Is Theme App Extension supported in a fully extension-only Custom distribution app?

Shopify App Store
,
1

We are building a Shopify app for a single merchant using Custom distribution.

The application must remain fully Shopify-hosted and extension-only, with:

  • Admin UI extension
  • Shopify-hosted App Home UI extension
  • Theme App Extension
  • no developer-hosted application runtime
  • no external backend
  • no external database

Shopify’s current Build an extension-only app documentation states that its compatibility table lists the extension types compatible with extension-only apps. Theme App Extension does not appear in that table.

Shopify separately documents Theme App Extensions and their use with Custom distribution apps.

I need an explicit platform-level confirmation:

Can a fully extension-only Custom distribution app include and release a Theme App Extension together with Admin UI extensions and a Shopify-hosted App Home UI extension, without any developer-hosted runtime?

Please answer specifically YES or NO for the extension-only architecture. Confirmation that Theme App Extensions work with Custom distribution generally does not answer the question.

This is blocking a production deployment to a single merchant.

Relevant documentation:

  • Build an extension-only app
  • Theme App Extensions
  • App Home UI extensions
  • Custom distribution

Shopifyn developer-support-sivu ohjaa tekniset kysymykset nimenomaan Developer Communityyn.

2

Hey @Marko_Virta - just confirming,right now, Shopify hosts the Theme App Extension bundle itself, but that doesn’t mean the containing app can be extension-only. Theme App Extensions aren’t included in the supported extension-only compatibility list:

The hosting table separates Shopify-hosted extension code from developer-hosted app components:

To retain the Theme App Extension, the overall app needs to use the standard app architecture with a developer-hosted runtime/application URL. Custom distribution doesn’t change that requirement at the moment unfortunately.

Let me know if I can clarify anything on our end here - hope this helps.

3

Thanks for the clarification, Alan_G. I need to study the Theme App Extension model a little more carefully.

Our app is a fully Shopify-hosted, extension-only Custom distribution app with an Admin UI action and App Home. The remaining issue is the storefront: we currently use a separate Craft theme patch to display sale prices and percentage badges, and we are trying to determine whether a Theme App Extension can be included in the same app and replace that patch without requiring an external backend.