Hello Shopify Community,
I hope you’re all doing well.
I have come up with a way to retrieve custom data using the Section Rendering API, but I would like to hear your thoughts on whether there might be any unexpected issues with this approach.
Normally, GET /{locale}/cart.js allows us to retrieve information about the items in the cart. However, it does not support certain fields, such as inventory quantities and metafields.
In our store, we have custom processes that require these fields, so we explored an alternative approach using the Section Rendering API.
Implementation Method
We output cart item information in a section file and retrieve it using the Section Rendering API.
Example: custom-cart-api.liquid
<script id="custom-cart-api" type="application/json">
[
{%- for item in cart.items -%}
{
"inventory_quantity": {{ item.variant.inventory_quantity }},
"metafields_key1": "{{ item.variant.metafields.custom.key1 }}",
etc...
}
{%- endfor -%}
]
</script>
By retrieving this section using the Section Rendering API, we confirmed that:
- Custom data such as metafields can be retrieved without issues.
- Dynamic fields like inventory quantities can also be retrieved in real time.
With this approach, it should be possible to retrieve almost any data that can be output using Liquid, effectively allowing us to use it as a custom API.
While the example focuses on cart items, this method should not be limited to just that and could be applied to other types of data as well.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this approach. Are there any reasons why this might not be recommended? If you have any concerns or better alternatives, please let me know!
Thank you in advance for your feedback.