Import from Shopify copies the design of a theme from your Shopify store into a PlatformDTC theme you edit in the new theme editor. Your templates, header and footer, section settings, blocks and theme settings come over as they are, and the images the theme uses are copied to PlatformDTC. Open Themes 2 in the dashboard and choose Import from Shopify, or go straight to platformdtc.com/themes2.
Importing never changes your live store. The imported theme stays unpublished until you publish it yourself. PlatformDTC only reads your Shopify theme — nothing is ever written to your Shopify store.

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Before you start

You need:
  • Your Shopify store’s domain — the .myshopify.com address, for example your-store.myshopify.com. You can also enter just the part before .myshopify.com.
  • Shopify API credentials that can read themes — the read_themes access scope, and nothing else. See Create Shopify credentials.
  • Staff permission in Shopify to create apps — App development → Develop, if you are creating a new app.
Import brings over your theme’s design, not your store’s data. Products, collections, pages, blog posts and menus are managed in PlatformDTC — links in the theme to your collections, products, pages and blogs are pointed at your PlatformDTC storefront’s own addresses.

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Create Shopify credentials

PlatformDTC reads your theme through Shopify’s Admin API, so it needs credentials from an app installed on your Shopify store. There are two ways to get them.
Since January 1, 2026, Shopify no longer lets you create new custom apps in the Shopify admin. New apps are created in Shopify’s Dev Dashboard.
1

Create the app

Go to dev.shopify.com/dashboard and open Apps. Click Create app, choose Start from Dev Dashboard, enter a name such as PlatformDTC theme import, and click Create.
2

Set up a version

Open the Versions tab and fill in:
  • App URL — the default, https://shopify.dev/apps/default-app-home, is fine.
  • Webhooks API version — pick the newest version.
  • Scopes — enter read_themes.
Click Release.
3

Install it on your store

Go to the app’s Home, click Install app, select your store, and click Install.
4

Copy the credentials

Open Settings and copy the Client ID and Client secret. You enter both in PlatformDTC.
PlatformDTC exchanges the Client ID and secret for a Shopify access token that lasts 24 hours. This only works when the app and the store belong to the same Shopify organization — create the app from the organization that owns the store.
Treat the client secret and access token like a password. Paste them only into PlatformDTC’s import screen, never into email or chat.

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Run the import

1

Connect your Shopify store

In Themes 2, choose Import from Shopify. Enter your store’s domain and your credentials — the Client ID and Client secret, or the Admin API access token.
2

Pick a theme

PlatformDTC lists the themes on your Shopify store: your live theme, and your unpublished, development and other themes. Choose the one to import.
3

Choose where it goes

  • A new theme — PlatformDTC creates a new, unpublished theme. You can give it a name.
  • An existing theme — the import replaces the imported parts of a theme you already have in Themes 2: its templates, header, footer and theme settings.
4

Analyze

Click Analyze. PlatformDTC downloads and converts the theme and produces a report, but creates, uploads and changes nothing. Use it to see exactly what the import will do.
5

Review the report

Check what will come over, what won’t, and any custom code flagged for review. For each flagged item, choose whether to import it or import it empty. See Understanding the report.
6

Import

Click Import. Progress is shown while PlatformDTC connects to Shopify, downloads and converts the theme, creates the theme if it’s new, copies images, and saves the files.
7

Open the theme

When the import finishes, review the final report and click Open theme to edit it in the theme editor.

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What comes over

  • Every JSON template, including alternate templates such as product.<name> or page.contact.
  • The header and footer section groups.
  • Theme settings — colors, typography and everything else in the theme’s settings (config/settings_data.json).
  • Section settings, blocks, their order, and hidden sections and blocks, exactly as they are in Shopify.
  • Images the theme uses from your Shopify files (shopify://shop_images/...) are copied to PlatformDTC storage, and the theme is pointed at the copies.
  • Links to your collections, products, pages and blogs are rewritten to your storefront’s own addresses.

