Shopify Remix Template Guide

This skill provides a guide for building Shopify apps using the official Shopify Remix App Template. This template is the recommended starting point for most new Shopify embedded apps (though React Router is the future direction, Remix is still widely used and supported).

🚀 Getting Started

To create a new app using the Remix template, run:

git clone https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-app-template-remix.git

📂 Project Structure

A typical Remix app structure:

• app/

routes/: File-system based routing. app._index.tsx: The main dashboard page. app.tsx: The root layout for the authenticated app. webhooks.tsx: Webhook handler. shopify.server.ts: Critical. Initializes the Shopify API client, authentication, and session storage (Redis). db.server.ts: Database connection (Mongoose). models/: Mongoose models (e.g., Session.ts, Shop.ts). root.tsx: The root component for the entire application.

• shopify.app.toml: Main app configuration file.

🔐 Authentication & Sessions

The template uses @shopify/shopify-app-remix to handle authentication automatically.

shopify.server.ts

This file exports an authenticate object used in loaders and actions. It is configured to use Redis for session storage.

import { shopifyApp } from "@shopify/shopify-app-remix/server";
import { RedisSessionStorage } from "@shopify/shopify-app-session-storage-redis";

const sessionDb = new RedisSessionStorage(
  new URL(process.env.REDIS_URL!)
);

const shopify = shopifyApp({
  apiKey: process.env.SHOPIFY_API_KEY,
  apiSecretKey: process.env.SHOPIFY_API_SECRET,
  appUrl: process.env.SHOPIFY_APP_URL,
  scopes: process.env.SCOPES?.split(","),
  apiVersion: "2025-10",
  sessionStorage: sessionDb,
  isEmbeddedApp: true,
});

export const authenticate = shopify.authenticate;
export const apiVersion = "2025-10";
export const addDocumentResponseHeaders = shopify.addDocumentResponseHeaders;

Usage in Loaders (Data Fetching)

Protect routes and get the session context:

import { json } from "@remix-run/node";
import { authenticate } from "../shopify.server";

export const loader = async ({ request }) => {
  const { admin, session } = await authenticate.admin(request);
  
  // Use admin API
  const response = await admin.graphql(`...`);
  
  return json({ data: response });
};

📡 Webhooks

Webhooks are handled in app/routes/webhooks.tsx (or individual route files). The template automatically registers webhooks defined in shopify.server.ts.

To add a webhook:

1. Add configuration in shopify.server.ts.
2. Handle the topic in the action of app/routes/webhooks.tsx.

🗄️ Database (Mongoose/MongoDB)

Use Mongoose for persistent data storage (Shops, Settings, etc.).

app/db.server.ts

Singleton connection to MongoDB.

import mongoose from "mongoose";

let isConnected = false;

export const connectDb = async () => {
  if (isConnected) return;

  try {
    await mongoose.connect(process.env.MONGODB_URI!);
    isConnected = true;
    console.log("🚀 Connected to MongoDB");
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("❌ MongoDB connection error:", error);
  }
};

app/models/Shop.ts (Example)

import mongoose from "mongoose";

const ShopSchema = new mongoose.Schema({
  shop: { type: String, required: true, unique: true },
  accessToken: { type: String, required: true },
  isInstalled: { type: Boolean, default: true },
});

export const Shop = mongoose.models.Shop || mongoose.model("Shop", ShopSchema);

Usage in Loaders

Connect to the DB before using models.

import { connectDb } from "../db.server";
import { Shop } from "../models/Shop";

export const loader = async ({ request }) => {
  await connectDb();
  // ...
  const shopData = await Shop.findOne({ shop: session.shop });
  // ...
};

🎨 UI & Design (Polaris)

The template comes pre-configured with Polaris, Shopify's design system.

• Wrap your pages in <Page> components.
• Use <Layout>, <Card>, and other Polaris components for a native feel.
• App Bridge is initialized automatically in app.tsx.

🛠️ Common Tasks

1. Adding a Navigation Item

Update app/routes/app.tsx:

<ui-nav-menu>
  <Link to="/app">Home</Link>
  <Link to="/app/settings">Settings</Link>
</ui-nav-menu>

2. Fetching Data from Shopify

Use the admin object from authenticate.admin(request) to make GraphQL calls.

3. Deploying

• Hosting: Remix apps can be hosted on Vercel, Fly.io, Heroku, or Cloudflare.
• Database: Ensure you have a persistent database (e.g., Postgres) for production.
• Environment Variables: Set SHOPIFYAPIKEY, SHOPIFYAPISECRET, SCOPES, SHOPIFYAPPURL.

📚 References

• Shopify Remix App Template (GitHub)
• @shopify/shopify-app-remix package
• Remix Documentation