Migrating to support multiple locations

Also in this section

• Inventory API FAQ

Shopify has launched Locations. This feature enables merchants to manage inventory, fulfillments, and restocks across multiple locations from the Shopify admin.

All apps that update, fulfill, or restock inventory need to be updated to work with stores using multiple locations. To update your app to use the new REST APIs, see the guides on Managing fulfillments and Updating inventory.

You can also migrate your app to manage inventory and fulfillments using GraphQL. For more information, see How the New GraphQL Admin API Can Help You Manage Inventory and Locations.

Deprecation schedule

February 12th, 2018	The Inventory API is available to all partners and can be used on any shop in production regardless of Locations.
March 1st, 2018	Deprecation begins for setting inventory_quantity and inventory_quantity_adjustment. Apps can now specify location_id when creating fulfillments.
May 7th, 2018	Shopify announces Locations. All partners now have the option to enable Locations on their development stores.
July 1st, 2018	Public apps created after this date will no longer be able to do the following: set inventory_quantity or inventory_quantity_adjustment on the product variant create fulfillments without specifying a location_id refund and restock without specifying a location_id
August 1st, 2018	Shops are able to add multiple locations where they can track inventory. Apps might become incompatible with shops with more than one location if the app hasn't been migrated to support multiple locations.
January 6th, 2019	Deprecation of legacy inventory calls is extended to all public apps. This means all public apps will no longer be able to do the following: set inventory_quantity or inventory_quantity_adjustment on the product variant create fulfillments without specifying a location_id refund and restock without specifying a location_id Shopify now requires read/write_inventory permissions for all apps using the Inventory API. Grace period: Public apps can pass the bypas-multi-location-support: true header to continue using the following deprecated behaviour up until February 4, 2019.
February 4th, 2019	The bypass-multi-location-support: trueheader will no longer allow deprecated behaviors.
October 1st, 2019	Deprecation for legacy inventory calls is extended to all apps in 2019-10. This means that all apps, including private apps, that call this version or later will no longer be able to do the following: set inventory_quantity or inventory_quantity_adjustment on the product variant create fulfillments without specifying a location_id refund and restock without specifying a location_id
July 1st, 2020	The last version of the API that supported legacy inventory behavior, 2019-07, becomes unavailable. The legacy inventory behavior is now fully deprecated.

Does my app support shops with multiple locations?

Your app is not compatible with multiple locations if it performs any of the following deprecated API actions:

• Manages inventory with the Product and Product Variant resources
• Fulfills orders without specifying a location to fulfill from
• Issues refunds and restocks items without specifying a location to restock the items

Tip

Any deprecated API request made by your app will include the response header X-Shopify-API-Deprecated-Reason. We highly encourage you to monitor your API requests for this header and update accordingly.

Partner Apps Private Apps

How do I update my app to support multiple locations?

If you want your app to support shops with multiple locations, then you’ll need to change your app to use the following API actions instead:

• Manage inventory with the Inventory API. For more information, see Updating inventory.
• Fulfill orders from a location using location_id. For more information, see Managing fulfillments.
• Issue refunds and restock items at a location using location_id and restock type.

What happens if I don’t update my app to support stores with multiple locations?

Any apps using deprecated APIs installed on a shop with more than one location are at high risk of causing inventory discrepancies for their users.

If Shopify detects that your app is using legacy API endpoints, Shopify will take the following action to prevent inventory issues caused by apps using deprecated APIs on shops with more than one location:

• Shopify merchants with your app installed will be blocked from adding a new location. This can lead to merchants uninstalling your app, contacting your support teams, or leaving negative reviews for your app.

• Shopify merchants will be blocked from installing your app if they have more than 1 location:

• Private apps won't be able to perform deprecated API actions. If you have a private app that is incompatible with multiple locations, the shop owner will be able to add a new location, but your app will no longer be able to perform deprecated API actions, and may therefore stop working.

