Shopify: generate an Admin token and let the agent make changes

The three connection tiers#

Pick the tier by what you want the agent to do. You can start at tier 1 and upgrade later — adding a token to an existing store never breaks the storefront tools.

Generate a Shopify Admin API access token#

This is the custom-app path — the fastest way to get a token, and the one where you choose the scopes yourself, write scopes included. You need to be the store owner or a staff account with the “Develop apps” permission.

1. 1In Shopify admin, go to Settings → Apps and sales channels → Develop apps (since 2026 this hands off to the Shopify Dev Dashboard — same flow, newer screens).
2. 2Create an app and give it a name (e.g. “Agent Planners”).
3. 3Open Configuration → Admin API integration, and tick the scopes you want (see the scope table below) — include write_* scopes if you want approval-gated store changes.
4. 4Save, then install the app on your store from the API credentials / app settings screen.
5. 5On API credentials, click “Reveal token once” next to Admin API access token — it starts with shpat_ and Shopify shows it exactly once, so copy it now (check your scopes BEFORE revealing).
6. 6In Agent Planners, open Integrations → Shopify → Connect store → “Connect with an Admin API token from a custom app”, enter your store domain, choose “+ Admin token”, paste the token, and click “Validate + connect”.

Which scopes to grant#

Grant only what you actually want the agent to reach. A missing scope isn't a crash — Shopify answers with an ACCESS_DENIED message naming the scope, so you can add it and retry. The one exception is read_all_orders: without it Shopify silently serves only the last 60 days of orders.

The other two ways to connect#

• Client credentials — paste the custom app's client ID and client secret instead of a token. Agent Planners exchanges them for a short-lived Bearer automatically and refreshes it before expiry, so there's no long-lived token sitting in storage.
• Shopify app (OAuth) — on Integrations → Shopify → Connect store, click Install from Shopify: Shopify asks you to sign in and choose the store, then open Agent Planners in your Shopify admin (Apps) and click Connect to a workspace. No store domain to type, no custom app to build and no token to copy. The consent screen lists exactly the scopes this deployment requests (read_products, read_orders, read_customers, read_inventory by default; an operator can add write scopes), the store's row shows what Shopify actually granted, and Sync scopes re-reads it. Every typed write checks that grant first and answers with the missing scope instead of failing mid-run.

What the agent can read#

How the agent makes changes to your store#

Store changes run through one Admin GraphQL mutation gateway, so anything your connection is scoped for is reachable — product create/update/delete, variant and price updates, inventory adjustments, collection management, and so on. You describe the change in plain language; the agent writes the mutation and shows it to you before it runs.

Since rev808 the common changes are typed tools with their own checks: create / update / activate / delete a discount code, adjust inventory by a delta (an idempotency key is minted per request) or set it absolutely, edit product copy, tags, SEO and status, reprice variants, add product media from public URLs, and manage the app's web pixel. Every one checks the store's granted scope first and pauses for approval; deleting a code or the pixel, an absolute inventory set, repricing, deactivating a code (or ending / postponing it by date), a discount of 50 % off or more (typed, or a discount written through the mutation gateway) and a product status flip always wait for a person.

1. 1Write the goal in the Workspace, e.g. “Mark every product with zero inventory as draft.”
2. 2The agent reads the store first to find exactly which products match — you see the list before anything changes.
3. 3Each mutation stops at the approval gate showing the exact GraphQL document and variables it will send.
4. 4Approve (in-app or by email magic-link) and it runs once. Reject and that step is skipped without aborting the rest of the run.
5. 5The result is verified and written to the audit log with before/after detail.