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Sections

How sections come over depends on the theme:
  • Themes PlatformDTC has ported with an identical settings interface — today, Silent Scale PRO — have their sections mapped to the PlatformDTC equivalents, so they render with your settings.
  • Sections from other themes are kept exactly as they are, but render nothing on your storefront. They are listed in the report and flagged in the theme editor so you can replace them with PlatformDTC sections.

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What doesn’t come over

Each of these is listed in the report with the reason:
  • Liquid templates (.liquid files such as gift_card.liquid). Only JSON templates are imported.
  • Customer account templates (templates/customers/...).
  • Market-specific versions of the header or footer (*.context.*.json section groups).
  • Shopify app blocks and app embeds. Apps don’t run outside Shopify — replace them with PlatformDTC features or apps.
  • Custom CSS added to individual sections.
  • Theme licence and copy-protection settings.
  • Videos stored in your Shopify files (shopify://files/videos/...) are listed in the report and not copied; they keep pointing at Shopify. Replace them in the theme editor.

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Understanding the report

The report is produced by Analyze and again when the import finishes. It shows how many templates, section groups, sections and blocks were found, how many images were copied or reused, how many links were rewritten, and how many app blocks were removed. The sections below explain each list.

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Files not imported

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Settings removed

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Other lists

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Custom code flagged for review

Custom Liquid and HTML sections can contain code that misleads shoppers. PlatformDTC checks every custom code setting and flags it when it: Each flagged item shows where it is, the setting, a short excerpt of the code and why it was flagged. By default, flagged code is imported empty. You can choose, item by item, to import the code as it is — the report then shows it as kept instead of cleared.
PlatformDTC storefronts never show deceptive interface elements, whatever a theme’s settings say. Code you keep is still subject to that.

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After importing

1

Review the theme in the editor

Click Open theme. Check each template, and look for sections flagged in the editor as having no PlatformDTC equivalent — replace them with PlatformDTC sections.
2

Replace apps

Anything that came from a Shopify app — reviews, upsells, subscriptions, pop-ups — was removed. Set up the PlatformDTC equivalent and add its sections or blocks.
3

Replace videos and restyle

Replace any videos listed under Media not copied, and restyle sections that relied on custom CSS.
4

Publish

When you’re happy with it, publish the theme. Until then, your live store doesn’t change.
5

Remove the Shopify app

If you don’t need the app any more, uninstall it from your Shopify store or revoke its credentials. PlatformDTC doesn’t keep them — see Security.

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Importing again

You can run the import again into the same theme, for example after changing the theme in Shopify. The imported templates, header, footer and theme settings are replaced, and a new version of the theme is saved, so earlier versions can still be restored from the theme’s versions. Images already copied by an earlier import are reused rather than copied again.

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Security

  • Read-only. Only read_themes is needed. PlatformDTC reads the theme through Shopify’s GraphQL Admin API (version 2026-07) and never writes to your Shopify store.
  • Credentials aren’t kept. Your Client secret or access token is encrypted while the import runs and deleted when it finishes. Credentials are never logged.
  • Revoke when done. Uninstall the app from your Shopify store, or revoke its credentials, once you no longer need it.

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Troubleshooting

If an import fails part way, the error is shown on the import with Shopify’s or PlatformDTC’s message. A new theme is never published by an import, so a failed import doesn’t affect your live store.

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FAQ

No. PlatformDTC only reads the theme, using the read_themes scope, and never writes to Shopify.
No. A new theme is created unpublished, and changes to an existing theme don’t reach shoppers until you publish that theme.
Yes. You can pick your live theme or any other theme listed from your Shopify store.
Analyze doesn’t create a theme, copy images or save files. It only produces the report.
Sections from themes PlatformDTC hasn’t ported are kept as they are but render nothing. Today, Silent Scale PRO is the ported theme. Replace other sections with PlatformDTC sections in the theme editor; they are flagged there and in the report.
No — the import covers the theme’s design. Links in the theme to your collections, products, pages and blogs are pointed at your PlatformDTC storefront’s addresses.
Yes. Each import saves a new version of the theme, so you can restore the version from before the import.
Shopify stopped allowing new custom apps in the admin on January 1, 2026. Create the app in the Dev Dashboard instead — see Create Shopify credentials.