DDS Vibe Academy
DDS Vibe Academy · Mastery · Class 64 · Spring ’26

Build anything by talking to your store

The complete Spring ’26 Shopify Sidekick capability map, 50 copy-paste prompts organized for repeated use, and what changed in Liquid theme coding for 2026.

0 reusable prompts 0 task categories 0 Spring ’26 updates Free on every plan

Quick answer

Shopify Sidekick is the AI commerce assistant built into the Shopify admin, free on every plan. In the Spring ’26 edition it takes action inside apps like Klaviyo, Loop, and Smile, multi-tasks in the background, builds installable admin apps, and works by voice, on mobile, and on Apple Watch. This masterclass gives you 50 reusable prompts to operate the whole store from chat.

Key takeaways

  • Sidekick now acts inside your apps. Starting with Judge.me, Klaviyo, Loop, and Smile, it answers questions about and takes action in third-party apps, not just core Shopify.
  • It keeps working when you walk away. Sidekick multi-tasks in the background across multiple chats, even if you close the window, and notifies you when a task is ready for review.
  • It builds software. On Grow, Advanced, and Plus plans, Sidekick generates installable admin apps with a code editor, desktop and mobile preview, and version history.
  • 50 prompts across 10 categories cover products, collections, content, analytics, discounts, marketing, customers, inventory, theme, and automation.
  • Save any prompt as a skill. You can store up to 25 reusable skills, trigger them with a shortcut, and share them with other merchants by URL.
  • Liquid changed in 2026. New themes use color_palette over color schemes, the array filters find, find_index, has, and reject replace manual loops, and standard storefront events and actions expose themes to apps and agents.
  • Voice, mobile, watch, and screen share. Sidekick runs on every screen of the Shopify app, talks in your spoken language, and shares your screen in early access for step-by-step help.
Spring ’26 Edition

Sidekick became an operator, not a help widget

It now acts inside your apps, multi-tasks in the background, builds software, and answers by voice, on mobile, and on Apple Watch.

Works with
your apps

Sidekick takes action inside the apps you already run

Starting with Judge.me, Klaviyo, Loop, Smile, and more partners, Sidekick can answer questions about and take action in third-party apps, not just core Shopify. Ask Klaviyo how a campaign performed or Loop why returns spiked, without leaving the chat.

H

Guidance on home

Every admin session opens with Sidekick tips to attract customers, lift conversion, and drive repeat sales, surfaced as home cards.

M

Background multi-task

Keeps working when you start a new task, run multiple chats, or close the window, then notifies you when results are ready.

?

Follow-up questions

Presents multiple-choice answers when it needs more information, so you clarify the task in a tap instead of retyping.

W

On Apple Watch

Ask Sidekick to look up information about your business from your wrist using voice mode.

Sidekick everywhere in the appType or talk on any screen in the Shopify mobile app to get help in context while you edit from your phone.
Creates customersDescribe a customer in plain language and Sidekick fills out the customer form for you.
Improved app editingEdit code, preview on desktop and mobile, and track version history in Sidekick’s app editor.
Automation testsGenerate test events for Shopify Flow automations and verify your logic works before you rely on it.
Smarter purchase ordersSidekick can generate purchase orders, which now automatically create the matching inventory transfers.
Sidekick PulseProactive, personalized recommendation digests on the admin home; requires Shopify Network Intelligence.
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The full picture

Everything Sidekick can do

It handles tasks directly in the admin or guides you step by step, across analytics, money, forms, discovery, theme, and tax.

Sidekick spans analytics and ShopifyQL, Shopify Balance money movement, form completion for products and discounts and customers, app discovery, domain and DNS setup, theme settings editing, and VAT registration for EU and UK stores. Below is the verified task surface, grouped so you find the right capability fast.

$

Analytics & money

Generates ShopifyQL queries and line, donut, or bar visualizations, exports to CSV, Parquet, JSONL, or XML, and moves money between Balance accounts with a preview step.

F

Forms

Fills any admin form from chat or a reference image, creating products, discounts, collections, customers, and B2B companies. Filled fields highlight in purple.

