Shopify Known Pitfalls

Overview

The 10 most common mistakes when building Shopify apps, with real API examples showing the wrong way and the right way.

Prerequisites

• Existing Shopify app codebase to review or audit
• Familiarity with GraphQL Admin API query patterns and response shapes
• Access scopes configured for the APIs your app uses
• @shopify/shopify-api v9+ installed (for code examples)

Instructions

Each pitfall includes a wrong-way and right-way code example. See Pitfall Examples for all 10 complete code comparisons.

Pitfall #1: Not Checking userErrors (The #1 Mistake)

Shopify GraphQL mutations return HTTP 200 even when they fail. The errors are in userErrors. Always check userErrors.length > 0 before accessing the result.