Work on multiple stores using shopify-cli at the same time

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

Developers are seeking ways to work on multiple Shopify stores simultaneously using shopify-cli, which currently requires switching between stores using the shopify switch command. This contrasts with the older themekit tool, which allowed multiple terminals with separate config files.

Proposed Solutions:

  • Using environment configurations in shopify.theme.toml file with [environments.storename] entries, then running shopify theme pull -e storename
  • Using the -s flag with store URL: shopify theme dev -s store-name.myshopify.com

Remaining Challenges:

  • Managing multiple settings_data.json files across stores
  • Environment switching issues when logging in/out between different stores
  • General consensus that shopify-cli’s limitations make it less suitable for multi-store projects compared to themekit

The discussion remains open with partial workarounds identified but no complete solution for seamless multi-store workflows.

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

I am using shopify-cli for last few months now.

I’m looking for workaround to modify themes from 2 or more stores at the same time. Right now I use shopify switch command to switch between different stores.

With themekit I used to fire up new terminal from each project that had config.yml with all details. It was quick and I never had to worry about switching between stores.

My question is - is there any way we can work on different stores at the same time without need to switch store -using shopify-cli ?

2

As far as I know this is not possible with shopify-cli, which is a huge pain. It basically degrades shopify-cli for small projects with a single shop only and themkit still stays the to-go solution for projects with multiple stores.

1 Like
3

There’s a trick using an environment file in the root of your template folder.

shopify.theme.toml
[environments.storename]
store = “storename”

Then shopify theme pull -e storename

4

this is one step, but how do you deal with multiple settings_data.json?

5

After adding [environments.storename] to Shopify.theme.toml, I successfully pulled a store’s theme using the Shopify theme pull command. Later, I logged out of Shopify and logged in again, selecting a different store from which I now want to pull the theme. However, when I use the Shopify theme pull -e development command, it still shows the themes from the first store.

How can I resolve this issue?

6

For me shopify theme dev(or list or pull) -s store-name.myshopify.com did the trick
So -s flag with corresponding store url helps to specify the target store
https://shopify.dev/docs/api/shopify-cli/theme/theme-dev

1 Like