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How to update your Shopify theme
A guide to update the theme to the latest version.
Keeping your theme up to date ensures your store benefits from the latest features, bug fixes, and compatibility improvements.
The most up-to-date version is always available on the Shopify Theme Store.
Minor vs. major updates
Before updating, it's important to understand how Shopify handles different types of updates:
Minor updates (e.g. v13.0.0 → v13.0.1) Shopify automatically transfers your visual settings and safe code customizations.
Major updates (e.g. v13.0.0 → v14.0.0) The theme's core architecture changes significantly. Visual settings (colors, fonts) and custom code are not transferred automatically — you will need to reconfigure them manually.
Update automatically ⚙️
1
Check notifications on Shopify
In your Shopify admin, go to Online Store > Themes. If a new version is available, you'll see a notification in your theme library.
2
Review update details
Click the notification to view more details about the update.
Select View release notes to read what's new in the release.
3
Add to theme library
Click Add to themelibrary to download and add the updated version to your Shopify store.
The updated version will now appear in your theme library, ready to customize and publish.
No update notification? 🔍
This usually happens if the theme was previously uploaded as a ZIP file (which breaks the connection to the Theme Store) or if there are code customizations conflicting with Shopify's update system.
In this case, reinstall the theme manually:
1
Create a backup
Always duplicate your current theme before updating.
Steps:
Go to Online Store > Themes.
Open the Actions dropdown for your current theme, select Duplicate.
Rename the duplicated file.
2
Install the latest theme version
Steps:
Visit the Shopify Theme Store and find your theme.
Click Add a new copy to add the latest version.
3
Transfer your settings
Major update (e.g. v13 → v14)
Do NOT copy the settings_data.json file. The architecture has changed — pasting old code will break the new theme and cause errors in Theme Editor.
Reconfigure your Theme Settings (Colors, Typography) manually in the Theme Editor.
Minor update (e.g. v13.0.0 → v13.0.1)
You can safely copy settings_data.json from the Config folder of your old theme into the new one via Edit code.
For custom page templates: Re-create your custom templates in the new theme — they won't exist there by default. Create a template with the exact same name, then copy the contents of the JSON file from the Templates folder of your old theme.
4
Re-install apps
Apps that add code to your theme files will need to be reinstalled or re-enabled in the new version.
Find the app documentation in the App Store to follow the installation instructions.
If you're unfamiliar with this process, you can go to Apps > click View details to find the support email for that Shopify app.
