Unable to use same development environment for multiple developers in custom app development

Shopify Apps

Topic summary

Main issue: Two developers sharing one Shopify Partner app and credentials find that running a local dev server (Remix + Shopify CLI) updates the app’s URLs and shopify.app.toml, making the app link tied to the active server; when stopped, the link breaks.

Key concepts:

  • Shopify CLI: command-line tool to manage app config and dev workflow.
  • shopify.app.toml: app configuration file; controls App URL and Redirect URLs.
  • Development store: a test Shopify shop used during app development.

Recent guidance:

  • Use Shopify CLI v3+ “shopify app config link” to link local config to a specific app/store.
  • Practical multi-dev setup:
    • Create one app + one development store per developer.
    • Add shopify.app.toml to .gitignore; if needed, use shopify.app.${config-name}.toml for app-specific configs.
    • Developers coordinate to work on one app/store combo at a time.
    • After linking, run “shopify app env pull” to populate .env, then “shopify app dev” and select the aligned store.
    • You may need to manually adjust access scopes in shopify.app.toml.
  • Installing different apps on the same dev store is possible but can be hard to manage.

Outcome: No definitive resolution, but consensus leans toward per-developer app/store setups and CLI config linking to avoid conflicts.

Summarized with AI on January 3. AI used: gpt-5.
1

I have a small clarification regarding Shopify app development.Currently, we are developing a custom Shopify app with two developers. We are using the same partner account and the same app credentials for our local development environments. Our development framework is Remix, and we’re utilizing GitHub for version control.

The issue we’re facing is that when one developer runs their local server (npm run dev), it updates their .toml file and the App URL and Allowed Redirection URL(s) in the partner account’s app setup. Consequently, the provided link allows the other developer to access the app.

However, if the server is stopped, the link becomes inactive.My question is: How can multiple developers develop the same Shopify app using an identical local environment while sharing the same partner account?Appreciate any guidance!

2 Likes
2

If you are using shopify CLI 3 and above you can use the app config link command

https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/tools/cli/managing-app-configuration-files

3

In my experience, more than one dev cannot push changes to the same app in the Partner Dashboard.

Resources:

Setup:

Here’s how I’ve been setting it up lately for a multi-dev team:

  • Create an app and development store pair per developer
  • Ignore shopify.app.toml in .gitignore
    • If you need to store app-specific configs, use the shopify.app.${config-name}.toml pattern
  • Developers agree to work on one app / store combination at a time
  • To link to a specific app / store use the shopify app config link command and:
    • Select the desired existing app
    • You may also need to manually update the [access scopes] in the resulting shopify.app.toml (I’ve seen some bugs here)
  • Then run shopify app env pull command to pull app info into .env
  • Then run shopify app dev command
    • Select the aligned development store (i.e., App Dev 1 → Store Dev 1)

I suppose you could install different apps on the same dev storefront, but this might become hard to manage. I would only do this if the burden to set up a testable dev store was very high.