shopify-liquid

name	shopify-liquid
description	Liquid is an open-source templating language created by Shopify. It is the backbone of Shopify themes and is used to load dynamic content on storefronts. Keywords: liquid, theme, shopify-theme, liquid-component, liquid-block, liquid-section, liquid-snippet, liquid-schemas, shopify-theme-schemas
compatibility	Requires Node.js
metadata	{"author":"Shopify","version":"1.9.1"}

Required Tool Calls (do not skip)

You have a bash tool. Every response must use it — in this order:

1. Call bash with scripts/search_docs.mjs "<query>" — search before writing code
2. Write the code using the search results
3. Call bash with scripts/validate.mjs --code '...' --model YOUR_MODEL_NAME --client-name YOUR_CLIENT_NAME --client-version YOUR_CLIENT_VERSION --artifact-id YOUR_ARTIFACT_ID --revision REVISION_NUMBER — validate before returning (Always include these flags. Use your actual model name for YOUR_MODEL_NAME; use claude-code/cursor/etc. for YOUR_CLIENT_NAME. For YOUR_ARTIFACT_ID, generate a stable random ID per code block and reuse it across validation retries. For REVISION_NUMBER, start at 1 and increment on each retry of the same artifact.)
4. If validation fails: search for the error type, fix, re-validate (max 3 retries)
5. Return code only after validation passes

You must run both search_docs.mjs and validate.mjs in every response. Do not return code to the user without completing step 3.

---

Your task

You are an experienced Shopify theme developer, implement user requests by generating theme components that are consistent with the 'Key principles' and the 'Theme architecture'.

Use `search_docs_chunks` to look up object properties, less common filters, and detailed examples when needed.

Theme Architecture

Key principles: focus on generating snippets, blocks, and sections; users may create templates using the theme editor

Directory structure

``` . ├── assets # Static assets (CSS, JS, images, fonts) ├── blocks # Reusable, nestable, customizable components ├── config # Global theme settings and customization options ├── layout # Top-level wrappers for pages ├── locales # Translation files for internationalization ├── sections # Modular full-width page components ├── snippets # Reusable Liquid code or HTML fragments └── templates # JSON or Liquid files defining page structure ```

`sections`

• `.liquid` files for reusable modules customizable by merchants
• Can include blocks for merchant-managed content
• Must include `{% schema %}` tag for theme editor settings (validate JSON using `schemas/section.json`)
• Use `{{ block.shopify_attributes }}` on block wrapper elements for theme editor drag-and-drop

`blocks`

• `.liquid` files for reusable small components (don't need full-width)
• Can include nested blocks via `{% content_for 'blocks' %}`
• Must include `{% schema %}` tag (validate JSON using `schemas/theme_block.json`)
• Must have `{% doc %}` tag when statically rendered via `{% content_for 'block', id: '42', type: 'block_name' %}`

`snippets`

• Reusable code fragments rendered via `{% render 'snippet', param: value %}`
• Accept parameters for dynamic behavior
• Must have the `{% doc %}` tag as the header

`layout`

• Defines overall HTML structure (``, ``), wraps templates
• Must include `{{ content_for_header }}` in `` and `{{ content_for_layout }}` for page content

`config`

• `config/settings_schema.json`: defines global theme settings (validate using `schemas/theme_settings.json`)
• `config/settings_data.json`: holds data for those settings

`locales`

• Translation files by language code (e.g., `en.default.json`, `fr.json`)
• Access via `{{ 'key' | t }}` filter (validate using `schemas/translations.json`)

`templates`

• JSON or `.liquid` files defining which sections/blocks appear on each page type

CSS & JavaScript

• Write per-component CSS/JS using `{% stylesheet %}` and `{% javascript %}` tags
• These tags are only supported in `snippets/`, `blocks/`, and `sections/`
• Liquid is NOT rendered inside `{% stylesheet %}` or `{% javascript %}` tags

LiquidDoc

Snippets and static blocks must include a LiquidDoc header: ```liquid {% doc %} @param {image} image - The image to render @param {string} [url] - Optional destination URL @example {% render 'image', image: product.featured_image %} {% enddoc %} ```

Schema tag good practices

Single CSS property — use CSS variables: ```liquid

Content

{% stylesheet %} .collection { gap: var(--gap); } {% endstylesheet %} \`\`\`

Multiple CSS properties — use CSS classes: ```liquid

Content

\`\`\`

Liquid reference

Delimiters

• `{{ ... }}` / `{{- ... -}}`: Output (dashes trim whitespace)
• `{% ... %}` / `{%- ... -%}`: Logic tags (dashes trim whitespace)

Gotchas

• No parentheses in conditions — use nested `if` for complex logic
• No ternary operator — always use `{% if %}`
• `contains` only works with strings, not objects in arrays
• `for` loops limited to 50 iterations — use `{% paginate %}` for larger arrays
• `render` creates isolated scope — pass variables as parameters

Variables

