Every API We Announced at Shopify Unite 2019

Whether it’s to empower merchants to edit orders, customize their fulfillment processes, or tell better brand stories, the APIs launched at this year’s Shopify Unite are plenty and powerful.

To help you make sense of it all, we’ve put together a high level view of every new or updated API announced at this year’s partner and developer conference.

At the bottom of this blog post, we’ve also highlighted what’s new with app extensions, and included a quick rundown of all the latest on developer products. Enjoy!

Shopify APIs

Dive into what we’re building to make Shopify developers more powerful.

1. Translations APIs

Shopify now supports selling in multiple languages (currently available in developer preview) and is launching a set of new platform capabilities that will allow partners to help merchants offer a fully multilingual shopping experience. There are three main API updates included:

• Translations API: Create and retrieve translated Shopify resources
• Shop Locale API: Manage which languages and locales are published on a store
• Liquid API changes: Updates made to our Liquid API to help surface translations in online store, checkout, and notifications

Use these new APIs to support multilingual storefronts, as well as international merchants and their buyers.

API: GraphQL | Liquid
Status: Open beta
Resources: See our developer changelog for a full list of resources
Developer preview available: Yes

2. Sections API

During Shopify Unite, we announced a new online store design experience (currently available in developer preview), which introduces important changes to themes.

To better support this new feature, we’ve made a number of changes to our Theme API, including new properties and endpoints for pages, as well as updates to blog, assets, and sections. In addition, we’re publishing a new Sections API that unlocks the opportunity for you to manage sections via API.

API: REST
Status: Open beta
Resources: See our developer changelog for a full list of resources
Developer preview available: Yes

3. Fulfillment API

The Fulfillment APIs enable app developers to give merchants more control and visibility into order fulfillment.

This new API unlocks multi-location order fulfillment, improves visibility into the fulfillment process for merchants, facilitates better communication between the app and merchant, and even enables the ability to decline a fulfillment request.

API: GraphQL | REST
Status: Open beta
Resources: See our developer changelog for a full list of resources
Developer preview available: Yes

4. Order Editing APIs

One of our most in-demand features by both partners and merchants, order editing has arrived with a dedicated API in tow (currently available in developer preview).

With the new Order Editing APIs, developers can offer more post-purchase flexibility by enabling merchants to add, remove, or switch items before or after an order has shipped.

Ensure your apps are ready for this update and consider the new possibilities now that orders are more open-ended. This includes building new post-purchase upsell solutions and supporting niche purchasing experiences.

API: GraphQL
Status: Open beta
Resources: See our developer changelog for a full list of resources
Developer preview available: Yes

5. Delivery Profiles

Shopify developers can now leverage the new Delivery Profiles API to optimize the checkout experience and help merchants get more sales, by setting per product and per location shipping rules.

This new API has complete write access to shipping settings using GraphQL. Set shipping rules based on product characteristics (eg. bulky, fragile, etc.), as well as on where inventory is shipped from (eg. a supplier). Finally, this new API allows your app to create and modify shipping rules, reducing dependency on manual merchant intervention.

API: GraphQL
Status: Open beta
Resources: See our developer changelog for a full list of resources
Developer preview available: Yes

6. Discounts API

If your app provides merchants with discounts, you can now create a new type called Automatic Discounts via the new GraphQL Discounts API. We are also adding an alternative to the old PriceRules method of creating code discounts with the new Code Discounts API, which is more efficient and offers developers an easier experience.

API: GraphQL
Status: General availability
Resources: See our developer changelog for a full list of resources
Developer preview available: No

7. Bulk API

The new Bulk API allows Shopify developers to retrieve large sets of data with speed and simplicity. Specify your desired dataset, and let Shopify handle paginating through the resources.

This means that apps can now sidestep API throttles for bulk operations in a Shopify approved manner. Move your bulk operations (eg. exporting all orders) from their classic REST paginated flow to Bulk API mutations.

API: GraphQL
Status: Sign up for the closed beta
Developer preview available: No

8. Media APIs

Developers can now associate video and 3D model assets with a product via the Media APIs. In the past, developers could upload only images via the API. New additions to the GraphQL Admin API enable partners to create, retrieve, update, and delete video and 3D models, while additions to the Storefront API will enable the return of these new media types on a product, for use with custom storefronts.

