Migrate Asset API to Theme App Extension

Topic summary

Migration concern: An app currently creates/edits .liquid theme files via the Asset API (available until April 2024) and asks how to replicate this with Theme App Extensions (TAE).

Key guidance: TAE does not allow creating new Liquid files. Apps must integrate as app blocks that merchants add to sections, a design choice to protect storefront performance.

Exemptions: If functionality can’t be preserved via TAE, an exemption can be requested. • Existing apps in the Shopify App Store: apply via the provided Google form. • New apps: request an exemption by contacting Partner Support from the Partner Dashboard.

Clarification of terms: • Asset API: modifies theme files directly. • Theme App Extension: ships app UI as blocks/sections configurable in the theme editor. • App Proxy page: a storefront route (e.g., /apps/…) that surfaces app content.

Open issue: A developer using an app proxy wants to render the store’s header/footer around their app content; fetching the header via Asset API returns code rather than a rendered layout. Screenshots were shared to illustrate current vs desired output. No solution was provided.

Status: Migration approach and exemption paths clarified; header/footer rendering on app proxy remains unresolved.

Summarized with AI on December 23. AI used: gpt-5.

This form is just for existing apps on the Shopify App Store. For new apps you’ll need to contact partner support directly from your partner dashboard to request an exemption.