Create Custom Shopify Apps with PHP using Shopify CLI

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Prerequisites
3. Creating a Shopify App
4. Installing PHP and Composer
5. Creating the App
6. Installing Dependencies
7. Creating the Database
8. Updating the .env File
9. Generating the App Key
10. Running Migrations
11. Running the App
12. Conclusion

Creating a Custom Shopify App with PHP

Are you interested in creating a custom app for Shopify? If so, you've come to the right place. In this tutorial, we'll show you how to create a Shopify app using PHP as the backend.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, there are a few things you'll need to have installed on your system. First, you'll need to have PHP installed. You'll also need to have Composer installed, which is a dependency manager for PHP. Finally, you'll need to have Node.js installed, which is a JavaScript runtime that allows you to run JavaScript on the server-side.

Creating a Shopify App

To create a Shopify app, we'll be using the Shopify CLI. The Shopify CLI is a command-line tool that allows you to create, develop, and deploy Shopify apps. To get started, open up your terminal and navigate to the directory where you want to create your app.

Once you're in the right directory, run the following command:

npm init @shopify/app@latest

This command will ask you for an app name. Give your app a name and select the template you want to use. In our case, we'll be using PHP as the backend, so we'll select the PHP template.

Installing PHP and Composer

Before we can start developing our app, we need to make sure that we have PHP and Composer installed on our system. To check if you have PHP installed, run the following command:

php -v

If you don't have PHP installed, you can download it from the official PHP website. To check if you have Composer installed, run the following command:

composer -v

If you don't have Composer installed, you can download it from the official Composer website.

Creating the App

Now that we have everything we need installed, we can start creating our app. To create the app, run the following command:

npm init @shopify/app@latest

This command will create a new Shopify app using the template you selected earlier. Once the app is created, navigate to the web folder and run the following command to install the PHP dependencies:

composer install

Installing Dependencies

Now that we have our app created and our PHP dependencies installed, we need to install our JavaScript dependencies. To do this, run the following command:

npm install

Creating the Database

Next, we need to create the database for our app. To do this, navigate to the storage folder and run the following command:

touch database/database.sqlite

This will create a new SQLite database for our app.

Updating the .env File

Now that we have our database created, we need to update our .env file with the path to our database. Open up the .env file and update the following line:

DB_DATABASE=

With the following line:

DB_DATABASE=/absolute/path/to/database.sqlite

Make sure to replace /absolute/path/to/database.sqlite with the absolute path to your database.

Generating the App Key

Next, we need to generate an app key. To do this, run the following command:

php artisan key:generate

This will generate a new app key and add it to your .env file.

Running Migrations

Now that we have everything set up, we can run our migrations. To do this, run the following command:

php artisan migrate

This will create the necessary tables in our database.

Running the App

Finally, we can run our app. To do this, run the following command:

npm run dev

This will start the development server and open up a new tab in your browser. From here, you can install your app on a Shopify store and start developing.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we showed you how to create a Shopify app using PHP as the backend. We covered everything from installing the necessary dependencies to running the app. With this knowledge, you should be able to create your own custom Shopify app and start selling on the Shopify app store.

Highlights

• Creating a custom Shopify app requires knowledge of programming languages like PHP, Laravel, and React.
• The Shopify CLI is a command-line tool that allows you to create, develop, and deploy Shopify apps.
• To create a Shopify app using PHP as the backend, you'll need to have PHP, Composer, and Node.js installed on your system.
• Once you have everything installed, you can use the Shopify CLI to create your app and install the necessary dependencies.
• You'll also need to create a database and update your .env file with the path to your database.
• Finally, you can run your app and start developing.

FAQ

Q: What programming languages do I need to know to create a custom Shopify app? A: To create a custom Shopify app, you'll need to know programming languages like PHP, Laravel, and React.

Q: What is the Shopify CLI? A: The Shopify CLI is a command-line tool that allows you to create, develop, and deploy Shopify apps.

Q: What do I need to have installed on my system to create a Shopify app using PHP as the backend? A: To create a Shopify app using PHP as the backend, you'll need to have PHP, Composer, and Node.js installed on your system.

Q: How do I create a database for my Shopify app? A: To create a database for your Shopify app, navigate to the storage folder and run the following command: touch database/database.sqlite.

Q: How do I update my .env file with the path to my database? A: Open up your .env file and update the following line: DB_DATABASE= with the following line: DB_DATABASE=/absolute/path/to/database.sqlite. Make sure to replace /absolute/path/to/database.sqlite with the absolute path to your database.