@

Context

Mention resources with the at-symbol — products, orders, collections, customers, metafields and more — or use Target mode to click components in your admin.

T

Theme editing

From the theme editor, applies global and section settings: color, typography, spacing, roundness, shadows, cart position, toward a stated aesthetic.

P

Pulse

Proactively researches your store and posts personalized recommendation digests on the admin home when it has an insight.

D

Discovery & setup

Recommends and installs apps from chat with up to three ranked cards, guides domain connection and DNS, and walks you through VAT registration.

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Operating model

How to drive Sidekick well

State intent precisely, attach context, review the proposed change, refine in the same thread. Strong prompts name the resource, the constraint, and the output format.

Sidekick presents every change for your review before applying it, so the winning workflow is to be specific and let the review step protect you. The four inputs you control are text, voice, screen share, and resource context through mentions or Target mode.

1

Text

Type on any admin or mobile screen. Best for precise, structured instructions you can edit.

2

Voice

Speak on desktop, mobile, or Apple Watch. Sidekick auto-detects your language and summarizes the conversation in chat.

3

Screen share

Early access on desktop. Share a tab, window, or whole screen for step-by-step visual guidance.

4

Mentions & Target

Attach exact resources so Sidekick acts on the right product, order, or section without guessing.

A prompt pattern that works every time

Use this structure for any task in the library below: role and goal, then the specific resource (mention it), then constraints, then the output format. For example: “Acting as my merchandiser, review @SummerCollection and recommend the five products to feature this week based on 30-day sales velocity. Return a table with product, units sold, and a one-line reason.” Naming the constraint and format is what turns a vague answer into an applied change.

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The core of this class

The 50-prompt Sidekick library

Ten categories, five prompts each. Copy, paste into Sidekick, swap the bracketed placeholders. Save the ones you repeat as skills.

Each prompt is written to produce a reviewable action or a structured output. Filter by category, then save the ones you run more than once as skills. Replace every value in [BRACKETS] with your own.

01 Products

Create a full product from a description
Create a new product titled "[PRODUCT NAME]". Write a 60-word description in a calm, premium, sustainability-forward voice, set the price to [PRICE], add the tags [TAG1, TAG2, TAG3], assign it to the [PRODUCT TYPE] type, and leave it as a draft so I can review before publishing.

Why it works: names the resource, the constraint (draft), and the output, so Sidekick fills the form for review.

Rewrite a weak product description
Rewrite the description for @[PRODUCT] in 70 words. Lead with the material and fit, name the certification it carries, and end with one concrete care instruction. Keep the tone factual, not promotional.

Tip: the factual, non-promotional instruction improves how AI search engines quote the page.

Bulk-improve SEO across products
Review my 20 best-selling products and draft an improved SEO page title (under 60 characters) and meta description (under 155 characters) for each. Return them in a table with the current and proposed values side by side so I can approve them.

Review step: request a side-by-side table so you approve changes rather than apply blind.

Generate product images
Generate three product image concepts for @[PRODUCT] on a clean studio background in natural light, then show them to me before adding any to the product gallery.

Note: Sidekick can generate images as content; you confirm before they attach.

Add a product compliance disclosure
Add the required compliance warning "[WARNING TEXT]" to @[PRODUCT] so it displays on my store, in AI channels, and in the Shop app. Confirm where it will appear before saving.

Spring ’26: product compliance disclosures now surface across storefront, AI channels, and Shop.

02 Collections

Build a smart collection by rule
Create an automated collection called "[COLLECTION NAME]" that includes every product tagged "[TAG]" with available inventory, sorted by best selling. Show me the matching products before you create it.

Why it works: a precise rule set plus a preview gate prevents an empty or over-broad collection.

Curate a seasonal manual collection
Help me build a manual "[SEASON] Edit" collection. Suggest 12 products from my catalog that fit a [THEME] story, explain each pick in one line, and assemble the collection once I confirm the list.

To-do mode: Sidekick organizes multi-step curation into a checklist you complete in chat.

Write a collection description
Write a 90-word description for @[COLLECTION] that states what the collection is, who it is for, and the material story. Avoid superlatives. Add it to the collection once I approve.

Tip: "avoid superlatives" keeps copy citable and on-brand.