API: GraphQL | Liquid
Status: General availability
Resources: See our developer changelog for a full list of resources
Developer preview available: Yes

9. Private Metafields API

It’s no secret that privacy is important to users.

That’s why you can now create metafields that are exclusively scoped to your app only, helping you ensure metafield data is managed by you and your user, only. This new type of metafield prevents all other apps from reading or accessing your stored metafield data on particular resources, like customers or products.

If you have metafields that you would prefer to be read only by your app, use our new private metafields today.

API: GraphQL
Status: General availability
Resources: See our developer changelog for a full list of resources
Developer preview available: No

10. Billing API

Developers can now use Shopify's Billing API in GraphQL. The new API is structured differently from REST, with future feature development in mind. In addition, two new webhook topics will soon be introduced with the GraphQL Billing API:

• app_purchase_one_time/update
• app_subscription/update

These webhooks provide real-time updates on when the status of an app one-time purchase (application charge) or app subscription (recurring application charge) on a merchant shop has changed. The webhook topics will use the new Billing API terminology in GraphQL.

API: GraphQL
Status: General availability
Resources: See our developer changelog for a full list of resources
Developer preview available: No

11. Selling in multiple currencies

At Shopify Unite, we announced that all Shopify merchants now have the ability to sell in multiple currencies with Shopify Payments.

This feature was previously available to Shopify Plus merchants only, which means the Admin APIs already respond with both the presentment currency (eg. the currency the order was placed in), and the shop currency (eg. the merchant’s currency). However, as multi-currency is now available on all Shopify plans, an order’s presentment currency can now differ from the shop currency on any store.

Read our migration guide and update your apps to support selling in multiple currencies today.

API: GraphQL | REST | Liquid
Status: General availability
Resources: See our developer changelog for a full list of resources
Developer preview available: No

App extensions

App extensions surface the functionality of your app where and when merchants need it most. Here are the latest updates and additions to app extension functionality at Shopify.

12. [New] POS Cart app extensions: Loyalty and promotions

Our new POS Cart app extension allows apps that create discounts through loyalty programs or promotions to surface directly within the POS Cart.

This app extension improves discoverability during checkout, and decreases the amount of time it takes to apply a discount. Store staff can now easily view available loyalty rewards or promotions in the cart, allowing them to focus on ensuring their customers get an excellent in-store experience.

This new app extension enables developers with POS apps to access new functionality that can improve the user experience. It also opens up new possibilities for developers interested in building loyalty or promotion apps for the in-store context.

Learn more by reading through our technical documentation.

13. [New] Checkout app extensions: Subscriptions

For the first time ever, Shopify Partners will be able to build apps that extend into checkout.

The first use case we’re exploring is allowing subscription apps to integrate into Shopify checkout. This means developers will be able to surface their app’s information more seamlessly, and buyers will no longer have to exit the checkout flow when they buy subscription goods and services.

The checkout app extension for subscriptions will be available later this year.

Keep up to date on all Shopify platform information by subscribing to our monthly product email for partners, What’s New with Shopify.

14. Updated app extensions

While we’ve already announced these app extensions, there are some exciting updates worth noting.

• Marketing Activities app extension is out of beta: Last year, we brought marketing workflows directly into the Shopify Admin. With the Marketing Activities app extension, marketing apps are now surfaced into the admin, for easier and more contextual access to your app. Learn more.

• Improvements to Shopify Flow: Shopify’s ecommerce automation platform, Flow, has introduced improvements to their app extensions that will make the developer experience of building a connector much easier, quicker, and more powerful. Developers can build more efficient connectors for Flow with trigger usage webhooks, access to Shopify properties, asynchronous actions, improved security, and much more. Learn more about the benefits of building for Flow, or read the technical documentation to get started.

Developer products

In case you missed it, read our blog post on everything we announced during the Shopify Unite mainstage. If you’re a developer, there were a number of new and updated tools and resources launched just for you, including:

• Libraries for GraphQL
• Shopify App Bridge
• Shopify App CLI
• API versioning and developer previews
• Fully translated Shopify App Store

Keep up to date

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the sheer volume of updates, don’t fret! Over the coming months, we’ll publish additional content on the Web Design and Development Blog that explores our various new APIs more deeply.

You can also keep up to date on all of Shopify’s product news by signing up for our What’s New product email, or by visiting the Developer Changelog.