Shopify MCP Server – Commerce and Developer Tools
Shopify's official MCP-enabled tooling connects AI assistants to Shopify developer resources and commerce data. Use Shopify Dev MCP for docs, API schemas, validation, and code assistance, and use Shopify Storefront, Customer Accounts, or Global Catalog MCP for AI shopping and product-discovery workflows.
Overview
Shopify provides official MCP-enabled tooling for developers and commerce agents. The Shopify AI Toolkit includes the Shopify Dev MCP server, which connects AI coding tools to Shopify development resources such as documentation, API schemas, validation, and code-generation support. Shopify also documents commerce-facing MCP servers for Storefront, Customer Accounts, and Global Catalog use cases.
What the MCP server enables
For developer workflows, the Shopify Dev MCP server runs locally and lets an AI assistant work with Shopify's developer platform instead of guessing from stale model knowledge. It can help search Shopify documentation, introspect API schemas, validate code, build Shopify Functions, and generate implementation guidance for Shopify APIs, Liquid, Polaris, Storefront API, Partner API, Customer Account API, Payment Apps API, and POS UI extensions.
For buyer-facing commerce workflows, Shopify documents additional MCP endpoints:
- Storefront MCP exposes a specific store's catalog, cart operations, and policy questions through
https://{shop}.myshopify.com/api/mcp. - Customer Accounts MCP supports authenticated customer actions such as order status, order details, and account preferences.
- Global Catalog MCP enables product discovery across multiple Shopify merchants and implements UCP Catalog capability tools such as search, lookup, and product retrieval.
When to use it
Use Shopify Dev MCP when an AI coding assistant is building Shopify apps, themes, Functions, extensions, storefronts, or API integrations. Practical examples include validating GraphQL fields, exploring Admin or Storefront API capabilities, generating POS UI extension code, checking Liquid behavior, or grounding a Shopify app implementation in current docs.
Use Storefront or Customer Accounts MCP when building an AI shopping assistant that should search a store catalog, manage carts, answer policy questions, or handle authenticated customer account requests. Use Global Catalog MCP when an agent needs cross-merchant product discovery.
Connection and authentication
The Dev MCP server is installed as a local stdio server:
npx -y @shopify/dev-mcp@latest
Shopify documents that the Dev MCP server runs locally and does not require authentication. Node.js 18 or higher is required, and supported clients include Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI, and Visual Studio Code.
Storefront MCP uses each store's endpoint:
https://{shop}.myshopify.com/api/mcp
Shopify documents that Storefront MCP servers do not require authentication. Customer Accounts MCP is discovered from https://${shopDomain}/.well-known/customer-account-api and requires OAuth 2.0 with PKCE. Apps must meet Shopify's protected customer data requirements.
Key considerations
Choose the Shopify MCP surface that matches the workflow. Dev MCP is for development resources and code assistance, not direct merchant-store administration. Storefront MCP is store-specific and intended for shopping experiences. Customer Accounts MCP handles sensitive customer-specific data and requires protected customer data compliance and OAuth. Global Catalog MCP is intended for cross-merchant discovery and follows UCP Catalog capabilities. Review generated code and commerce actions carefully, especially when they affect checkout, customer data, product discovery, or live storefront behavior.
Supported Transports
stdio
Command: npx
Args:
-y@shopify/dev-mcp@latest
streamable_http
URL: https://${SHOPIFY_SHOP_DOMAIN}/api/mcp
streamable_http
URL: ${SHOPIFY_CUSTOMER_ACCOUNT_MCP_URL}
Frequently Asked Questions
- When should an AI agent use Shopify MCP tooling?
- Use Shopify Dev MCP when an AI coding assistant needs current Shopify docs, API schemas, validation, or code-generation help for apps, themes, Functions, APIs, Liquid, Polaris, or extensions. Use Storefront, Customer Accounts, or Global Catalog MCP for AI shopping, customer-account, or product-discovery workflows.
- What does Shopify MCP add to an AI agent's capabilities?
- It gives agents structured access to Shopify development resources and commerce endpoints, including documentation search, API schema introspection, code validation, store catalog search, cart operations, policy questions, customer account actions, and cross-merchant product discovery depending on the selected server.
- What can an AI agent access or manage through Shopify MCP?
- The Dev MCP server provides Shopify developer docs, API schemas, validation, and code-assistance capabilities. Storefront MCP exposes a store's catalog, cart, and policy tools. Customer Accounts MCP supports authenticated customer-specific actions such as order status, order details, and account preferences. Global Catalog MCP supports product discovery across merchants.
- How is authentication configured for Shopify MCP?
- Shopify documents that Dev MCP runs locally and does not require authentication. Storefront MCP servers do not require authentication. Customer Accounts MCP requires OAuth 2.0 with PKCE, a discovered MCP endpoint, the required customer access scopes, and compliance with Shopify protected customer data requirements.
- Which transport should be used for Shopify MCP?
- Use local stdio with npx -y @shopify/dev-mcp@latest for Shopify developer resources. Use the store-specific HTTP MCP endpoint https://${SHOPIFY_SHOP_DOMAIN}/api/mcp for Storefront MCP. Use the dynamically discovered customer-account MCP URL with an OAuth bearer token for Customer Accounts MCP.