Write safety#

• Always approval-gated. Shopify mutations are force-gated at the registry level — a plan cannot mark one as pre-approved to skip the gate, and the irreversible or money-moving ones wait for a person even on a task or schedule you put on auto-approve.
• Never retried. A mutation is attempted exactly once. A retry after an ambiguous send would double-apply the change.
• Honest failure. Shopify answers HTTP 200 even when a write fails, tucking the reason into userErrors. Every mutation must select userErrors { field message } up front, and any non-empty result is reported as a failure — never as a silent success.
• Read-only stays read-only. The query gateway rejects mutation documents, and the mutation gateway rejects query documents, so neither can be used to sneak past the other's rules.

Use cases#

These are goals you'd type into the Workspace with a Shopify store selected in the context picker. The read-only ones run immediately; the write ones plan the change and pause for your approval.

Troubleshooting#

Frequently asked questions#

How do I generate a Shopify Admin API access token?

In Shopify admin go to Settings → Apps and sales channels → Develop apps — since 2026 Shopify hands app creation off to its Dev Dashboard, and an existing custom app keeps working — configure the Admin API scopes you want (e.g. read_orders, read_products, write_products), save, then Install app and reveal the Admin API access token — it starts with shpat_. Paste it into the Shopify card on the Integrations page (Connect store → “Connect with an Admin API token from a custom app”) with your store domain — or skip the token and install the Shopify app (OAuth) from Shopify, with nothing to type.

What scopes does Agent Planners need for Shopify?

read_orders for orders, fulfillments and the sales summary, read_products for the admin product list and inventory, read_customers for customers, and read_inventory for stock levels. The typed tools add read_locations, read_discounts, read_returns and read_marketing_events; read_all_orders reaches orders older than 60 days (without it Shopify silently serves only the last 60), and ShopifyQL sessions and conversion rate need read_reports plus Shopify's Level 2 protected-customer-data approval. Add write_products / write_inventory / write_discounts (and write_pixels + read_customer_events for the app's web pixel) only if you want the agent to change the store — reads alone keep it strictly read-only. On the Shopify app (OAuth) you tick nothing: the consent screen carries exactly the scopes this deployment requests.

Can the agent actually change my Shopify store?

Yes, if your connection carries write scopes — ticked on a custom-app token, or granted on the Shopify app's consent screen when this deployment requests them. It reaches the Admin GraphQL mutation surface — create and update products, change prices, adjust inventory, manage collections and discount codes — but every mutation is force-gated: you see the exact document and variables and approve it before it runs (unless you put the task or schedule on auto-approve, which never covers the irreversible or money-moving ones), it's attempted only once, and a Shopify-side rejection is reported as a failure rather than a silent success.

Do I need a token at all?

No. The store domain alone connects the anonymous Storefront tier — catalog search, product details, cart building with a checkout link, and store policy search. Add a token, or install the Shopify app (OAuth) from Shopify, when you want orders, admin data or writes.

Can the agent place an order or take payment?

Not unless your connection carries order write scopes. No dedicated tool writes orders or takes payment — cart building returns a checkout URL and a human completes payment in their own browser. With write_orders or write_draft_orders on your token (or on the Shopify app's grant, when this deployment requests them), the generic mutation gateway can reach order mutations; the ones that move money — refunds (a return processed with a refund included), captures, cancellations, voids, completing a draft order, charging a saved payment method — and every delete always wait for a person, as does editing an order's line items. Creating an order, updating its notes, tags or addresses, or marking one as paid (which records a payment taken outside Shopify) takes the ordinary approval.

Should I use a token, client credentials or OAuth?

Use the Shopify app (OAuth) for the fastest setup — Install from Shopify, with no store domain to type and no custom app to build — its consent screen carries exactly the scopes this deployment requests (four reads by default; write scopes when the operator adds them). Use a custom-app Admin token when you want to choose the scopes yourself, write scopes included. Use client credentials if you'd rather not store a long-lived token (they're exchanged for a short-lived Bearer that refreshes itself). On every path, each store change goes through the approval step.

Can I use my custom domain?

For the token and client-credentials paths, yes — enter either your custom domain or the myshopify.com one. The Shopify app (OAuth) needs no domain at all: you install it from Shopify, which already knows the store.