Audit thin collections
List every collection with fewer than five published products and tell me, for each, whether to merge, expand, or unpublish it. Return a table with collection, product count, and your recommendation.

Save as skill: a recurring merchandising hygiene check.

Reorder a collection for conversion
For @[COLLECTION], recommend a product display order that puts the highest-converting and in-stock items first. Explain the logic, then set the collection sort order to manual and apply it after I confirm.

Why it works: ties the action to conversion data and an explicit confirm step.

03 Content and pages

Draft a blog post
Draft an 800-word blog post titled "[TITLE]" for my news blog. Use H2 subheadings, open each section with a one-sentence direct answer, cite the certifications by name where relevant, and save it as a draft post.

GEO: the "open with a direct answer" instruction mirrors how AI engines extract citations.

Write an About section
Write a 150-word brand story paragraph for my About page covering when the brand started, what it makes, and the five certifications it holds. Keep it factual and first person plural.

Tip: state the exact facts you want; do not let the model infer certifications.

Generate FAQ content for a page
Generate 10 genuine customer questions and concise answers about [TOPIC] for a store page. Phrase the questions the way a real shopper would type them into an AI assistant.

Why it works: natural-language questions match how shoppers query AI channels.

Repurpose a post into social copy
Take @[BLOG POST] and create three short social posts and one email teaser that drive readers to it. Match a calm, premium tone and return them as plain text I can copy.

Save as skill: run it on every new post for instant distribution copy.

Create a Shop app post
Draft a post for the Shop app home feed announcing [PRODUCT OR DROP]. Keep it under 60 words, lead with the hook, and end with a clear reason to tap through.

Spring ’26: posts in the Shop app reach active shoppers in the home and following feeds.

04 Analytics and reporting

Top-products profitability report
Show me the sales, costs, profits, returns, and discounts for my top 100 products over the last 90 days. Display it as a table and let me export it to CSV.

Note: export links expire after 10 minutes; download right away.

90-day sales and inventory forecast
Using the last 12 months of sales data, project the next 90 days of sales and inventory needs for the coming week. Provide a table showing expected orders, revenue, and recommended restock quantities.

Save as skill: Shopify ships this exact forecasting prompt as a skill example. Rerun it weekly.

Channel comparison
Compare revenue, orders, and conversion rate across my online store, Shop app, and any other sales channels for the last 30 days. Show it as a bar chart and call out the single biggest change versus the prior 30 days.

Why it works: specifies the visualization and a single headline takeaway.

Find the drop
My conversion rate fell last week. Build a ShopifyQL exploration that breaks conversion down by device, country, and traffic source so I can see where the drop came from.

Tip: ask for the exploration, not just the number, so you can keep digging.

Repeat-customer cohort
Show my returning customer rate and the share of revenue from repeat customers by month for the past year. Add an annotation explaining any month that moved more than 10 percent.

Spring ’26: annotations in analytics charts explain why metrics changed.

05 Discounts and offers

Create a percentage code
Create a discount code "[CODE]" for [PERCENT]% off the [COLLECTION] collection, available to all customers, valid from [START DATE] to [END DATE], limited to one use per customer. Show me the configuration before activating it.

Review step: always confirm dates and audience before a discount goes live.

Stacked discount setup
Set up a [PERCENT]% off code that can combine with my existing free-shipping discount on the same order. Confirm the combination is allowed before saving.

Spring ’26: multiple product discounts can now stack on one order.

Scannable in-store QR discount
Generate a QR code discount for [PERCENT]% off that my staff can scan at point of sale, and make it in-store only so it does not apply online.

Spring ’26: scannable POS discounts and in-store-only discounts are new this edition.

Discount performance review
Show me how my active discount codes performed over the last 60 days by orders, revenue, and average order value. Recommend which to keep, change, or end.

Save as skill: a monthly promotion audit.

Segment-targeted offer
Create a win-back discount for customers who have not ordered in 6 months. Build the segment, set a [PERCENT]% code scoped to that segment, and draft the email copy to go with it.

Why it works: chains segment creation, discount, and copy into one reviewable flow.

