Walk a merchant through installing the Symmetry theme — or any paid Theme Store theme — on any Shopify store, from Theme Store preview to live publish. Trigger on: "install Symmetry", "add Symmetry theme", "install a Shopify theme", "switch theme", "try a new theme", "publish a theme", "Shopify theme install", "theme store", or any request to change a Shopify storefront theme. Also trigger when the user links to themes.shopify.com/themes/symmetry or to any Shopify Theme Store listing.
Installation
Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.
Walk a merchant through installing the Symmetry theme — or any paid Theme Store theme — on any Shopify store, from Theme Store preview to live publish. Trigger on: "install Symmetry", "add Symmetry theme", "install a Shopify theme", "switch theme", "try a new theme", "publish a theme", "Shopify theme install", "theme store", or any request to change a Shopify storefront theme. Also trigger when the user links to themes.shopify.com/themes/symmetry or to any Shopify Theme Store listing.
Symmetry theme install — merchant playbook
Use this skill when the user wants Symmetry (a paid Shopify theme by Clean
Canvas) installed on a Shopify store. Works identically for any paid Theme
Store theme — just swap "Symmetry" for the theme name.
What you are doing
Adding a theme to a Shopify store does NOT replace the live storefront. It
lands as a Draft theme, which the merchant can customize and preview at
a secret URL. Only a deliberate "Publish" swap makes it live. The
shopify_describe_theme MCP tool (from the shopify-mcp skill) can confirm
what's currently published before and after.
Symmetry costs money (one-time license, typically ~$350 USD, per-store).
"Try theme" is free and creates the Draft; "Buy theme" is the licensing step.
Path A — Merchant self-serve (recommended)
This is the default. The merchant owns the Shopify admin and their own
payment method. Claude's job is to write the steps clearly.
Admin → Online Store → Themes. If there is no Themes menu, the store
is not on a plan that permits theme changes — flag that and stop.
Search Symmetry (or paste the Theme Store URL). Open the listing.
Click Try theme. Shopify installs it in Draft themes for free.
Customize Draft → preview with the eye icon → share preview link with
stakeholders.
When ready, in Draft themes click the ... menu → Publish.
Shopify prompts for payment. Once paid, the theme becomes the live one
and the previous theme moves to the Theme library as a backup.
Always recommend step 4 (Try theme) before step 7 (Buy/Publish). A
Draft install is free and reversible; publishing is an immediate swap.
Path B — Partner / staff — via Shopify CLI
Use this when Claude has repo access and the merchant wants a version-
controlled theme.
# One-time: install CLI
npm install -g @shopify/cli @shopify/theme
# Auth against the merchant's store (substitute the client's handle)
shopify login --store <handle>.myshopify.com
# Pull the current live theme as a safety backup (writes to ./backup/)
shopify theme pull --live --path ./backup
# Download Symmetry source (merchant must have purchased it first — CLI cannot# buy a theme). Get the .zip from Theme Store > My themes, then:
shopify theme push --path ./symmetry --unpublished
# Preview
shopify theme dev --store <handle>.myshopify.com --theme "Symmetry"# Publish when stakeholders approve
shopify theme publish --theme "Symmetry"
Keep the pre-Symmetry backup in git under themes/pre-symmetry/ so a
rollback is shopify theme push --path ./themes/pre-symmetry --live.
Path C — Claude-in-Chrome automation
Only use this if the user explicitly asks Claude to drive the admin. Chrome
MCP is tier-"read" for the browser itself, but the extension tools can click
inside the admin. Before any click inside Shopify admin:
Verify the extension is connected (chrome-health-check skill).
Navigate to https://admin.shopify.com/store/<handle>/themes.
Walk the user through Try theme as above, pausing at every destructive
step (especially Publish) for confirmation.
Do NOT auto-publish. Do NOT enter payment details. Always hand control
back for the buy-theme step.
Pre-install checklist
Before the merchant clicks anything:
Confirm current theme name and version (shopify_describe_theme).
Confirm Shopify plan supports theme changes (Basic and up do).
Confirm staff account has Themes permission.
Export a backup of the current theme (Admin → Themes → ... → Download).
Note any custom Liquid or apps that inject into the current theme —
these will need to be re-wired in Symmetry.
Screenshot the live storefront hero + product page for before/after.
Checkout flow completes end to end on a test order.
Apps that inject into theme still work (reviews, currency switcher,
cookie banner, live chat).
Analytics pixels present (GA4, Meta, TikTok if used).
Mobile viewport tested — Symmetry is responsive but custom sections
can break.
Search indexing: robots.txt and sitemap still valid.
SOSA notes
Supervised — publishing a theme is a destructive storefront change;
always confirm with the merchant before Path B's theme publish or
Path A's Publish click.
Orchestrated — follow the Plan/Act/Verify structure: describe current
theme, install draft, verify preview, publish, verify live.
Secured — never ask the merchant for their Shopify password. All
operations go through staff accounts or CLI tokens the merchant owns.
