I have reproduced the issue on the latest CLI version.
Yes, I am on the latest version
I have searched existing posts and this report is not a duplicate.
Yes, this isn’t a duplicate
In which of these areas are you experiencing a problem?
App
Expected behavior
The Shopify CLI should successfully parse and validate Liquid files containing {% schema %} tags in theme app extension blocks, especially when:
- The extension uses
require_remote_ui = truein the TOML configuration - The TOML file has
settings_schema = { version = 1 }defined in the[[blocks]]section - Both TOML
[blocks.schema]and[settings]sections are present alongside the Liquid schema tag
When running shopify app dev --use-localhost or shopify app deploy, the CLI should:
- Recognize
{% schema %}as a valid Liquid tag - Parse the schema JSON without errors
- Allow development server to start or deployment to proceed
- NOT throw “Unknown tag ‘schema’” errors for valid schema blocks
This configuration worked perfectly in commit de319352417a1d702a02c4f3c9196bd65df063c5 (Dec 11, 2025), confirming this is the expected behavior.
Actual behavior
The Shopify CLI throws a “Liquid syntax error: Unknown tag ‘schema’” error when processing Liquid files that contain {% schema %} tags, even when:
- The schema JSON is valid and properly formatted
- The configuration matches a previously working setup exactly (commit de319352417a1d702a02c4f3c9196bd65df063c5)
- The TOML file has all required sections (
require_remote_ui = true,settings_schema = { version = 1 },[blocks.schema],[settings]) - The file structure follows Shopify documentation
When running shopify app dev --use-localhost or shopify app deploy, the CLI:
- Fails immediately with “Unknown tag ‘schema’” error
- Prevents the development server from starting
- Blocks deployment completely
- Creates a catch-22: removing the schema tag results in “Tag ‘schema’ is missing” error
This is a regression - the exact same files that worked in December 2025 now fail with CLI 3.84.1+.
Reproduction steps
-
Create a theme app extension with
type = "theme_app_extension"inshopify.theme.extension.toml -
Configure the TOML file with:
[runtime_context]section withrequire_remote_ui = true[[blocks]]section withtype = "app_block"andsettings_schema = { version = 1 }[blocks.schema]section with field definitions[settings]section with settings fields
-
Create a Liquid file in the
blocks/directory (e.g.,blocks/chat-widget.liquid) -
Add a valid
{% schema %}tag with JSON content in the Liquid file: -
Run:
shopify app dev --use-localhost(orshopify app deploy) -
Observe the error:
[blocks/chat-widget.liquid] Liquid syntax error (line X): Unknown tag 'schema'
Note: This occurs with Shopify CLI 3.84.1+ (required by Shopify API). The same configuration worked in CLI 3.80.0, but that version is now rejected by Shopify’s API.
Verbose output
shopify app dev --use-localhost --verbose
2025-12-16T06:33:33.460Z: Running command app dev
2025-12-16T06:33:33.464Z: Running system process in background:
· Command: /opt/homebrew/Cellar/node/24.1.0/bin/node /opt/homebrew/bin/shopify notifications list --ignore-errors
· Working directory: /Users/makseth/Development/eshopAiCustomerService
2025-12-16T06:33:33.472Z: Notifications to show: 0
2025-12-16T06:33:33.487Z: Port 3458 is free
╭─ error ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ │
│ Couldn't find an app toml file at │
│ /Users/makseth/Development/eshopAiCustomerService, is this an app │
│ directory? │
│ │
╰──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╯
2025-12-16T06:33:33.563Z: Running system process:
· Command: npm prefix
· Working directory: /Users/makseth/Development/eshopAiCustomerService
2025-12-16T06:33:33.876Z: Obtaining the dependency manager in directory /Users/makseth/Development/eshopAiCustomerService...
2025-12-16T06:33:34.063Z: Getting session store...
2025-12-16T06:33:34.065Z: Getting session store...
2025-12-16T06:33:34.335Z: Request to https://monorail-edge.shopifysvc.com/v1/produce completed in 260 ms
With response headers:
- x-request-id: 98552325-e759-4017-a592-c0d885701718
2025-12-16T06:33:34.336Z: Analytics event sent: {
"command": "app dev",
"time_start": 1765866813461,
"time_end": 1765866813556,
"total_time": 95,
"success": false,
"cli_version": "3.84.1",
"ruby_version": "",
"node_version": "24.1.0",
"is_employee": false,
"uname": "darwin arm64",
"env_ci": false,
"env_plugin_installed_any_custom": false,
"env_plugin_installed_shopify": "[\"@shopify/cli\"]",
"env_shell": "zsh",
"env_device_id": "592ca33f3748b9c82d89b7890d2cf2b42fca6668",
"env_cloud": "localhost",
"env_package_manager": "npm",
"env_is_global": true,
"env_auth_method": "device_auth",
"env_is_wsl": false,
"env_build_repository": "Shopify/cli",
"cmd_app_warning_api_key_deprecation_displayed": false,
"cmd_all_timing_network_ms": 0,
"cmd_all_timing_prompts_ms": 0,
"cmd_all_launcher": "unknown",
"cmd_all_topic": "app",
"cmd_all_plugin": "@shopify/app",
"cmd_all_verbose": true,
"cmd_all_path_override": true,
"cmd_all_path_override_hash": "20407bfaa04cafa65f4741c4143e29525a5e64b6",
"cmd_app_dependency_installation_skipped": false,
"cmd_app_reset_used": false,
"cmd_dev_tunnel_type": "use-localhost",
"cmd_all_timing_active_ms": 95,
"cmd_all_exit": "expected_error",
"user_id": "d05f6ec7-ccb4-4e72-825f-e0685b48f5f8",
"request_ids": [],
"args": "--use-localhost --verbose",
"error_message": "Couldn't find an app toml file at /Users/makseth/Development/eshopAiCustomerService, is this an app directory?",
"env_plugin_installed_all": "[\"@shopify/cli\"]",
"metadata": "{\"extraPublic\":{},\"extraSensitive\":{}}"
}
2025-12-16T06:33:34.362Z: Reporting handled error to Bugsnag: Couldn't find an app toml file at /Users/makseth/Development/eshopAiCustomerService, is this an app directory?
2025-12-16T06:33:35.061Z: Running system process:
· Command: npm prefix
· Working directory: /Users/makseth/Development/eshopAiCustomerService
2025-12-16T06:33:35.230Z: Obtaining the dependency manager in directory /Users/makseth/Development/eshopAiCustomerService...
2025-12-16T06:33:35.231Z: Getting session store...
Operating system
Mac OS 15.6.1 (24G90)
CLI version
3.84.1
Shell
bash
Nodejs version
v24.1.0
What language and version are you using in your application?
Node.js v24.1.0 (runtime for Shopify CLI)Python 3.13.4 (backend API)TypeScript 5.0.4 (frontend application)React 18.2.0 (frontend UI)Liquid (Shopify templating language in theme app extension)Note: The Shopify CLI is running on Node.js v24.1.0, which is newer than the project’s specified range (^18.20 || ^20.10 || >=21.0.0). This may be a contributing factor to the regression.