06 Marketing

Build a marketing campaign
Help me set up a marketing campaign for [PRODUCT OR DROP] launching on [DATE]. Draft the campaign name, the audience, and the email subject line and body, then fill out the campaign form for my review.

Forms: Sidekick completes the campaign form; purple-highlighted fields show what it added.

Create a social asset
Create a social asset featuring @[PRODUCT1] and @[PRODUCT2] for an end-of-season promotion. Ask me any questions you need about format and platform before you generate it.

Spring ’26: Sidekick now asks follow-up questions with multiple-choice answers to refine creative tasks.

Klaviyo campaign check (app extension)
Ask Klaviyo how my last three email campaigns performed by open rate, click rate, and revenue, and tell me which subject-line style worked best.

Spring ’26: Sidekick answers questions using data from partner apps like Klaviyo.

Plan a content calendar
Build a 4-week content calendar for my store across blog, email, and the Shop app feed. For each week give a theme, one blog topic, one email angle, and one Shop post idea. Return it as a table.

Save as skill: rerun at the start of each month.

Recommend a marketing app
Recommend apps that would help me run abandoned-cart and post-purchase email automations. Compare the top three on key features and let me start installing the best fit from here.

Why it works: Sidekick shows up to three ranked app cards and installs from chat.

07 Customers and segments

Create a customer from a description
Create a new customer named [NAME], email [EMAIL], based in [CITY, STATE], tagged "[TAG]", with marketing consent set to [yes/no]. Fill the customer form and let me review before saving.

Spring ’26: Sidekick creates customers by filling the form from plain language.

Build a high-value segment
Build a customer segment of shoppers who have spent more than [AMOUNT] and placed at least [N] orders in the last 12 months. Tell me how many customers it contains.

Why it works: precise thresholds produce a usable, named segment.

Loyalty status check (app extension)
Ask Smile how many customers are in each loyalty tier and how many points were redeemed last month, and suggest one way to lift redemption.

Spring ’26: Sidekick reads loyalty data from Smile through its app extension.

Returns insight (app extension)
Ask Loop what my top three return reasons were last month and which products drove the most returns. Summarize what I should investigate.

Spring ’26: Loop returns data is available to Sidekick in conversation.

Draft a customer reply
A customer asked about the certifications behind @[PRODUCT]. Draft a warm, accurate reply that names the relevant certifications and links to the product page. Keep it under 120 words.

Tip: attach the product with a mention so the facts are correct.

08 Inventory and orders

Reorder recommendations
Based on the last 60 days of sales velocity, tell me which products I need to reorder in the next two weeks and the suggested quantity for each. Return a table sorted by urgency.

Next step: this pairs with a generated reorder app; see the app generation section.

Generate a purchase order
Generate a purchase order to [SUPPLIER] for the products that are low on stock, using my recommended reorder quantities. Show me the draft PO before I submit it.

Spring ’26: Sidekick generates POs that automatically create the matching transfers.

Find low and out-of-stock items
List every product variant with fewer than [N] units in stock across all locations, grouped by product, and flag any that are part of an active collection or campaign.

Why it works: ties stock to live merchandising so you fix the urgent ones first.

Order status summary
Summarize my unfulfilled orders older than [N] days, grouped by fulfillment status, and tell me which ones need action today.

Save as skill: a daily fulfillment triage.

Investigate a single order
Pull up @[ORDER] and tell me its current fulfillment and payment status, the items, and whether anything is blocking it from shipping.

Mentions: reference the order directly so Sidekick acts on the right one.

09 Theme and storefront

Shift the whole aesthetic
I'm in the theme editor. Make my store feel more [AESTHETIC, e.g. calm and premium] by adjusting colors, typography, spacing, and roundness. Explain each change before I save it.

Requirement: you must be in the theme editor; Sidekick proposes, you save.

Fix a specific section
Use Target mode so I can click my homepage hero section, then increase its heading size, switch it to my dark color scheme, and tighten the spacing below it.

Target mode: click the exact section instead of describing it.

Improve color contrast
Review the color scheme on my product pages for readability and recommend adjustments so text meets accessible contrast against its background. Apply them after I approve.