Note

Shopify checks your app's compatibility every seven days. If a check fails, then the locations error banner is shown for seven days, even if the error is fixed within those seven days. If you have migrated your app completely and are still seeing the banner after seven days, then contact Shopify from your Partner Dashboard.

Shopify is removing deprecated APIs on January 6th, 2019. After the deprecated APIs are removed, merchants will be able to add locations with your app installed and they'll be able to install your app on any shop regardless of the number of locations they have. If you have not migrated to support the new APIs, then your app will break because the deprecated APIs will return errors.

How can I get help with my migration?

If you’re having issues updating your app, then contact Shopify from your Partner Dashboard.

You’ll need to specify what steps you're currently taking to support stores with multiple locations, and demonstrate that your app won’t cause inventory discrepancies for merchants who use multiple locations. Based on your submission, you might be asked to provide additional information.

Inventory permissions and authentication

To use the new Inventory API, your app must request either read_inventory or write_inventory permission during the Ask for permission step of OAuth.

During this step, you need to direct your merchants to this URL:

https://{shop}.myshopify.com/admin/oauth/authorize?client_id={api_key}&scope={scopes}&redirect_uri={redirect_uri}&state={nonce}&grant_options[]={option}

where {scopes} would include your existing scopes as well as either read_inventory or write_inventory. After a merchant accepts, your app can make authenticated requests to the Inventory API.

Inventory webhooks

To stay in sync with inventory changes across multiple locations, you can subscribe to the following webhook events:

Inventory levels	inventory_levels/connect, inventory_levels/update, inventory_levels/disconnect
Inventory items	inventory_items/create, inventory_items/update, inventory_items/delete
Locations	locations/create, locations/update, locations/delete

Migration checklist

Use the following checklist to make sure that your apps support multi-location inventory:

Determine whether your app uses any of the APIs that will be affected by multi-location inventory. Check whether your app has the new inventory permissions. Familiarize yourself with the new Inventory API. Read about the new models, resources, and properties. Update your app's code to support multi-location enabled shops. Subscribe to Shopify's API Changelog to receive important announcements about multi-location inventory and API deprecations.

Additional resources

See these additional resources for more information about migrating your apps to support multi-location inventory:

• Inventory API FAQ
• Managing Fulfillments guide
• Updating Inventory guide
• Inventory Level API reference
• Inventory Item API reference
• Location API reference
• Shopify API Forums

Private Apps

All deprecated Inventory API actions have been removed. Your private apps will no longer be able to perform deprecated API actions, even if the target shop has a single location.

How do I update my app to support multiple locations?

If you want your app to support shops with multiple locations, then you’ll need to change your app to use the following API actions instead:

• Manage inventory with the Inventory API. For more information, see Updating inventory.
• Fulfill orders from a location using location_id. For more information, see Managing fulfillments.
• Issue refunds and restock items at a location using location_id and restock type

Inventory webhooks

To stay in sync with inventory changes across multiple locations, you can subscribe to the following webhook events:

Inventory levels	inventory_levels/connect, inventory_levels/update, inventory_levels/disconnect
Inventory items	inventory_items/create, inventory_items/update, inventory_items/delete
Locations	locations/create, locations/update, locations/delete

Migration checklist

Use the following checklist to make sure that your apps support multi-location inventory:

Determine whether your app uses any of the APIs that will be affected by multi-location inventory. Familiarize yourself with the new Inventory API. Read about the new models, resources, and properties. Update your app's code to support multi-location enabled shops. Subscribe to Shopify's API Changelog to receive important announcements about multi-location inventory and API deprecations.

Additional resources

See these additional resources for more information about migrating your apps to support multi-location inventory:

• Inventory API FAQ
• Managing fulfillments guide
• Updating inventory guide
• Inventory Level API reference
• Inventory Item API reference
• Location API reference
• Shopify API Forums
• How the New GraphQL Admin API Can Help You Manage Inventory and Locations