| Server | What it does | Who it's for | Where it runs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify connector ("Setup MCP") | Reads orders, customers and sales. Edits products, stock, collections and discounts | Merchants | Hosted by Shopify, used from Claude, ChatGPT, Perplexity and other AI apps. Cursor gets it through Shopify's plugin |
| Dev MCP | Searches Shopify's docs and API schemas. Validates GraphQL, Liquid and theme files | Developers and agencies | On your own computer, in Cursor, Claude Code, Codex or VS Code. No login |
| Catalog MCP (Global and Storefront) | Lets an agent search products across Shopify, or inside one store | Shopping agents acting for buyers | Hosted by Shopify at catalog.shopify.com, or on your store at /api/ucp/mcp |
| Cart, Checkout and Order MCP | Builds a cart, turns it into a checkout, fetches the order afterwards | Shopping agents | Your store, at /api/ucp/mcp |
| Customer Accounts MCP | One signed-in customer's orders, returns and account details | Apps built for a store's customers | Your store, at /customer/api/mcp, behind the customer's login |
| Storefront MCP (the old one) | Catalog and cart tools removed in 2026. Only the policies and FAQs tool is left | Nobody starting today | Your store, at /api/mcp |
What each Shopify MCP does
"Shopify MCP" is a family name. Shopify makes every server above, but only one reads your store's numbers. The others help a developer build, or a buyer's AI shop. Checked against Shopify's docs on 21 October 2026. If MCP is new to you, start with what an MCP server is.
The Shopify connector
This is the one a store owner usually means. Shopify calls the server "Setup MCP", at https://setup.shopify.com/mcp, and describes it as a "merchant-management surface" (Shopify). Claude's directory lists 25 tools, from list-orders and run-analytics-query to create-discount and set-inventory (Claude). Its analytics cover "sales, orders, products, customers, and fulfillment" (Shopify Help).
You can't plug it into any client you like. Shopify only approves its official integrations on that endpoint (Shopify). Since 1 October 2026, Shopify's Cursor plugin connects to it as well (AI Toolkit changelog).
Dev MCP and the AI Toolkit
The Dev MCP is for people who build on Shopify. It "runs locally and doesn't require authentication" (Shopify.dev), and it never touches a store. When I ran version 1.17.0 on 21 October 2026 (npm), it listed five tools: learn_shopify_api, search_docs_chunks, validate, validate_theme and feedback.
Since April 2026, Shopify wraps it in the AI Toolkit, a plugin that adds skills and store access through Shopify CLI (Shopify changelog). Those store commands can't write unless you add --allow-mutations (Shopify CLI).
Catalog, Cart, Checkout and Order MCP
These serve the other side of the counter. They implement the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), announced by Shopify and Google in January 2026 (Shopify), so a buyer's agent can find products, fill a cart and check out. Global Catalog searches across all Shopify merchants (Shopify.dev). Storefront Catalog, Cart, Checkout and Order share your store's /api/ucp/mcp endpoint (Shopify.dev).
Agents identify themselves with a profile, and only higher trust tiers can complete a checkout directly (Shopify.dev). As a merchant, you install nothing.
Customer Accounts MCP
It works for one signed-in customer at a time. An app uses it to answer "where's my order?" through OAuth with PKCE, and your store needs a custom domain (Shopify.dev).
Storefront MCP, mostly retired
Older guides point agents at yourstore.com/api/mcp. Shopify removed its catalog and cart tools and moved them to UCP, and only search_shop_policies_and_faqs still answers there (Shopify.dev). For an AI chat on your store without code, Shopify now points merchants to the Inbox agent.
Before you start
- Connector: a store you own and an AI app Shopify supports. Claude's directory connectors work on every Claude plan (Claude Help). The connector can't do more than your own staff account can (Shopify Help).
- Dev MCP: Node.js 18 or later, and a client that runs local servers.
- UCP servers: nothing, if you sell. If you build a shopping agent, an agent profile at a URL you control.
Set it up in Claude, Claude Code or Cursor
- Pick the job. Questions about your sales and orders: the connector. Theme or app code: the Dev MCP. Selling through AI shopping apps: nothing to install.
- In Claude, open Customize, then Connectors, find Shopify and click Connect, then approve it in your Shopify admin. The step-by-step Claude guide covers permissions and errors.
- In Claude Code, add the Dev MCP with the command below, then restart Claude Code.
- In Cursor, run
/add-plugin shopifyin chat, or add the Dev MCP tomcp.jsonyourself. - Test each one with a question only it can answer: "list my last five orders", or "validate this Liquid snippet".
Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport stdio shopify-dev-mcp -- npx -y @shopify/dev-mcp@latest
Shopify recommends its AI Toolkit plugin over the bare server. It carries the same docs and checks as skills, plus Shopify CLI commands for store data, which you authorize store by store (Shopify.dev).
Cursor
In Cursor, the plugin now also connects to Shopify's hosted store server, on top of the docs and checks. If you'd rather keep everything in one file, our Cursor setup puts the Dev MCP in mcp.json next to Meta's ads server and Anry.
What to ask once it's connected
- Connector: "Compare this month's sales by product with the same month last year."
- Dev MCP: "Write an Admin GraphQL query for orders that used a discount code, and validate it before you show me."
- Dev MCP: "Check this Liquid snippet against Shopify's theme rules before I paste it in."
- UCP, through the toolkit's
ucpskill: "Search my store for 'linen shirt' the way a shopping agent would." It runsucp catalog searchon your storefront (Shopify.dev), so you see what AI shopping apps see.
What none of them answer
Every server above works from inside Shopify. None reads your Meta or Google ad accounts, and none records what a visitor does on the page before leaving. So three things stay out of reach:
- which ad sends visitors who leave after one page
- how far down the page they get, and on which device
- what each of those leaks costs you, in orders
The connector can tell you sales fell. It can't name the ad behind it or put a price on the hole.
