Shopify APIConnect Shopify without building on its API
Shopify has REST and GraphQL APIs. Self-serve for any developer through the Shopify Dev Dashboard/Partner account; merchants can no longer create new admin-built custom apps. If you're reading the docs because you need Shopify to talk to the rest of your stack, Caddi does that without you writing or maintaining integration code: you show it the job once, and it runs it across Shopify and your other tools.
- APIREST + GraphQL
- AuthOAuth 2.0
- AccessSelf-serve
What the Shopify API gives you
- Type
- REST + GraphQL
- Authentication
- OAuth 2.0 (token exchange for embedded apps, authorization code grant for standalone apps, client credentials grant for apps used only in your own organization)
- Who can get access
- Self-serve for any developer through the Shopify Dev Dashboard/Partner account; merchants can no longer create new admin-built custom apps.
- What it covers
- Store data such as products, variants, inventory, orders, customers, fulfillment, discounts, and metafields.
- Limits
- GraphQL Admin API uses calculated query cost, restored at 100 points/s on Standard, 200 on Advanced, 1,000 on Plus, and 2,000 on Enterprise, with a 1,000-point maximum per query.
- Worth knowing
- The REST Admin API is legacy as of Oct 1, 2024, and since Apr 1, 2025 new public apps must be built only on the GraphQL Admin API.
Official docs: shopify.dev. Checked September 2026. Vendors change access terms, so confirm with Shopify before you build.
Building on the Shopify API vs. having Caddi run it
| The job | Build it on the API | With Caddi |
|---|---|---|
| Getting access | Register an app, get Shopify credentials, and manage tokens and refreshes. | Connect your Shopify account once. Caddi holds the connection. |
| Writing the integration | A developer maps fields, handles pagination, retries and rate limits, and writes the sync. | You show Caddi the Shopify task the way you'd train a new hire. It writes verified code for it. |
| Steps the API doesn't cover | Screens with no endpoint stay manual, or need a separate RPA tool. | Caddi uses a secure, audited browser session where there's no API, in the same automation. |
| The other systems in the loop | Each extra tool is another API, another set of credentials, another integration to own. | One automation runs across all the tools the job touches. |
| Keeping it running | Someone owns the code when the API version, fields or your process change. | Every automation is reviewed before it runs in production, and every run is logged. |
Building on the API is the right call when you have engineers and the integration is your product. When the goal is getting Shopify work off someone's desk, the build is the slow part.
What teams usually want the Shopify API for
Sync orders to accounting
Caddi captures each Shopify order and records the invoice in QuickBooks.
Sync customers to CRM
Caddi creates or updates the Shopify customer record in Salesforce.
Track inventory
Caddi updates the Shopify inventory report in Microsoft Excel.
Shopify API questions
Does Shopify have an API?
Yes. Shopify has REST and GraphQL APIs, authenticated with OAuth 2.0 (token exchange for embedded apps, authorization code grant for standalone apps, client credentials grant for apps used only in your own organization). The official documentation is at https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-graphql.
How do I get access to the Shopify API?
Self-serve for any developer through the Shopify Dev Dashboard/Partner account; merchants can no longer create new admin-built custom apps.
Does the Shopify API have rate limits?
GraphQL Admin API uses calculated query cost, restored at 100 points/s on Standard, 200 on Advanced, 1,000 on Plus, and 2,000 on Enterprise, with a 1,000-point maximum per query.
Can I connect Shopify to my other tools without writing code against its API?
Yes. With Caddi you show the Shopify task once, the way you'd train a new hire, and Caddi builds it as verified code that runs across Shopify and the other tools the job touches. Where a step has no API, Caddi uses a secure, audited browser session in the same automation.
Do I need a developer to automate Shopify with Caddi?
No. There is no integration code for you to write or maintain. Every automation Caddi builds for Shopify is reviewed before it runs in production, and every run is logged.
Connect Shopify without the build.
Drop your work email and pick a time. We'll show you Caddi running your Shopify workflow end to end.