Why it works: frames a design change around an accessibility standard.

Mobile editing on the phone
On my phone, help me reorder the sections on my homepage so the featured collection sits above the testimonials, and keep the preview visible while we work.

Spring ’26: mobile theme editing keeps a preview on-screen with Sidekick built in.

Run an AI store analysis
Analyze my current theme and give me the top five changes that AI-simulated shoppers suggest would improve conversion, ranked by expected impact.

Spring ’26: SimGym runs AI-simulated shopper analysis on any theme.

10 Automation and apps

Design a Flow automation
Help me design a Shopify Flow automation that tags any order over [AMOUNT] as "VIP" and sends me a notification. Lay out the trigger, condition, and actions before I build it.

Why it works: separates design from build so you validate the logic first.

Generate Flow test events
Generate test events for my "[WORKFLOW NAME]" Flow automation so I can verify the condition fires correctly before I turn it on.

Spring ’26: Sidekick generates Flow test events to verify logic.

Build a reorder app
Generate an admin app that recommends which products I need to reorder based on sales velocity, with a table I can sort and a button to mark an item as reordered.

Plan note: app generation needs Grow, Advanced, or Plus and a desktop browser.

Build a checkout-link generator
Generate an admin app that creates discounted checkout links and QR codes for products I select, so I can share them on social and in DMs.

Editor: refine, preview on desktop and mobile, and keep version history before installing.

Build a team task tracker
Generate an admin app that gives my team a simple task tracker with assignee, due date, and status, stored against my store so we can manage daily operations in one place.

Scope: generated apps use the Admin API and stay inside the admin; review permissions before installing.

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Organized for repeated use

Turn your best prompts into skills

A skill is a saved prompt you reuse with a shortcut. Save up to 25, run them from the skills list, and share them by URL.

Instead of retyping a winning instruction, save it once and trigger it with a single command. Save every prompt in this class that you run more than once. You can edit or delete skills anytime and share a skill with another merchant by copying its URL.

Save a skill in three steps

  1. Open Sidekick and click the plus icon.
  2. Type a slash followed by a short name to create a new skill, or run a prompt and click the skills icon to save it.
  3. Edit the shortcut or instructions in the dialog, then click Save. Reuse it anytime, or share the URL with your team.

The five skills worth saving first

/

/forecast

The 90-day sales and inventory projection. Run it every Monday.

/

/triage

The daily unfulfilled-order summary that tells you what needs action today.

/

/promo-audit

The 60-day discount performance review with keep, change, or end calls.

/

/distribute

Repurpose a new blog post into three social posts and an email teaser.

/

/calendar

The 4-week cross-channel content calendar, rerun at the start of each month.

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From prompts to software

Generate admin apps with Sidekick

On Grow, Advanced, and Plus, Sidekick builds installable admin apps from a description, with a code editor and version history.

Sidekick drafts a plan, generates the app, and for complex builds works in stages. You refine in chat, edit code, preview on desktop and mobile, and roll back through version history before installing. Generated apps use only the Admin API and stay inside the admin.

What generated apps can and cannot touch

Can access (Admin API)Cannot access
Orders, products, customers, discountsThemes and the storefront
Content: metaobjects, files, menus, blog postsCheckout
AnalyticsCustomer account apps
Installable, store-level, permission-reviewedAnything customer-facing or outside the admin

App generation is desktop-only and subject to hourly and weekly limits that scale with app complexity. Test thoroughly before installing, because a generated app can change customer-facing data even though it runs in the admin. Staff need the App development › Develop permission to generate or edit apps.

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For the vibe coders

What changed in Liquid theme coding for 2026

A new color architecture, declarative array filters, conditional editor settings, faster section rendering, and a standard interface for apps and agents.

Liquid still powers more than 95 percent of Shopify storefronts, and Shopify kept investing in it. The 2026 shifts are architectural: a new color architecture, declarative array filters that retire manual loops, editor-side conditional settings, inline documentation, faster section rendering, and a standard interface that lets apps and AI agents interact with themes reliably.

