The Openbridge Shopify API data connector allows you to tap into inventory, orders, returns, and a host of other information via an automated, code-free process.

Using private, customer-created, apps for connectivity to a Shopify account allows you to leverage the universal Openbridge OAuth and API services. Why do we use private (i.e., custom apps)? These applications are secure, controlled by you, owned by you, and dedicated for your use only.

This guide will walk you through the process to activate a private, custom merchant app. It should only take a couple of minutes to complete this process.

Start by navigating to the Shopify developer website at https://shopify.dev. Log in using the admin credentials for the specific store you want to create a data pipeline subscription for. Once you've logged in successfully, you'll be taken to the developer admin page, which is your central hub for managing apps.

From the developer admin page, look for and click the "Create App" button. This will begin the process of setting up a new custom application for your store.

After clicking "Create App," you'll be presented with two options for how to build your app. Select "Start from Dev Dashboard" on the right-hand side. This is the simpler, browser-based approach that doesn't require any coding tools on your computer.

You'll then be asked to give your app a name. Choose something descriptive that helps you remember its purpose — for example, "Openbridge Data Connector" or "My Store Data Pipeline."

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Important: Your app name must not contain the word "Shopify." Shopify reserves that term, and any name that includes it will be rejected.

Once you've entered a valid name, click the "Create" button to proceed.

You'll now be on the "version configuration page". This is where you tell Shopify how your app connects to "Openbridge" and what store data it's allowed to access. There are three things to do on this page:

At the top of the page, you'll see the "App URL" field. Enter the following value exactly as shown:

Next, find the "Scopes" section in the middle of the page. Scopes determine what types of data the app is allowed to read from your store. Paste in the following list of scopes:

These scopes grant read-only access to your products, customers, orders, inventory, fulfillment details, payment information, and price rules. No write access is requested, so Openbridge will never modify any of your store data.

At the bottom of the page, you'll find the "Allowed redirection URL(s)" field. Enter the following value exactly as shown:

This URL ensures that when you authorize the connection later, Shopify knows where to securely send your store's authentication details back to Openbridge.

Once your URLs and scopes are configured, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Release" button.

A confirmation dialog will appear asking for a "Version name" and "Version message." Both of these fields are completely optional and are not needed for this setup. You can leave them blank or enter a brief note for your own reference (e.g., "Initial release for Openbridge").

Click the "Release" button in the dialog to finalize and publish your app configuration.

Now that your app is set up and released, navigate to the "Settings" page for your app. Here you'll find two important pieces of information:

Copy both of these values and save them in a safe place (such as a text file or password manager on your computer). You will need to enter these credentials when setting up your Openbridge identity and connecting your Shopify store within the Openbridge application.

Security note: Treat your Client Secret like a password. Do not share it publicly or with anyone who does not need access to your Openbridge configuration.

With your Client ID and Client Secret in hand, you're ready to head over to the Openbridge app and set up your Shopify data identity. From there, you'll be able to create pipeline subscriptions to start pulling your store data into your preferred data destinations.