Shopify permission, in plain English

What can an AI agent do with
Change your store's theme?

It can change the files of your online store theme, which controls how your store looks. An app offered to many stores also needs a special exemption from Shopify to do this.

How to spot it

On a Shopify connection or settings screen, this is write_themes.

Strongest thing it allows: Can change.

With it, an agent can

  • Create or overwrite theme files
  • Delete a theme
  • Read your themes

It cannot, on its own

  • An app offered to many stores cannot change theme files unless Shopify has given it an exemption

What a bad day looks like

It could overwrite a theme file and break your storefront, or add content that every shopper sees.

Set it up safer

Ask the company selling the agent

Source

Checked against Shopify documentation on 2026-09-28. All Shopify permissions →

Thinking about a specific agent?

Tell us what it connects to, what it is allowed to do and who approves its work. You get a plain-language label of what it can touch and what to ask the seller. It takes a couple of minutes, and your answers stay in your browser unless you choose to post a test job.

Or have a person go through the AI apps on up to 3 of your business services with you and get a written report, for $249.

This page explains what a permission allows. It does not describe, test or rate any product. Permission details are summarized in our own words from the provider's documentation, linked on the page; providers change their documentation, so check the source before you rely on a detail.