Feature Request: Expose Theme Thumbnail via Admin API (REST / GraphQL)

GraphQL Admin API Troubleshooting
1

Hi Shopify team,

I’d like to request an enhancement to the Admin API (REST and/or GraphQL) to allow apps to retrieve the theme thumbnail that’s shown in the Shopify admin under Online Store → Themes.

Right now, the Theme REST resource exposes fields like:

  • id
  • name
  • role (main, unpublished, demo)
  • created_at, updated_at
  • theme_store_id, previewable, processing, etc.

However, there’s no field for a thumbnail URL or preview image for a theme. The thumbnail that merchants see in the Shopify admin appears to be internal-only and isn’t accessible through the Theme or Asset APIs, even with themes and the protected asset scopes.

Why this is useful

For apps that:

  • List themes to merchants inside the app UI
  • Help merchants manage, compare, or switch between themes
  • Provide tooling around theme customization or backups

…it would be extremely helpful to show the same thumbnail image that merchants recognize from the Shopify admin. This improves:

  • Visual identification of themes
  • UX consistency between the app and the Shopify admin
  • Confidence that merchants are interacting with the correct theme

Suggested implementation ideas

Any of the following would work well:

  1. REST Admin API
    Add a field such as thumbnail_url or preview_image_url to the Theme resource in the Theme REST API.
  2. Admin GraphQL API
    On the Theme type, add a field like previewImage / thumbnail that returns an image object with a URL, similar to how images are handled on other resources.
  3. Documented asset reference
    If the thumbnail is derived from a specific theme asset, document a stable key or mechanism so apps can read it via the Asset API.

Any of these approaches would make it possible for apps to present a more polished and visually consistent theme management experience.

Thanks for considering this request!

2

Hey @Pyram1nx You’re right that the public Theme APIs don’t currently expose the thumbnail shown on the Online Store > Themes page.

I’ve captured this internally as product feedback since the use case makes sense for apps that help merchants identify and manage themes visually. I can’t promise if or when that API surface will change, but the request has been passed on to the right team!

4

Thank you @Donal-Shopify for passing on this feature request. Much appreciated. You guys do great work at Shopify!