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Shopify

Create an app in the Shopify Dev Dashboard and release a version to get OAuth credentials; testing on your own store is quick. Distributing to other merchants (even unlisted) is reported to require Shopify review.

Tier 3 · Review required20-45 min hands-onResearched 2026-10-20
DifficultyTier 3 · Review required

Sourced Dev-store testing is self-serve, but a Shopify staff member says an unlisted public app still needs review and a $19 registration fee. [e2][e6]

Your time (hands-on)20-45 min

Inferred Our estimate for Dev Dashboard setup. Composio's guide shows only a 3-minute reading time.

Approval waitNot published

Unknown No review duration found. A Shopify staff reply on the developer community says an unlisted public app 'will still need to be reviewed'. [e2]

Composio managed authNot available

Sourced Composio's Shopify toolkit page lists OAuth2 and S2S_OAUTH2 and says 'Composio-managed OAuth not available.' So with Shopify you register your own app before users can connect, which is why Shopify's distribution rules and review matter here.

Open Composio's toolkit page

Who does what

An agent can

  • Draft the review-readiness checklist once official criteria are fetched.

You must

  • Operate the Dev Dashboard and handle Shopify review.

Steps

  1. Open the Dev DashboardYouSourced

    Shopify admin > search 'App Development' > Build apps in Dev Dashboard. [e1]

    Why you: Needs your signed-in Shopify session.

  2. Create the app and first versionYouSourced

    Name, App URL, scopes, redirect URL from your Composio auth config; click Release. [e1]

    Why you: Needs your Shopify session.

  3. Copy client ID and secretYouSourced

    Settings in the left sidebar. [e1]

    Why you: Secret goes to your secret store.

  4. Create the Composio auth config and connectYou or agentSourced

    Own credentials; connect with external user ID and store subdomain; install the app and grant permissions. [e1]

  5. To serve other merchants: plan for Shopify reviewYouReported

    Ask Shopify (Partner support / dev community) which distribution type fits and what review applies. [e2]

    Why you: Needs your Partner account and Shopify's response.

Requirements

  • Sourced A Shopify store (development store works for testing) and access to the Dev Dashboard. [e1]
  • Sourced The Composio connect step asks for the store subdomain (the part before .myshopify.com). [e1]
  • Sourced Distribution method is a one-way choice: 'You can't change the method after you select it.' Decide public vs custom before you build. [e3]
  • Sourced Custom distribution: you generate an install link for a specific store and send it to the store owner. [e4]
  • Sourced A custom app can be installed on multiple stores only when they belong to the same Plus organization. [e5]
  • Sourced Public distribution: you submit for Shopify's review when the app is ready. [e6]
  • Sourced App Store checklist: authorize with OAuth immediately on install, and use session tokens rather than third-party cookies or local storage. [e7][e8]

Scopes and access

  • Sourced Composio's example scopes: read/write orders and products, optionally customers and inventory. [e1]

Review process

  • Reported A Shopify staff member on the community forum said an unlisted public app still needs review and the $19 registration fee, and must meet all review criteria. This is a forum post, not official documentation. [e2]

Gotchas

  • Sourced You must click Release on a version in the Dev Dashboard to finalize the app configuration. [e1]
  • Sourced The redirect URL must match exactly. [e1]
  • Sourced The Composio guide does not say what to use for the App URL. [e1]

If you get stuck

Inferred Other merchants cannot install your app

Likely cause: Not yet approved for the distribution you chose.

Fix: Check distribution type and review status in your Partner/Dev Dashboard.

Escalate when: Review status is unclear after submission. [e2]

Next actions

  • Build and test on a development store.
  • Before launch, confirm distribution and review rules with Shopify's official docs.

What was tested

Nothing here has been tested by hand yet.

What we are unsure about

  • Shopify's distribution page does not say whether custom distribution needs review.
  • No official page we read states how long App Store review takes or any registration fee; the $19 figure is from a community reply and may have changed.
  • The checklist page did not mention GDPR/compliance webhooks; Shopify's separate docs on them were not read.
  • Composio's Shopify guide path was followed, not tested.