Color palettes replace color schemes

For new themes, Shopify now recommends a color_palette — a global set of 2 to 20 named colors defined once in settings_schema.json — with local color overrides, instead of the legacy color_scheme_group. Sections and blocks reference palette colors as defaults, so changing one palette value propagates across the theme. Color schemes still work in existing themes; migrate only on a major version.

// Reference a palette color as a default and allow a local override {% if section.settings.heading_color != blank %} --heading-color: {{ section.settings.heading_color }}; {% else %} --heading-color: {{ settings.colors.text }}; {% endif %}

Array filters retire manual loops

The filters find, find_index, has, and reject turn multi-line loops into single declarative statements. find returns the first matching item, find_index its position, has a boolean, and reject an array with matches removed. None mutate the source array.

2024a loop just to find the first available variant {% assign first_available = nil %} {% for v in product.variants %} {% if v.available and first_available == nil %} {% assign first_available = v %} {% endif %} {% endfor %} 2026one line {% assign first_available = product.variants | find: 'available', true %}

Conditional editor settings with visible_if

The visible_if setting attribute shows or hides a theme setting in the editor based on another setting’s value, so merchants only see relevant controls. It declutters the editor without custom JavaScript and is part of the broader push to write less Liquid by leaning on native platform features.

LiquidDoc documents your snippets

LiquidDoc lets you annotate snippets and blocks with typed parameters and descriptions in a doc comment, which the Shopify Liquid VS Code extension and Theme Check read to give autocomplete and validation when a snippet is rendered. It makes shared snippets self-describing.

Section Rendering API and Theme Check 2.0

The Section Rendering API renders sections independently over AJAX, enabling cart updates, filtering, and page transitions without full reloads — the foundation for app-like experiences on a Liquid theme. Theme Check 2.0 is built into the Shopify CLI, and the image_tag filter now supports fetchpriority and sizes for sharper performance control.

Standard storefront events and actions

Themes can now adopt standard storefront events and actions — a shared interface so apps and AI agents interact with the storefront without parsing the DOM or intercepting fetch. Themes dispatch events like product views and cart updates; apps call actions like updateCart, openCart, and getCart. When an action succeeds, the runtime auto-emits the matching event. This is how a Liquid theme becomes legible to the agentic commerce layer Shopify shipped this edition.

Coding the store from your terminal or chat

Spring ’26 made commerce a first-class skill for AI dev tools through the Shopify AI Toolkit and Dev MCP server, usable from Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, and Gemini CLI. You can run GraphQL and bulk operations from the Shopify CLI, and the Dev MCP server now uses fewer tokens and covers all supported API versions. For a Liquid vibe coder, the practical upgrade is accurate, version-correct code validation while you build.

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Pick the right tool

Sidekick vs running your store in Claude, ChatGPT, or Perplexity

Sidekick lives in the admin with full context. External agents manage the same store from a chat window or terminal. They are complementary.

Use Sidekick for in-admin work and external agents for chat-native or code workflows. Add products, create collections, and manage orders from a chat with the connector; build themes, apps, and integrations from your terminal with the AI Toolkit.

DimensionSidekickExternal agents (Claude / ChatGPT / Perplexity)
Where it runsInside the Shopify admin, mobile app, Apple WatchIn the agent’s own app or terminal, via connector
Store contextFull, native, with mentions and Target modeScoped by the connector permissions you grant
Builds appsYes, installable admin apps (Grow plan and up)Yes, via the AI Toolkit and Dev MCP for themes and apps
Theme codeTheme settings only, from the editorFull theme and app code from Claude Code, Cursor, and more
Best forDaily operations, content, analytics, in-admin tasksChat-native management and deep custom development
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Find your path

Who this masterclass is for

From a solo founder on Shopify Basic to a team on Plus generating internal apps. Match your situation to a starting path.

This class fits any merchant who wants to operate a store by describing intent instead of clicking through menus. The prompt library scales with you. Pick a path below and start there.

The solo founder

Start with Analytics, Content, and Products prompts. Save /forecast and /triage as skills. You do not need a paid plan for any of this.

The merchandiser

Live in Collections, Discounts, and Inventory. Use mentions and Target mode constantly. Save /promo-audit.

The marketer

Work the Marketing and Customers categories, lean on the Klaviyo and Smile app extensions, and save /calendar and /distribute.

