Edit and test themes on local device

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A store owner wants to improve their workflow by editing and testing theme changes locally instead of through the browser-based Shopify admin portal.

Current Issue:

  • Attempting to use Shopify CLI with the command shopify theme pull
  • Receiving authorization error: “You are not authorized to use the CLI to develop in the provided store” despite being the store owner

Key Question:

  • Uncertain whether Shopify Partner account registration is required
  • Concerned that they cannot add their store to Partner account since owner and partner would be the same account
  • Questioning if they’ve misunderstood how Shopify CLI works

Status: Unresolved - seeking guidance on proper setup for local theme development workflow.

Summarized with AI on November 2. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

The store already exists and ist live.

I want to improve my workflow by editing and testing theme changes on my local device, instead of editing code in the webbrowser via admin.shopify portal.

As I understand that Shopify CLI is the way to go.

Everything that is needed is installed, when I execute “shopify theme pull --store *******.myshopify.com” the message “You are not authorized to use the CLI to develop in the provided store.” appears. But I am the owner.

Do I need to register as a shopify partner for that? The problem there is, I am not able to add my shop there, because the partner and owner is the same account.

Maybe I misunderstand the whole Shopify CLI thing?