Sources

  1. [e1] Composio - Shopify OAuth2 credentials
    keep this secure!
    retrieved 2026-10-20 · quote check: not yet re-matched against the raw page
  2. [e2] Shopify Developer Community - Do I need app review... (not provider-owned)
    It will still need to be reviewed and you’ll still need to pay the $19 registration fee.
    retrieved 2026-10-20 · quote check: not yet re-matched against the raw page
  3. [e3] Shopify Dev - Select a distribution method
    You can't change the method after you select it.
    retrieved 2026-10-20 · quote check: not yet re-matched against the raw page
  4. [e4] Shopify Dev - Select a distribution method
    generate an install link and send it to the store owner
    retrieved 2026-10-20 · quote check: not yet re-matched against the raw page
  5. [e5] Shopify Dev - Select a distribution method
    A custom app can be installed on multiple stores when those stores belong to the same Plus organization.
    retrieved 2026-10-20 · quote check: not yet re-matched against the raw page
  6. [e6] Shopify Dev - Select a distribution method
    submit your app for review when it's ready
    retrieved 2026-10-20 · quote check: not yet re-matched against the raw page
  7. [e7] Shopify Dev - App Store requirements checklist
    Your app should immediately authorize using OAuth before any other steps occur
    retrieved 2026-10-20 · quote check: not yet re-matched against the raw page
  8. [e8] Shopify Dev - App Store requirements checklist
    Use session tokens for authentication and avoid third-party cookies or local storage
    retrieved 2026-10-20 · quote check: not yet re-matched against the raw page
  9. [e9] Composio docs - Shopify toolkit, Authentication Details
    Composio-managed OAuth not available
    retrieved 2026-10-20 · quote check: not yet re-matched against the raw page

Ask this guide

Questions about the ten library providers are answered from the guides, with the passage each answer rests on. For any other app it researches the web live and says so.

About the builder

Built by Moulshree Bhutra

Founding APM at Vudio.ai, applying for APM, Toolkits at Composio (Bangalore). This prototype is my answer to the take-home: a way for a developer to see the cost of an OAuth app before starting, and to trust what they read.

How I approached the problem

  • Started from what already exists. Composio publishes 46 setup guides. I read ten in full: they cover the clicking, but not setup time, difficulty or the approval wait, which is where teams lose weeks.
  • Designed for one decision. A developer asks "should I start this today?" So effort, wait, and what only you can do come first, and the steps come after.
  • Made trust visible. Every claim is tagged tested, sourced, reported, inferred or unknown, and quotes link to the page they came from. Where no provider states a number, the guide says so instead of guessing.
  • Kept the agent honest in code. The live agent cannot mark anything tested, and a quote it cannot find in a page it actually read is removed. The method page lists what was and was not checked.

Why I am a good fit

  • I have owned a product through integrations and AI. At Vudio.ai I worked across three roles as it grew from a video-commerce tool into an AI marketing platform with 10+ modules, including Shopify-connected widgets and the product side of its Campaign agent.
  • Results I can point to. I contributed to about 7x ARR growth ($30K to $0.2M) over two years through 0 to 1 launches. I redesigned Shoppable Widgets and built self-serve onboarding: activation rose about 74% and turnaround fell from 13 days to 4. I led AI Studio from 0 to 1 (ARPU up 5% among fashion brands) and built an analytics dashboard that lifted free-to-paid conversion about 10%.
  • I build to understand. I have a computer science degree and I prototype my own ideas, so I can talk to engineers about trade-offs. Top 3 of 200+ in NextLeap's Product Management Fellowship.
  • I write down what I do not know. This project lists its own gaps, including that the hands-on registrations are still being run.

Find me

Prototype built for the Composio APM, Toolkits take-home. It never asks for credentials or secrets.