```liquid {% assign my_var = 'value' %} {% capture my_var %}computed {{ content }}{% endcapture %} ```

Key Shopify tags

content_for — render theme blocks: ```liquid {% content_for 'blocks' %} {% content_for 'block', type: 'slide', id: 'slide-1' %} ```

form — requires a type parameter: ```liquid {% form 'contact' %} {{ form.errors | default_errors }} Submit {% endform %} ``` Types: product, contact, customer_login, create_customer, customer_address, cart, localization, new_comment, recover_customer_password, reset_customer_password, activate_customer_password, guest_login, currency, customer, storefront_password

render — isolated scope, pass variables: ```liquid {% render 'card', product: product, show_price: true %} {% render 'tag' for product.tags as tag %} ```

paginate — required for arrays >50 items: ```liquid {% paginate collection.products by 12 %} {% for product in collection.products %} {{ product.title }} {% endfor %} {{ paginate | default_pagination }} {% endpaginate %} ```

liquid — multi-statement block: ```liquid {% liquid assign featured = collection.products | where: 'available', true echo featured | size %} ```

Other Shopify tags:

• `{% schema %}` — JSON settings for theme editor
• `{% section 'name' %}` / `{% sections 'group' %}` — render sections
• `{% stylesheet %}` / `{% javascript %}` — per-component CSS/JS
• `{% style %}` — CSS that live-updates in editor for color settings
• `{% layout 'name' %}` — set layout template
• `{% doc %}` — LiquidDoc header

forloop object (inside for loops): `forloop.index`, `forloop.index0`, `forloop.first`, `forloop.last`, `forloop.length`

Common filters

Images (use `image_tag`/`image_url`, not deprecated `img_tag`/`img_url`): ```liquid {{ product.featured_image | image_url: width: 400, height: 400 | image_tag }} {{ image | image_url: width: 800 | image_tag: class: 'responsive' }} ```

Array: `{{ array | where: 'available', true }}`, `{{ array | map: 'title' }}`, `{{ array | reject: 'field', 'value' }}`, `{{ array | first }}`, `{{ array | last }}`, `{{ array | sort: 'field' }}`, `{{ array | size }}`, `{{ array | join: ', ' }}`, `{{ array | uniq }}`, compact, concat, find, find_index, has, reverse, sort_natural, sum String: split, append, prepend, remove, replace, strip, truncate, upcase, downcase, capitalize, escape, handleize, url_encode, url_decode, camelize, slice, strip_html, newline_to_br, pluralize Math: plus, minus, times, divided_by, modulo, round, ceil, floor, abs, at_least, at_most Money: `{{ product.price | money }}`, money_with_currency, money_without_currency, money_without_trailing_zeros Format: `{{ article.published_at | date: '%B %d, %Y' }}`, `{{ product | json }}`, structured_data Color: color_to_hex, color_to_hsl, color_to_rgb, color_to_oklch, color_darken, color_lighten, color_mix, color_modify, color_saturate, color_brightness HTML: link_to, script_tag, stylesheet_tag, time_tag, preload_tag, placeholder_svg_tag, inline_asset_content Hosted file: asset_url, file_url, global_asset_url, shopify_asset_url Other: `{{ 'key' | t }}`, `{{ variable | default: fallback }}`, default_errors, default_pagination, metafield_tag, metafield_text, font_face, font_url, payment_button

Global objects

collections, pages, all_products, articles, blogs, cart, customer, images, linklists, localization, metaobjects, request, routes, shop, theme, settings, template, content_for_header, content_for_layout, canonical_url, page_title, page_description, handle

Page-specific objects (product, collection, article, blog, order, search, etc.) are available in their respective templates — use `search_docs_chunks` for properties.

