How to check which Shopify apps a store uses
To check which Shopify apps a store uses, open the store's page source and look for two things: "BEGIN app block: shopify://apps/" comments, which name the app outright, and scripts loaded from any host other than cdn.shopify.com, which you match to an App Store listing. It takes two or three minutes per store and costs nothing. A free detector does the same in seconds. No method sees apps that only run in the store's admin.
Step by step
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1.
Confirm the store runs on Shopify
Search the page source for cdn.shopify.com and Shopify.theme. Or look up the domain's DNS: the www name is usually a CNAME to shops.myshopify.com and the bare domain points to an address starting with 23.227.38. If none of this matches, the app methods below do not apply.
A headless store (a custom front end that only uses Shopify for checkout) loads from
cdn.shopify.combut shows no theme markers. Most of the steps below find nothing on those stores. -
2.
Search the source for app block comments
Open view-source: in your browser (Ctrl+U or Cmd+Option+U) and search for "BEGIN app block". Every app installed as a theme app block or app embed leaves a comment that carries the app's handle.
The comment looks like this:
<!-- BEGIN app block: shopify://apps/redo/blocks/redo_app_embed/... -->The word after
shopify://apps/is the app handle. Often,apps.shopify.com/<handle>is its App Store listing. -
3.
List the scripts that do not come from Shopify
Still in the source, collect every script and stylesheet URL. Files under cdn.shopify.com/extensions/ belong to an app extension, and the folder name usually contains the app's name. Any other third-party host (a reviews widget, a chat tool, a loyalty program) is almost always an app: search the host name to find its listing.
App proxy links are a third clue: a path such as
/apps/<something>on the store's own domain is served by an installed app. -
4.
Watch the network on product and cart pages
Open DevTools, go to the Network tab and reload a product page, then the cart. Many apps load only there: upsells, bundles, reviews, size charts and shipping bars. The home page alone misses them.
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5.
Use a detector when you have more than a handful of stores
Browser extensions and free online detectors run the same checks in seconds. They differ in which apps they recognize, so two tools can disagree on the same store. For a list of stores, use a database that has already run the checks, then spot-check a few by hand.
What this looks like at scale
As of October 2, 2026, StoreRadar had 805,277 app detections backed by an app extension file on Shopify's CDN (the cdn.shopify.com/extensions/ clue above), on 516,120 Shopify stores and across 1,811 apps. The most common one was Judge.me Product Reviews, on 187,049 stores.
Those are detections: the app left a visible trace on the store the last time we crawled it. They are not Shopify's own install figures, which only the app developer sees. We do not count weaker matches, such as a script name that happens to contain an app's name: most of those are wrong.
Fingerprints to search for
| Search the source for | What it tells you |
|---|---|
cdn.shopify.com, Shopify.theme | The store runs on Shopify, with a Shopify theme. |
BEGIN app block: shopify://apps/ | An app block or app embed. The next word is the app handle. |
cdn.shopify.com/extensions/ | Files from an app extension. The folder name usually names the app. |
/apps/ on the store's own domain | An app proxy, served by an installed app. |
| Any other script host | Usually a third-party app or tracking tool. Search the host name. |
Limits of every method
- Admin-only apps are invisible. Accounting, ERP, inventory, private and custom apps leave nothing on the storefront.
- Headless stores hide most markers. A custom front end can use Shopify checkout and show no app blocks at all.
- Consent banners delay scripts. Some apps load only after a visitor accepts cookies, so a quick look misses them.
- Leftover code lies. A theme can keep an old script tag after the app is uninstalled, so one trace is a clue, not proof.
Do it with StoreRadar
- Shopify app detector: paste a store URL and get the apps it shows on its storefront. Free.
- Shopify store checker: paste a URL to see whether it is a Shopify store and what StoreRadar has on it. Free.
- Chrome extension: the store's apps, theme and stack in a side panel while you browse it.
- Discover stores: filter the whole database by installed app, theme or country. Free account needed.
FAQ
Can I see every app a Shopify store uses?
No. You can only see apps that put something on the storefront: a script, a widget, an app block. Apps that run in the admin only, such as accounting, inventory sync, ERP connectors or private custom apps, leave no public trace.
Is it legal to check which apps a store uses?
Yes. You read the same public HTML the store sends to every visitor. Nothing here logs into the store or bypasses a protection.
Why do two app detectors give different answers for the same store?
Each tool recognizes a different list of fingerprints, and some read only the home page. An app that loads on the cart page, after a cookie banner, or under a renamed script can be missed by one tool and found by another.
How current is a detected app list?
A manual check is current at the moment you load the page. A database result is as old as the store's last crawl, which can be weeks or months. Re-check by hand before you mention an app to the store owner.