Unable to update Horizon Theme

Technical Q&A
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1

Hi everyone,

I’m having trouble updating the Horizon theme from version 3.3.1 to 3.5.1.

When I click the update button, Shopify starts the update process, but after a few minutes nothing happens and no updated theme gets added to my theme library.

I already noticed this behavior during a previous update. Back then, the issue turned out to be customizations I had made directly in Liquid files. To complete the update, I had to manually remove those customizations first.

The problem is that this process is very cumbersome because I don’t know which specific file or code change is causing the update to fail.

My questions:

  • Is there any way to identify which Liquid file or customization is blocking the update?
  • Are there logs or debug tools available for failed theme updates?
  • Is there a recommended workflow for keeping customized Horizon themes updateable?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

2

Prevention is always my best workflow. If that means creating backups or making notes, or literally copying whole files and saving as text files on my computer, then it happens.

Nothing about theme updates with heavy file edits is ever easy. That’s why it’s always recommended to try your customizations within the context of the theme’s Custom CSS and Custom Liquid first.