We see this on our own site. anry.io isn't a Shopify store, but the question is the same. From 12 to 20 October 2026, paid Reddit sent us 23 visitors, and all 23 left after one page. Our /shopify landing page had 726 visitors, and 99.7% left after one page. That points the work at one source and one page before anyone opens a theme file. The order to check things in is in why a store gets traffic but no sales.
Here are those questions mapped to Anry's 16 tools, all read-only (Anry docs):
| Question | Shopify's servers | Anry tools |
|---|---|---|
| What did we sell, and what's in stock? | Connector | Not needed |
| Which ad sends people who leave, and what did it cost? | None read ad accounts | get_campaign_spend, get_traffic_sources, get_paid_waste_summary |
| How far do people scroll, and what do they tap? | None | get_heatmap_summary, list_sessions, get_session |
| Which leak costs the most, in our own orders? | None | get_revenue_leaks, list_opportunities, get_issue |
| How is each page doing? | Connector covers sales and orders | get_analytics_overview, get_top_pages |
| What did we find on this page last month? | None | list_reports, get_report, list_questions |
| Is tracking live on every store I manage? | One store at a time | list_sites, get_site_status |
Add it in Claude Code with one line, or paste https://mcp.anry.io/mcp into Claude as a custom connector:
claude mcp add --transport http anry https://mcp.anry.io/mcp
Shopify's servers vs Anry vs a CSV export
| Shopify connector | Dev MCP | Anry | CSV export into Claude | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orders, products, customers | Yes, live | No | Orders, to price each leak | A snapshot |
| Shopify docs and code checks | No | Yes | No | No |
| Meta and Google ad spend | No | No | Yes, per campaign and per ad | Only if you export it too |
| What visitors do on the page | No | No | Yes, sessions and heatmaps | No |
| Changes things | Products, stock and discounts, with your approval | No | No, read-only | No |
Run the store from chat: the connector is enough. Build themes or apps: add the Dev MCP. Paid traffic that doesn't turn into orders: add Anry.
Is it safe?
The connector stays inside your staff permissions and can't touch refunds, payments, store settings or your live theme (Shopify Help). The Dev MCP can't reach your store, but its published builds send usage events that "can include tool inputs and results" to Shopify. An empty file at ~/.config/shopify-ai-toolkit/opt-out stops that (npm). Checkout MCP only answers authenticated or signed requests (Shopify.dev). Anry can't change anything. The full checklist is in Is it safe to connect AI to your Shopify store?
Common errors and the fix
| Problem | What it means | Fix |
|---|---|---|
An old guide's yourstore.com/api/mcp shows no product or cart tools | Shopify removed them from Storefront MCP | Shopping agents use /api/ucp/mcp. For your own numbers, use the connector |
Dev MCP tools fail and ask for a conversationId | learn_shopify_api has to run first | Ask the agent to call it, or start a new chat so it does |
Calls to /api/ucp/mcp fail or return fewer tools than expected | No agent profile in the request, or it doesn't declare the capability | Send meta.ucp-agent.profile with your profile URL (Shopify.dev) |
Customer Accounts MCP returns 401 Unauthorized | No customer access token yet | Run the OAuth flow with PKCE, then retry (Shopify.dev) |
Where Anry fits
Shopify's servers know your store from the inside. Anry follows each Meta or Google ad click to the visit and the order, and prices every leak in your store's own orders, so your agent knows which page or ad to fix first. The fix goes to that agent, and you approve it. If you don't pay for traffic, Shopify's own servers are all you need.
Frequently asked questions
Which Shopify MCP server do I need?
To ask about your own sales and orders, the Shopify connector. To build themes or apps, the Dev MCP. To sell through AI shopping apps, none: the Catalog and Checkout servers run on Shopify's side.
What happened to Shopify's Storefront MCP?
Its catalog and cart tools were removed and replaced by UCP servers at https://{shop}/api/ucp/mcp. Shopify posted the cart deprecation on 24 June 2026. Only the policies and FAQs tool still answers on the old /api/mcp.
Does the Shopify Dev MCP read my store data?
No. It searches docs and API schemas and validates code, locally, with no login. Store data comes through Shopify CLI's store execute, which only writes when you add --allow-mutations.
Which Shopify MCP works with Claude?
The connector, from Claude's directory, for your store's data. The Dev MCP or Shopify's AI Toolkit plugin in Claude Code, for building.
Can a Shopify MCP tell me which ads bring buyers?
No. None of Shopify's servers reads Meta or Google ad accounts. That takes a server that joins the ad click to the visit and the order.
Sources
- Public discovery: Shopify Setup MCP, Shopify
- Shopify connector for Claude and Authorizing AI tool access, Shopify Help Center
- Shopify connector, Claude directory
- Use connectors to extend Claude's capabilities, Claude Help Center
- Shopify AI Toolkit and Introducing the Shopify AI Toolkit, Shopify.dev, April 2026
- Shopify AI Toolkit changelog, GitHub
- @shopify/dev-mcp, npm
- store execute, Shopify CLI reference
- Build commerce agents with UCP, Global Catalog MCP, Storefront Catalog MCP, Checkout MCP and Order MCP, Shopify.dev
- Customer Accounts MCP server and Migrate from Storefront MCP, Shopify.dev
- Storefront MCP cart tools deprecated in favour of UCP Cart MCP, Shopify developer changelog, 24 June 2026
- AI commerce at scale, Shopify, 11 January 2026
- Anry MCP server docs
See which ad clicks leave your store before they buy.
14-day free trial, no card. Works in Claude, Claude Code and Cursor.