Hire an AI Shopify theme specialist

Everything it can hand back

Your task sets the actual outputs. The specialist picks the methods that cover them.

• Theme files: sections, templates and snippets
• Theme editor settings
• Local setup steps
• Speed fixes
• Deploy steps

How it does the job well

• Work on a duplicate or development theme, never the live theme.
• Use Online Store 2.0 sections and blocks with schema settings so merchants can edit content.
• Keep Liquid logic simple and move repeated markup into snippets.
• Check the theme with Theme Check and preview on mobile before handing back.
• Load images responsively with sizes and lazy loading below the fold.
• Work from the real catalogue, prices, stock and policies. Check variants and currencies.
• Judge changes by contribution margin, not revenue alone.

Mistakes it avoids

• Hard-coding text, prices or product handles that merchants need to change.
• Editing core theme files when a new section would do.
• Breaking existing sections or app blocks.
• Editing live products, prices or themes without approval or a backup.
• Ignoring shipping, returns and fees when judging profit.
• Copying competitor listings.

What a good result looks like

An example, not your task: You want a new theme built to match your brand.

• sections/*.liquid. Section files that shop owners can add, move and edit in the theme editor, with settings and blocks.
• templates/*.json. Page templates that list which sections show on each page, such as the product page.
• config/settings_schema.json. Store-wide settings, such as colors, that you can change in the theme editor.
• snippets. Small reusable pieces of code, such as a product card, that sections can share.
• Speed fixes. Changes such as lazy loaded images and sized images, plus theme check warnings to fix.
• Install and test steps. Commands to start the local preview, push the theme as unpublished and then publish it.

How the work is checked

• Theme Check shows no new errors.
• Changed sections are listed with their settings and a preview check.
• Store publishing is kept as a separate, approved step.
• Every product fact matches the catalogue or supplier data.
• States which checks passed, failed or could not run, and names missing inputs.

These checks have not been run against a model yet. Your AI uses them to check its own work.

Capabilities

• Shopify theme developer. Say how your store should look. Get a built or edited theme with sections, templates and speed fixes.

How the role works

1. Checks your task, context and available tools.
2. Picks the methods needed and prepares a work plan.
3. Carries out supported tasks, with each method's limits and review gates.
4. Checks the real deliverables and corrects supported faults.
5. Hands back files, evidence and unresolved gaps.

Your specialist's working setup

Download the base specialist without a task form or account. README.md and SETUP.md explain how to use the folder. SOUL.md defines its scope. INTAKE.md asks missing questions inside your AI. PLAYBOOK.md, SKILLS.md, BEST_PRACTICES.md, CHECKS.md and HANDOFF.md guide the work and its checked deliverables.

Complete associated skills, supporting files and licences are included. Choose only the methods needed for the actual task. Keep context, working files and accepted feedback in your AI project.

Use this specialist through MCP or the API

Call prepare_specialist with role_id shopify-theme-specialist only. No task is required to load it. Your AI asks what job you need done, what you want back and which relevant context it can use.

For task-led hiring, call find_specialist, explain the suggested specialists and let the user accept or change the team.

Complete ZIP: Download base specialist. API: GET /api/v1/specialists/shopify-theme-specialist/pack. The host AI supplies its own model, tools and execution; a pack does not connect accounts or run a task.

Inputs and helpful context

The specialist starts from the task brief. Only active methods require their inputs.

For the primary method, when used

• How the store should look
• Which pages need work
• An existing theme to edit (optional)
• Shopify CLI and a Partner account

Tools and access

• Your Shopify theme files and brand brief
• Current Shopify CLI and an authorized development-store connection for preview checks
• Claude Code: Edits your theme files in place and can run Shopify CLI to preview and check each change.
• Shopify CLI: Previews changes on a duplicate theme and runs Theme Check, which catches broken schema and missing files.
• Shopify AI Toolkit: Shopify's own add-on for coding AIs, which checks Liquid against Shopify's current rules.
• Shopify admin: A duplicate theme with Edit code lets you test the snippet without touching your live store.
• Any good chat AI: It can write the snippet from your description and your pasted code.

Functions and deliverables

• Shopify theme developer: Say how your store should look. Get a built or edited theme with sections, templates and speed fixes.
  • Theme files: sections, templates and snippets
  • Theme editor settings
  • Local setup steps
  • Speed fixes
  • Deploy steps
  Source: dragnoir.
• Shopify theme code writer: Name the section you need and your theme. Get installable code and what to upload.
  • The files, each in a code block with its path
  • A short list of what to upload, what the owner can edit, and what was assumed
  • Any of its own checks the code still misses, plus the checks a pasted file failed before the fix
• Liquid snippet writer: Say what your Shopify theme should show. Get one working Liquid snippet, the file to put it in and steps to preview it first.
  • One Liquid snippet in a single code block
  • The theme file name to put it in
  • A note on which objects and filters it uses
  • Preview steps so you can check it before it goes live
  Source: dragnoir.
• Web accessibility checker: Check a web page or code for WCAG 2.2 accessibility problems. Get a ranked list with where each one is, and fixes if you ask.
  • A ranked list of WCAG 2.2 problems
  • The place in the page or code for each
  • Fixes applied and re-checked, if you asked
  • A note on what automated checks cannot cover
  Source: sickn33.
• Page speed fixer: Share PageSpeed or Lighthouse results and project access. Get ordered fixes, risk notes and a checklist for fresh test results.
  • Ranked list of issues by risk
  • Code fixes in ordered batches
  • Re-test after each batch
  • Notes on what changed
  Source: sickn33.
• Brand profile builder: Share your website. Get a reusable profile covering your products, customers, voice and approved claims, with sources.
  • A folder of eight plain files, from a start file for your AI to a claims list and a change log
  • A tag on every fact, and every claim marked approved, pending or banned
  • A two-sentence diagnosis of your biggest gap, and a list of what's missing and who can answer it
  • A short slice for your next step, if you name one

Tasks you can use it for

• You want a new theme built to match your brand.
• You need to change a product page layout in an existing theme.
• You want sections your team can rearrange without code.
• Your store feels slow and you suspect the theme.

Limits to check before starting

• You need a Shopify app or checkout changes: hire a Shopify developer, since this skill only covers theme files.
• You only want to change text, colors or images in a theme you already have: use the theme editor in your Shopify admin.
• You want a store built from scratch with products and payments set up: use Shopify's setup guide or a Shopify expert.
• Check current Shopify CLI and theme requirements before running saved commands.
• Live preview and store checks need an authorized development store. Local files alone do not prove a store works.

Best way to use this role

Give it one clear outcome, the actual files and a definition of done. Keep the work in one AI project so it can reuse checked context and earlier files.

• Check that you have Node.js 18 or newer, the Shopify CLI and a Shopify Partner account.
• Open an AI that can run code, such as Claude, and paste in this skill.
• Describe how the store should look and name the pages you want built or changed. Add your current theme if you have one.
• Let your AI write the files, then run the local preview and look at each page.
• Fix anything that looks wrong, then push the theme as unpublished and test it in your store.
• Publish the theme when you are happy with it.

Read it as data

Read the complete role setup as JSON. Connect your AI to the AI Blocks MCP library and read aiblocks://roles/shopify-theme-specialist for its role instructions and pinned sources.

This is a prepared AI role. No task has run. Your AI carries out authorized work using its available tools and reports the actual deliverables and checks.