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Enable Shopify-managed installations for your app

Shopify managed installation is an installation method where Shopify installs an app and updates its access scopes without making any calls to the app. This provides the following advantages for the developer and user:

  • Improved performance: No browser redirects during installation or updates.

  • Less complexity: Embedded apps can use token exchange to acquire access tokens, and will no longer need to implement authorization code grant for installation or access scope changes.

  • Improved user experience: Faster installations and updates, and no screen flickering.

    To enable Shopify managed installation, you need to share the scopes that your app requires in a configuration file that you push to Shopify.

    This guide describes how to enable Shopify managed installation for your app.

    If you don't use this method, then your app will use authorization code grant, and call your app to determine the required access scopes before proceeding.

Anchor to Step 1: Configure your app using Shopify CLIStep 1: Configure your app using Shopify CLI

You can configure your app locally using a TOML file with Shopify CLI. Learn how to manage your app's configuration using Shopify CLI.

Anchor to Step 2: Deploy your configuration to ShopifyStep 2: Deploy your configuration to Shopify

In your app's TOML file, the access scopes are defined in the scopes field as shown below:

shopify.app.config-name.toml

name = "Example App"
client_id = "a61950a2cbd5f32876b0b55587ec7a27"
application_url = "https://www.app.example.com/"
embedded = true

[access_scopes]
scopes = "read_orders"

# other fields omitted for brevity

You can update the scopes field to include the access scopes that your app requires. For example, if your app requires access to the read_orders and write_customers access scope, you can update the scopes field as shown below:

shopify.app.config-name.toml

name = "Example App"
client_id = "a61950a2cbd5f32876b0b55587ec7a27"
application_url = "https://www.app.example.com/"
embedded = true

[access_scopes]
scopes = "read_orders,write_customers"

# other fields omitted for brevity

Then you can deploy your app's access scopes to Shopify:

Terminal

shopify app deploy

Anchor to Step 3: Shopify now manages installing your app and access scope changesStep 3: Shopify now manages installing your app and access scope changes

After you deploy your app configuration with your updated scopes, Shopify handles installation and scope updates whenever you deploy changes to your configuration.

Anchor to Step 4: Acquire access tokens to make authenticated requests to Shopify APIsStep 4: Acquire access tokens to make authenticated requests to Shopify APIs

Embedded apps using Shopify managed install should acquire access tokens through token exchange.

Non-embedded apps should use the authorization code grant flow.

Anchor to Manage access scopesManage access scopes

Learn how to request more or less permissions from the merchant store from manage access scopes.

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