Shopify API Setup Guide

Connect your Shopify store to EcomCentral via Admin API

Last updated June 2026 · Shopify Admin REST API 2025-01

What You Need

A Shopify store (any plan — Basic and above)
Admin access to create a Custom App
Your store's .myshopify.com domain

EcomCentral uses Shopify Admin REST API with a Custom App access token. You do not need a Partner account or a public app listing.

Step-by-Step Setup

Open Custom Apps in your Shopify Admin In your Shopify admin, go to Settings → Apps and sales channels and click "Develop apps". If prompted, enable custom app development.
Create a new Custom App Click "Create an app", give it a name like EcomCentral, then click Create app.
Set Admin API permissions Open the app you just created → Configuration tab → Admin API integration → click Configure.

Enable the scopes listed in the Required Permissions table below, then click Save.
Install the app & copy the access token Go to the API credentials tab → click Install app.

After installing, click "Reveal token once" to view the Admin API access token. Copy it immediately — Shopify only shows it once.

⚠️ Store this token securely. Anyone with it has full API access to your store. In EcomCentral it is stored AES-256 encrypted in the database.
Find your Store domain Your store domain is shown in your browser when you're in the admin: https://yourstore.myshopify.com

You can use either the short form (yourstore) or the full domain (yourstore.myshopify.com) — EcomCentral accepts both.
(Optional) Find your Location ID The Location ID is required to update stock levels via the API.

Go to Settings → Locations in Shopify admin. Click on your location. The URL will contain your location ID:
```
https://admin.shopify.com/store/yourstore/settings/locations/12345678901
```
Copy the numeric ID at the end of the URL.

Add the connection in EcomCentral Go to Connections → Add Connection → Shopify and fill in:

Field	Where to find it	Example
`shop`	Your .myshopify.com URL	`yourstore.myshopify.com`
`access_token`	Custom App → API credentials (revealed once)	`shpat_abc123…`
`api_version` (optional)	Leave blank for default (`2025-01`)	`2025-01`
`location_id` (optional)	Settings → Locations → URL	`12345678901`

Then click Save and use ⚡ Test on the Shopify dashboard to verify.

Required API Permissions

Permission Scope	Used For	Required?
`read_orders`	View order list and order details	Required
`write_orders`	Cancel orders	Optional
`read_products`	View product list, variants, stock levels	Required
`write_inventory`	Update stock quantities	Optional
`read_fulfillments`	Check fulfillment status	Required
`write_fulfillments`	Create fulfillments (add tracking info)	Required
`read_customers`	Show customer name / email on orders	Optional
`read_locations`	Fetch store locations for stock updates	Optional
`read_shipping`	Show shipping line costs on orders	Optional

Shopify Order Status Reference

Financial Status (Payment)

Status	Meaning	Next State
Pending	Payment not yet received	→ Authorized or Paid
Authorized	Card authorized, not yet captured	→ Paid or Voided
Paid	Payment fully captured	→ Partially Refunded or Refunded
Partially Refunded	Partial refund issued	→ Refunded
Refunded	Fully refunded	—
Voided	Authorization voided before capture	—

Fulfillment Status (Shipping)

Status	Meaning
Unfulfilled	No items shipped yet — the default state for new orders
Partial	Some but not all line items have been fulfilled
Fulfilled	All items have been shipped with tracking
Restocked	Items were returned and restocked

How Fulfillment Works in Shopify

Unlike WooCommerce which has a simple status field, Shopify's fulfillment model is more structured:

Each order has one or more Fulfillment Orders (grouping items by location)
To ship items, you create a Fulfillment against the open fulfillment orders
The fulfillment includes the tracking number, carrier, and URL
Shopify automatically updates the order's fulfillment_status to fulfilled or partial

EcomCentral's Create Fulfillment action handles all of this automatically — just enter the tracking number and carrier and click the button.

Updating Stock Levels

Shopify manages stock by variant (not product) and by location. To update stock via the API:

The variant must have a SKU set in Shopify admin
Your connection must have a location_id configured
The app scope write_inventory must be enabled

⚠️ Stock updates via the API set the absolute quantity (not a relative adjustment). If you enter 50, the stock is set to exactly 50 — not increased by 50.

Troubleshooting

✕ "API not configured (shop / access token missing)"

The connection is missing the shop or access_token credential. Go to Connections → Edit and add both fields.

✕ HTTP 401 Unauthorized

The access token is invalid or has been revoked. Re-install the Custom App in Shopify admin to generate a new token and update the connection.

✕ HTTP 403 Forbidden on a specific operation

The API scope for that operation is not enabled. Go to Shopify Admin → Settings → Apps → Your App → Configuration → Admin API and add the missing scope, then reinstall the app.

✕ "No open fulfillment orders found"

The order is already fully fulfilled, cancelled, or has no shippable line items. Check the order's fulfillment status in Shopify Admin.

✕ "location_id is required to set inventory level"

Add your store's Location ID to the connection credentials. See Step 6 above for how to find it.

✕ "SKU not found" when updating stock

The SKU must match exactly what is set on the variant in Shopify Admin (Products → your product → variant → SKU field). Check for extra spaces or case mismatches.

EcomCentral · Shopify Admin REST API 2025-01 · Official Shopify Docs