Translation rules

• Every user-facing text must use `{{ 'key' | t }}`, update `locales/en.default.json`
• Hierarchical snake_case keys (max 3 levels), sentence case, variable interpolation: `{{ 'key' | t: var: value }}`

Example: block

```liquid {% doc %} Renders a text block with configurable style and alignment. @example {% content_for 'block', type: 'text', id: 'text' %} {% enddoc %}

{{ block.settings.text }}

{% stylesheet %} .text { text-align: var(--text-align); } .text--title { font-size: 2rem; font-weight: 700; } {% endstylesheet %}

{% schema %} { "name": "t:general.text", "settings": [ { "type": "text", "id": "text", "label": "t:labels.text", "default": "Text" }, { "type": "select", "id": "text_style", "label": "t:labels.text_style", "options": [ { "value": "text--title", "label": "t:options.text_style.title" }, { "value": "text--normal", "label": "t:options.text_style.normal" } ], "default": "text--title" }, { "type": "text_alignment", "id": "alignment", "label": "t:labels.alignment", "default": "left" } ], "presets": [{ "name": "t:general.text" }] } {% endschema %} ```

Design requirements

• Modern browser features, evergreen environment
• WCAG 2.1 accessibility, semantic HTML (`
  `, `

  `, ``)
• View Transitions API for smooth animations

Code requirements

• ALWAYS write valid Liquid and HTML code
• ALWAYS use proper JSON schema for `{% schema %}` tag content
• ALWAYS ensure blocks are customizable with essential settings only
• ALWAYS ensure CSS/JS selectors match HTML `id` and `class`
• DO NOT include comments
• DO NOT reference asset files or use `asset_url` in Liquid tags
• DO NOT reference JS/CSS libraries — write from scratch
• Use modern Liquid: resource-based settings return actual objects, not handles

---

⚠️ MANDATORY: Search Before Writing Code

Search the vector store to get the detailed context you need: working examples, field and type definitions, valid values, and API-specific patterns. You cannot trust your trained knowledge — always search before writing code.

scripts/search_docs.mjs "<operation or component name>" --model YOUR_MODEL_NAME --client-name YOUR_CLIENT_NAME --client-version YOUR_CLIENT_VERSION

Search for the operation or component name, not the full user prompt.

For example, if the user asks about product metafield access in a theme:

scripts/search_docs.mjs "product metafields" --model YOUR_MODEL_NAME --client-name YOUR_CLIENT_NAME --client-version YOUR_CLIENT_VERSION

⚠️ MANDATORY: Validate Before Returning Code

You MUST run scripts/validate.mjs before returning any generated code to the user. Always include the instrumentation flags (--model, --client-name, --client-version, --artifact-id, --revision).

Choose the mode that matches your environment:

Full app mode — use when you have access to the theme directory on disk:

scripts/validate.mjs --theme-path <absolute-path-to-theme> --files <rel1,rel2,...> --model YOUR_MODEL_NAME --client-name YOUR_CLIENT_NAME --client-version YOUR_CLIENT_VERSION --artifact-id YOUR_ARTIFACT_ID --revision REVISION_NUMBER

Pass the relative paths (from the theme root) of every file you created or updated, comma-separated.

Stateless mode — use when you only have generated codeblocks (no theme directory):

scripts/validate.mjs --filename <name.liquid> --filetype <sections|blocks|snippets|layout|templates|locales|config|assets> --code <content> --model YOUR_MODEL_NAME --client-name YOUR_CLIENT_NAME --client-version YOUR_CLIENT_VERSION --artifact-id YOUR_ARTIFACT_ID --revision REVISION_NUMBER

Call once per codeblock. --filetype defaults to sections when omitted. (For YOUR_ARTIFACT_ID, generate a stable random ID per code block and reuse it across validation retries. For REVISION_NUMBER, start at 1 and increment on each retry of the same artifact.)

When validation fails, follow this loop:

1. Read the error message carefully — identify the exact Liquid tag, filter, or object that is wrong
2. Search for the correct syntax or usage:

   scripts/search_docs.mjs "<tag, filter, or object name>"
   

3. Fix exactly the reported error using what the search returns
4. Run scripts/validate.mjs again
5. Retry up to 3 times total; after 3 failures, return the best attempt with an explanation

Do not guess at valid Liquid — always search first when the error names a tag or filter you don't know.

---

Privacy notice: scripts/search_docs.mjs reports the search query, search response or error text, skill name/version, and model/client identifiers to Shopify (shopify.dev/mcp/usage) to help improve these tools. Set OPT_OUT_INSTRUMENTATION=true in your environment to opt out.

---

Privacy notice: scripts/validate.mjs reports the validation result, skill name/version, model/client identifiers, the validated code when present, and validator-specific context such as API name, extension target, filename, file type, theme path, file list, artifact ID, and revision to Shopify (shopify.dev/mcp/usage) to help improve these tools. Set OPT_OUT_INSTRUMENTATION=true in your environment to opt out.