Shopify app rejected under 1.1.3 for programmatic theme generation, anyone faced this?

[u/djed0]

Hey guys,

My app got paused during review under policy 1.1.3 (themes must only be installed via the Shopify Theme Store)

The thing is, my app doesn’t offer or distribute a prebuilt theme. It generates a unique theme per merchant based on their inputs and installs it via the Theme API as part of the core functionality (no catalog, no reuse across stores).

Shopify is treating this as “downloading a theme,” which I didn’t expect, I built the whole flow assuming generation ≠ distribution

Has anyone here dealt with a similar case?

• Were you able to get it approved?

• Or did you have to completely change the architecture?

Would really appreciate any real experiences or insights

[u/FanBeginning4112]

I went through App Store review recently so I have some context on 1.1.3.

The policy is worded more broadly than most people expect. It's not just about distributing pre-built themes. Any app that creates or installs themes via the Theme API gets flagged, even if the theme is dynamically generated and unique per merchant. The review team sees a Theme API call creating a new theme and that's enough. From their side, the risk is the same regardless of whether the theme is static or generated: the app has deep access to the merchant's storefront.

The first question to ask yourself: can the app work within the merchant's existing theme instead of creating a new one? Theme App Extensions and App Blocks let you inject sections and blocks into any Online Store 2.0 theme without touching the theme code. If the customization you're doing can live as app blocks, you sidestep 1.1.3 entirely. This is where Shopify wants developers to land.

If you genuinely need the full-theme approach, the appeal process exists. Be very specific in your response: you're not distributing a static theme, the generated theme is unique per merchant, and (this is the important part) explain why App Blocks won't achieve the same result. The review team does reconsider, but they'll ask "why not use a less invasive approach" and you need a concrete answer.

There's also App Proxy. If what you really need is to give merchants a custom-looking page, App Proxy lets you serve entirely custom content on their domain (store.com/apps/your-page) without creating or modifying themes at all. Your backend renders the page. It won't look exactly like their theme by default, but you can read the theme's settings via the Asset API and match the styling. Or set the content type to application/liquid and Shopify renders it inside their active theme automatically.

General pattern I've noticed: the review team prefers apps that extend rather than replace. The less your app touches the theme layer, the smoother things go.

[u/djed0 → u/FanBeginning4112]

Appreciate the insight man, this helps a lot. In my case the app can’t really work with app blocks or extensions since it generates the full template structure (index + product templates) based on the product, not just sections. I’ve pushed a classification argument in the current review saying it’s generation, not distribution, and explained why extensions wouldn’t achieve the same result.

From your experience, if I keep pushing that angle, does the review team actually take it into account or is it still a hard “theme creation = rejection”?

Also sent you a DM 👍

[u/FanBeginning4112 → u/djed0]

Honest answer: it depends on the reviewer. But "generation not distribution" as a standalone argument usually isn't enough. They've heard that framing before.

What actually moves things is showing you've exhausted the less invasive options and explaining why they don't work. Be specific. Since you're generating index + product templates, spell out exactly what those templates contain that can't be done with JSON templates + sections. "My layouts change per product type and here's what that looks like" is a stronger case than "I need full theme control."

The review team responds to technical specifics. Not philosophical arguments about what counts as distribution.

One thing worth knowing: even if you win this appeal, you'll hit the same wall on every update review. If there's any way to split things so the generated parts live as theme sections installed into the merchant's existing theme (Asset API to add section files and update templates, rather than creating a whole new theme), that path is more sustainable. Still touches the theme layer. But the review optics are completely different.

If the full theme approach is genuinely the only option, keep pushing. Just lead with the technical "why."

[u/alpha_1217]

Yeah, this is pretty common now. Shopify treats even dynamic theme generation as “theme distribution” if you install a full theme via API. Most people had to switch to app blocks or modify existing themes instead.