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How Do I Use API With Shopify?

Last updated on December 25, 2022 @ 3:17 pm

If you’re a developer who wants to build applications that interact with Shopify, then you’ll need to use Shopify’s API. In this article, we’ll show you how to use Shopify’s API to build a simple app that displays a list of products.

1. First, you’ll need to create a Shopify app. To do this, log in to your Shopify account and go to the Apps section.

2. Click the “Create an App” button and fill out the required information. Once you’ve created your app, you’ll be given an API key and API secret.

3. Next, you’ll need to install the Shopify-api gem. This gem will allow you to interact with Shopify’s API from your Ruby code. To install the gem, run the following command:

  • gem install Shopify-api

4. Once the gem is installed, you can start using it in your code. The first thing you’ll need to do is create a new instance of the Shopify API::Session class.

5. This class represents a connection to a particular Shopify store. To create a new instance of this class, you’ll need to pass in the store’s domain and the API key and secret for your app:

  • require ‘shopify-api’
  • session = ShopifyAPI::Session.new(“example.myShopify.com”, api_key: “12345”, secret: “abcde”)

6. The next step is to authenticate your app with the store. To do this, you’ll need to redirect the store owner.

7. Replace “example.com” with the domain of the store you’re connecting to, “12345” with your app’s API key, and “https://localhost:3000/auth/shopify/callback” with your app’s callback URL. You can also specify which permissions your app requires by changing the “scope” parameter.

In this example, we’re requesting read access to products. For more information on specifying permissions, see our documentation on OAuth scopes.

8. After the store owner has authenticated your app, they will be redirected back to your callback URL with a “code” parameter in the query string. You can exchange this code for an access token by making a POST request to Shopify’s access token URL:

  • https://example.com/admin/oauth/access_token

Make sure to include the following parameters in your request:

  • client_id: Your app’s API key
  • client_secret: Your app’s API secret
  • code: The code parameter from the previous step

If everything went well, you should receive an access token in return:

  • { “access_token”: “1234abcd..”}

Now that you have an access token, you can use it to make authenticated requests to Shopify’s API on behalf of the store owner. To do this, simply set the access_token property of your session object:

session = ShopifyAPI::Session.com
# Replace example shop domain with actual shop domain
session = ShopiftyAPI::Session(example@shopfiyomain)
# Add actual email address of shop owner here too!
session = shopiftyAPI::Session(1234)
# Use integer instead of string for shop ID too!
session = myShopName@shopiftydomain
# Use myShopName instead of example@shopfiyomain for actual shop name!
session = myShopPassword
# Use myShopPassword for actual password too!
sesssion = true or false
# Set boolean value here for SSL connection (true means use SSL)
sesssion = array(‘read_products’)
# Request read access scope here too!
sesssion = array(read_orders)
# Request read orders scope here as well!
sesssion = array(‘write_products’)
# Request write product scope here also!
sesssion = array(‘write_orders’)
# Request write order scope here as well!
sesssion = array(‘read_customers’)
# Request read customers scope here too!
sesssion = array(‘write_customers’)
# Request write customers scope here as well!
sesssion = array(‘read_shipping’)
# Request read shipping scope here as well!
sesssion = array(‘write_shipping’)
# Request write shipping scope here as well!
accountInfo[‘apiKey’]= ‘1234abcd.’;
// Use actual apiKey from above response body
accountInfo[‘sharedSecret’]=’abcdefg.’;
// Use actual sharedSecret from above response body
accountInfo[‘scope’]= ‘read_products’;
// Use actual scopes from above response body
var newSession= new Session(accountInfo);
// Specifying SSL connection (true means use SSL)
newSession .ssl= true;
// Connecting using basic HTTP authentication (false means no authentication is needed)
newSession .basicHttpAuth= false;
// Connecting using OAuth 2 authentication (true means use OAuth 2)
newSession .oauth2= true;
// Connecting using private app authentication (false means no authentication is needed) privateAppAuth[‘apiKey’]=’1234abcd.’;
// Use actual apiKey from above response body privateAppAuth[‘password’]=’abcdefg.’;
// Use actual password from above response body privateAppAuth[‘sharedSecret’]=’hijklmno.’;
// Use actual sharedSecret from above response body var privateAppNewSession= new Session(privateAppAuth);
// Specifying SSL connection (true means use SSL) privateAppNewSession .ssl= true;
// Connecting using basic HTTP authentication (false means no authentication is needed)
privateAppNewSession .basicHttpAuth= false;
// Connecting using OAuth 2 authentication (true means use OAuth 2)
privateAppNewSession .oauth2= true;
// Connecting using private app authentication (false means no authentication is needed)
privateAppNewSession .privateApp= true; session .accessToken=”1234abcd.”;
// Use actual accessToken from above response body
var requestHeaders=[]; requestHeaders[‘Accept’]=’application/json’;
requestHeaders[‘Content-Type’]=’application/json’; requestHeaders[‘X-Shopify-Access-Token’]=”1234abcd.”;// Use actual accessToken from above response body
var productsEndpoint=”https://” + myShopName + “.myshopifyio/admin/products”;
var getProductsRequest={ method:’GET’, headers:requestHeaders };
fetch(productsEndpoint ,getProductsRequest ) .then((response)=>{ return responseText(); }) .then((data)=>{ console .log(data); }) .catch((error)=>{ console .warn(error); });

In conclusion, if you want to use Shopify’s API, you’ll need to create a Shopify app and get an API key and secret.

PRO TIP: The following note is provided as a warning for anyone considering using the Shopify API.

While the Shopify API can be a great tool for building custom applications and integrations, it is important to be aware of the potential risks involved. First and foremost, the Shopify API is a public API, which means that anyone with a valid API key can access your data. This includes not only your own data, but also any data that you have access to (including customers’ data).

Additionally, the Shopify API is rate-limited, which means that if you make too many requests in a short period of time, your access to the API may be temporarily blocked. This can be problematic if your application needs to make a large number of requests in order to function properly.

Finally, it is important to note that the Shopify API is constantly changing. This means that any code that you write using the API may eventually become outdated and no longer work as intended. For this reason, it is important to keep up-to-date with the latest changes to the Shopify API, and to test your code regularly to ensure that it is still working as expected.

You can then use these credentials to connect your app to a particular Shopifty shop.

Once connected, you can authenticate your app with the store and make authenticated requests on behalf of the store owner.

Madison Geldart

Madison Geldart

Cloud infrastructure engineer and tech mess solver.