The vibe coder

Go straight to app generation and the Liquid 2026 section. Pair Sidekick with Claude Code through the AI Toolkit for full theme work.

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Answers

Frequently asked questions

What is Shopify Sidekick in the Spring ’26 edition?
Sidekick is the AI commerce assistant built into the Shopify admin. In the Spring ’26 edition it works inside third-party apps such as Judge.me, Klaviyo, Loop, and Smile, multi-tasks in the background, runs everywhere in the Shopify mobile app, answers on Apple Watch, and can build installable admin apps.
Is Sidekick free, and which plans get every feature?
Sidekick is included with every Shopify plan at no extra cost. Most capabilities work on all plans. App generation, where Sidekick builds an installable admin app, requires the Grow, Advanced, or Shopify Plus plan and a desktop browser.
Can Sidekick take real actions, or only give advice?
It takes real actions. Sidekick fills forms, creates and edits products, discounts, collections, and customers, moves money between Shopify Balance accounts, generates ShopifyQL reports, and applies theme settings. It always shows changes for your review before they take effect.
What is a Sidekick skill and how do I save one?
A skill is a saved prompt you reuse with a shortcut. Open Sidekick, click the plus icon, and either type a slash followed by a name, or run a prompt and click the skills icon to save it. You can store up to 25 skills and share them with other merchants by URL.
What kinds of apps can Sidekick generate?
Admin-only apps that use the Admin API: reorder recommenders based on sales velocity, discounted checkout-link and QR-code generators, customer-search-and-discount tools, and team task trackers. Generated apps cannot touch themes, checkout, or customer-facing surfaces, and you review their permissions before installing.
How do I give Sidekick context about a specific product or order?
Use mentions or Target mode. Type the at-symbol followed by a resource name to reference a product, order, collection, customer, or metafield. Or click the plus icon, choose Target, and click components directly in your admin to add them as context.
Can Sidekick edit my theme?
Yes, while you are in the theme editor. Sidekick searches and applies global theme settings and the settings of sections and blocks already on the page, including colors, typography, spacing, roundness, shadows, and cart position. You must save the changes yourself; Sidekick does not auto-publish them.
What changed in Shopify Liquid theme coding for 2026?
New themes should use color_palette with local color overrides instead of color schemes. Array filters find, find_index, has, and reject replace manual loops. The visible_if setting toggles editor controls, LiquidDoc documents snippets, the Section Rendering API powers AJAX updates, and standard storefront events and actions let apps and agents interact with themes reliably.
Does Sidekick work on mobile and by voice?
Yes. Sidekick is available on every screen of the Shopify mobile app, supports voice mode on desktop, mobile, and Apple Watch, and auto-detects the language you speak. Screen sharing is in early access from the desktop admin for step-by-step visual guidance.
How is Sidekick different from running my store inside Claude or ChatGPT?
Sidekick lives inside the Shopify admin with full store context and a review-before-apply workflow. Claude, ChatGPT, and Perplexity connect through the Shopify connector and AI Toolkit to manage the same store from outside. They are complementary: Sidekick for in-admin work, external agents for chat-native or terminal workflows.
Can Sidekick generate and test automations?
Yes. Sidekick generates test events for Shopify Flow automations so you can verify the logic works before relying on it. Flow itself gained a code editor with syntax highlighting and autocomplete for Liquid variables, version history, and workflow notes in Spring ’26.
What is Sidekick Pulse?
Pulse proactively researches your store and surfaces personalized recommendations as a card on the admin home, each with a digest of actionable tasks. It requires Shopify Network Intelligence to be active and only appears when it has an insight to share.

Sidekick in Spring ’26 is a working operator, not a help widget: it acts inside your apps, builds software, and runs by voice and on mobile. Save the prompts you repeat as skills, pair it with external agents for code, and you can run nearly your whole store by describing what you want.

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Published June 19, 2026 by Robert McCullock, Design Delight Studio. Capabilities sourced from the Shopify Spring ’26 Editions, the Shopify Help Center, and shopify.dev as of this date. Verify plan availability and feature access in your own admin. Portfolio.