the Dev Dashboard. I don’t know why this is happening, maybe because I don’t own a real shop, and I am using this on a dev shop.

The documentation points to:

The app’s permanent access token is created and shown once when you create the custom app in the Shopify admin. You can see it here: Shop Admin → Settings → Apps and sales channels → Develop apps → Your Custom App → API Credentials.

The problem is that I can not find any API Credentials section there. Tried everything, it’s driving me crazy. I believe it is something they released recently. I wonder if it’s a bug.

4

Can you please try uninstall and reinstall your app? check if that helps.

5

Yes, I did try that multiple times, even delete and re-create the app at least 30 times : ) . Anyway, this is a personal project, and I am going to put it aside for a while.

Thank you!

6

It is driving me crazy as well. Someone at Shopify must have messedup something. After reading this: https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/apps/app-types/custom-apps, I realized I should just do it in the “legacy custom apps” instead, and just hope the documentation and functionality for this is better once we get forced to do it in the newest way

7

Yeah, it was driving me crazy as well. I postponed the project. I thought in a week or two someone would fix the thing, or throw some print-screens at those docs. I already spent time with the support, sending print-screens and all, and I could not get an answer. I believe I would need to record a video, but I am afraid that first-level support won’t be able to help me out anyway. The thing is, I find it hard to believe that Shopify messed something up, they always had the proper docs & all.

8

Hey,
This can be tricky; Shopify does hide the Admin API access token behind a couple of steps, especially after app creation. Here’s the process:

Go to Settings > Apps and Sales Channels > Develop Apps.

Click on your custom app.

In your app, go to the “API credentials” tab (usually the default view after selecting the app).

If you haven’t already, click “Configure Admin API scopes”, select the scopes (sounds like you did this part), and Save.

Now, you should see a button to “Install app” for your store (if it hasn’t been installed yet). Click to install.

Immediately after installing, the Admin API access token will appear once. Copy it now, as Shopify will never show it again for security reasons.

If the app is installed, but you missed copying the token:

Remove/uninstall the app and reinstall it to generate a new access token.

Each time, Shopify generates the token only on first install.

Hope that clears it up!

9

Hi, I’ve already done that like 50 times now, the whole process, created and deleted like 40 apps, uninstall/install the same app, the problem: there is no “API credentials“ section. As I said, I should create a video and send it to support. Must be a bug related to my account. PS I am not the person to ask for help until I check, double-check everything.

10

Are you missing something, or is the poor DX just another stochastic way to paywall features or other anti-merchant behaviors.
https://community.shopify.dev/t/generating-an-admin-api-token-from-dev-dashboard/23379
https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/authentication-authorization/access-tokens/client-credentials-grant
etc
https://www.google.com/search?q=site%3Acommunity.shopify.dev++Find+Admin+API+access+token

The merchant forums are peer-to-peer, and an AI slopfest.
Shopify’s all but gutted support presence here, and even in the help/chat system itself.

For actual development issues use the actual developer forums.
Or if partner related use the partner-support; note the partner-slack is defunt and to be deleted Dec 15th.

Meanwhile solutions are not always instantaneous this is a platform with 5+ MILLION merchants.
DX is third class citizen on shopify.
The only way to get instant or time sensitive solutions is to just make your own ecom stack and and become the solution.

wuth? HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAH rofl :rofl: , never have I ever.

11

Hello Paul, I just ran some quick tests using curl, and everything works fine. Thank you!!!

12

Hi,

Did you manage to find a resolution to your problem?

If so great but if not I can offer some advice as I have recently implemented this for my SaaS service.

Paul

13

Hi, thank you, I managed to use this: Using the client credentials grant

14

you can mark your own posts as a solution, or others.

16

fwiw, I was having same issue, and ended up going the legacy route too, and that was a) dead easy; b) just worked.

17

Hi, Adam, I did not go with the legacy route. If you want to know how I did it, here’s the “create custom app docs“: SyncKube Pro - Products Sync for Shopify - Documentation , and here is how I’ve used it in the code: https://plugins.svn.wordpress.org/synckube-products-sync-for-shopify/trunk/app/Helpers/ShopifyAuth.php

18

Since the API key is generated on install, I did it in a very old school way using PHP on an external server/website. I wrote a blog post how-to which describes how to point the app to your server, have the server generate the the OAuth handshake and callback to generate the API key, and it spits it out - How to Embed A Shopify Subscribe Form On An External Website in 2026

It’s similar to @Lonel solution. Little more barebones and plugin free. Essentially just spit out the API key upon successful install:

`<?php

$client_id = ‘YOUR_CLIENT_ID’; // YOU’LL GET THIS WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR APP
$client_secret = ‘YOUR_CLIENT_SECRET’; // YOU’LL GET THIS WHEN YOU MAKE YOUR APP

$code = $_GET[‘code’] ?? null;
$shop = $_GET[‘shop’] ?? null;

if(!$code || !$shop) {
exit(‘Missing Shopify OAuth parameters’);
}

$url = “https://{$shop}/admin/oauth/access_token”;

$post_data = [
‘client_id’ => $client_id,
‘client_secret’ => $client_secret,
‘code’ => $code
];

$ch = curl_init($url);

curl_setopt_array($ch, [
CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER => true,
CURLOPT_POST => true,
CURLOPT_POSTFIELDS => http_build_query($post_data)
]);

$response = curl_exec($ch);

curl_close($ch);

$data = json_decode($response, true);

if(empty($data[‘access_token’])) {
exit(‘Failed to generate access token’);
}

echo ‘Shopify connected successfully.

’;

echo ‘Your Admin API Access Token:
’;
echo ‘’ . $data[‘access_token’] . ‘’;`