Edit the theme with AI assistants

This guide sets you up to change your theme by describing what you want to an AI assistant in plain English. You do not need to know how to code. You copy and paste a few commands, and the assistant does the editing.

Everything happens on a copy of your theme, so your live store is never at risk. You publish the copy yourself at the end, once it looks right.

For why the theme works so well with AI, see How the theme is built for AI.

What you need

Your Shopify store login.
A computer running macOS or Windows.
About 30 minutes for this one-time setup. After that, changes take minutes.

The steps below install a few free tools, make a safe copy of your theme, and hand that copy to your assistant.

Step 1: Open a terminal

The terminal is a plain text window where you paste commands. It already comes with your computer.

macOS: press Command and Space together, type Terminal, and press Enter.
Windows: click Start, type Terminal, and press Enter. On older versions of Windows, type PowerShell instead.

Leave this window open. Every command below is pasted here, one line at a time, each followed by Enter.

Step 2: Install the tools

Node.js. This is a small runtime that the Shopify tool needs. Download the version labelled LTS from nodejs.org and install it like any other app.

Shopify CLI. This is how your computer talks to your store. Paste this into the terminal:

npm install -g @shopify/cli@latest

On macOS you can use Homebrew instead, if you have it: brew tap shopify/shopify && brew install shopify-cli. Full instructions and other systems: Shopify CLI.

Check it installed:

shopify version

A version number means you are ready.

An AI assistant. Install one of these and sign in:

Step 3: Make a safe copy of your theme

Never point an AI assistant, or any code change, at your live theme. Make a copy first.

In Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes. Find your theme, open the ... menu, and choose Duplicate. Your live theme keeps running and stays untouched, which makes it your backup. All of the work happens on the copy.

Step 4: Download the copy to your computer

The assistant edits your theme's files on your computer, so you need those files locally. In the terminal, move to a folder where you keep things (your Desktop works), then download the copy:

cd Desktop
shopify theme pull --store your-store.myshopify.com

Replace your-store.myshopify.com with your own store address. The first time, a browser window opens so you can log in. The tool then lists your themes: choose the duplicate you just made. It downloads into a new folder named after the theme.

Step 5: Connect your assistant to Shopify

Shopify publishes an official AI toolkit that gives your assistant Shopify's documentation and a way to check its own work. Install it once:

# Claude Code
claude plugin install shopify-ai-toolkit@claude-plugins-official

# Codex
codex plugin add shopify@openai-curated

Other editors, such as Cursor and VS Code: Shopify AI toolkit.

Step 6: Add the Elade AI kit

The Elade AI kit is what teaches your assistant how this theme is built. It comes in two parts.

The instruction file. Everyone needs this. Download it from elade.io/ai-kit/freedom and put it in the folder you downloaded in step 4:

CLAUDE.md if you use Claude Code.
AGENTS.md if you use Codex or another assistant. It is the same content under a different filename.

This one file gives the assistant the theme's full rulebook: how to build sections by composing blocks, how to keep your work safe through theme updates, and the mistakes that Shopify only reports at upload time.

The skills. Optional. On top of the file, you can install six ready-made workflows for new sections, new blocks, brand copy, translations, safe deploys, and recovery after theme updates.

In Claude Code:

claude plugin marketplace add elade-io/elade-ai-kit
claude plugin install freedom@elade-ai-kit

In Codex, add the marketplace, then run /plugins inside Codex and install Freedom from the Elade AI kit:

codex plugin marketplace add elade-io/elade-ai-kit

See AI skills for what each one does. Assistants without skill support still get the whole kit from the instruction file, since the same knowledge is written into it.

Step 7: Make your changes

Move into the theme folder from step 4 (type cd followed by the folder name), then start a live preview:

shopify theme dev --store your-store.myshopify.com

This gives you a private preview link and updates it as changes happen. It runs on a temporary copy and never touches your live store.

Now start your assistant in the same folder and tell it what you want. The best requests describe the goal, not the code:

"Add a section with three numbered steps: a photo on the left, a heading and text on the right. Match the theme's look."
"Our brand voice is warm and direct. Rewrite the home page copy and keep the layout."
"Make the footer newsletter heading smaller on mobile."

Step 8: Push and publish

The preview shows your changes, but they still live only on your computer. Two steps put them online.

First, upload your changes to the copy:

shopify theme push --store your-store.myshopify.com

Choose the same duplicate theme when asked. The copy in your admin now has your changes.

Then, in Shopify admin under Online Store > Themes, open the copy, review it one more time, and press Publish. Your previous theme stays in the theme list as a backup you can switch back to at any time.

Ground rules

Work on the copy, always. Publishing is your manual, final step.
If someone edits the theme in the theme editor while you work, run shopify theme pull before you push. A push replaces what is online with the files on your computer.
The kit keeps a STORE.md file next to the instructions: your brand facts, language choices, and a log of every change. Leave it in the folder. It is how the next session, or the next assistant, remembers your store.
Theme updates: because the kit keeps custom work in new files, an update carries it over. The STORE.md log lists everything that changed, so nothing gets lost.