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Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/Shopify/horizon/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

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Contribution Policy

Shopify is not accepting contributions to Horizon at this time.
According to the official Horizon repository, Shopify does not accept direct contributions, pull requests, or issues for the Horizon theme. This is because Horizon serves as a flagship reference implementation that Shopify maintains internally.

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Why No Contributions?

Horizon is designed as:
  1. A Reference Implementation: Demonstrates best practices for Shopify theme development
  2. A Starting Point: Provides a foundation for building custom themes
  3. An Educational Tool: Showcases modern web development techniques
  4. A First-Party Theme: Maintained exclusively by Shopify’s internal team

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Alternative Ways to Help

While you can’t contribute directly to Horizon, there are other ways to support the Shopify theme ecosystem:

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1. Build on Horizon

Create your own theme using Horizon as a foundation:
1

Clone Horizon

git clone https://github.com/Shopify/horizon.git my-custom-theme
cd my-custom-theme
2

Create your own repository

# Remove Horizon's git history
rm -rf .git

# Initialize new repository
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit based on Horizon"

# Add your remote
git remote add origin your-repo-url
git push -u origin main
3

Customize and share

Build your custom theme and share your learnings with the community through blog posts, tutorials, or open-source examples.
Important: Themes based on, derived from, or incorporating Horizon are not eligible for submission to the Shopify Theme Store. Use the Skeleton Theme instead if you’re building for the Theme Store.

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2. Contribute to Other Projects

Consider contributing to these community projects:

Theme Check

Contribute to Theme Check - the linting tool for Shopify themes.

Liquid

Help improve Liquid documentation and examples.

Shopify CLI

Contribute to Shopify CLI development tools.

Polaris

Help with Polaris - Shopify’s design system.

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3. Report Issues to Shopify

While direct contributions aren’t accepted, you can still help by:
If you find bugs in Horizon:
  1. Verify it’s a bug: Test in a clean Horizon installation
  2. Document the issue: Include steps to reproduce, expected vs actual behavior
  3. Contact Shopify Support: https://help.shopify.com/
  4. Provide context: Horizon version, browser, screenshots
While you can’t submit a pull request, Shopify may address the issue in future releases.
Feature suggestions for Horizon should go through:Be specific about:
  • What problem the feature solves
  • How it benefits merchants and developers
  • Real-world use cases
If you find errors or gaps in Shopify’s official documentation:
  1. Visit Shopify.dev
  2. Use the feedback widget on documentation pages
  3. Suggest specific improvements with examples

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4. Share Knowledge

Contribute to the broader community:
1

Write tutorials

Create blog posts or videos showing:
  • How you solved specific challenges with Horizon
  • Best practices you’ve discovered
  • Migration guides for your projects
2

Answer questions

Help others in:
  • Shopify Community Forums
  • Stack Overflow (tag: shopify)
  • Reddit (r/shopify)
  • Discord communities focused on Shopify development
3

Create educational content

Develop:
  • Open-source example implementations
  • Code snippets and gists
  • Documentation for common patterns
  • Video tutorials on YouTube

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Code of Conduct

While not accepting direct contributions, if you interact with Shopify’s repositories or community spaces:

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Be Respectful

  • Treat everyone with respect and consideration
  • Welcome newcomers and help them learn
  • Assume good intentions
  • Disagree respectfully and professionally

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Be Constructive

  • Provide helpful, actionable feedback
  • Focus on solutions, not just problems
  • Share knowledge generously
  • Credit others for their work

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Be Professional

  • Keep discussions on-topic
  • Avoid spam, self-promotion, or off-topic content
  • Don’t share confidential information
  • Follow platform-specific guidelines

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Building for the Shopify Theme Store

If your goal is to create a theme for the Shopify Theme Store:
Do NOT use Horizon as your starting point. Themes derived from Horizon are not eligible for the Theme Store.

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Use Skeleton Theme Instead

1

Start with Skeleton

git clone https://github.com/Shopify/skeleton-theme.git
Skeleton Theme is specifically designed for Theme Store submissions.
2

Review Theme Store requirements

Read the Theme Store Requirements carefully.
3

Follow submission guidelines

Ensure your theme meets all technical and design requirements before submission.

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Learning from Horizon

Even though you can’t contribute, Horizon is an excellent learning resource:

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Code Quality Standards

Study Horizon’s implementation to learn: 
{%- liquid
  # Horizon uses liquid tags for cleaner code
  assign product_available = true
  if product.available == false
    assign product_available = false
  endif
  
  # Efficient whitespace control
  echo product.title
-%}

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Architecture Patterns

Learn Horizon’s approach to:
  1. Theme blocks: Modular, reusable content blocks
  2. Section schema: Merchant customization options
  3. Progressive enhancement: Modern features with fallbacks
  4. Performance optimization: Fast, efficient code
  5. Accessibility: WCAG AA compliance

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Development Workflows

Adopt Horizon’s best practices:
  • Theme Check integration: Automatic linting
  • Git workflow: Version control strategies
  • Testing approach: Browser and device testing
  • Documentation style: Clear, helpful comments

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Staying Updated

Keep track of Horizon’s evolution:
1

Watch the repository

On GitHub, click “Watch” to get notifications of changes: https://github.com/Shopify/horizon
2

Check release notes

Review release notes regularly to learn about:
  • New features
  • Bug fixes
  • Breaking changes
  • Best practice updates
3

Follow Shopify developers

Stay connected:

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License

Horizon is released under a permissive license:
Copyright (c) 2025-present Shopify Inc.What you can do:
  • Use Horizon as a starting point for your own themes
  • Modify it for your projects
  • Learn from the code
What you cannot do:
  • Submit Horizon-based themes to the Theme Store
  • Claim the code as your own original work
  • Remove copyright notices
See LICENSE for full details.

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Future Opportunities

Shopify’s contribution policy may change in the future:

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Contact

For questions about Horizon:

Shopify Support

Technical support and store-specific issues: https://help.shopify.com/

Community Forums

Community discussions and peer help: https://community.shopify.com/

Developer Docs

Official documentation and guides: https://shopify.dev/

Partner Support

For Shopify Partners: https://partners.shopify.com/

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Summary

While you cannot contribute code directly to Horizon:
  • ✅ Use it as a foundation for your own themes
  • ✅ Learn from its implementation
  • ✅ Share knowledge with the community
  • ✅ Contribute to related Shopify projects
  • ✅ Report bugs through proper channels
  • ❌ Submit pull requests to the Horizon repository
  • ❌ Use Horizon as a base for Theme Store submissions
Thank you for your interest in improving Shopify’s theme ecosystem!

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