Connect a Shopify store to /tools
Step-by-step guide to connecting your Shopify store to /tools, covering what access is requested, what gets read, and what happens on first sync.
Connecting Shopify takes about 60 seconds: log in to /tools, choose Connect Shopify, approve read access in Shopify, and your catalog syncs automatically. /tools only reads your products; it never writes back to your store.
Before you start
You'll need:
- A /tools account (tools.rp.ltd)
- Admin access to the Shopify store (you'll approve the connection inside Shopify)
- Your
.myshopify.comdomain (find it in Shopify under Settings → Domains if you normally use a custom domain)
What /tools reads from Shopify
Products, variants, options, images, prices, barcodes, inventory levels, vendors, product types, tags and collections. That's it: /tools does not request access to orders, customers, or anything it doesn't need to build your feed.
Deep dive Sync mechanics for large catalogs
The first sync pulls your full catalog; after that, /tools keeps itself up to date automatically and re-syncs on a schedule. Very large catalogs are processed in self-chaining chunks so a 50,000-SKU store syncs just as reliably as a 50-SKU one, and you'll see progress in the app while it runs. You can also trigger a manual re-sync at any time from the store dashboard; there's no penalty for doing so.
After connecting
Once the sync completes you'll land on your Feed Health Score: a single number summarising how Merchant Center-ready your catalog is, with a breakdown of exactly which fields are missing or weak. From there, enrichment is one click. See Feed Health Score explained.
If you run more than one store, repeat the same flow per store: /tools supports multiple stores under one account, each with its own connection, feed and subscription.
Step by step
- Open Connections in /tools. Log in at tools.rp.ltd, open your store, and go to Connections. Choose "Connect Shopify".
- Enter your store domain. Enter your myshopify.com domain (e.g. your-store.myshopify.com), not your custom domain.
- Approve access in Shopify. Shopify shows the permissions screen. /tools requests read access to products and inventory. Approve to continue.
- Wait for the first sync. Your catalog begins syncing immediately. Small catalogs finish in a couple of minutes; very large catalogs sync in chunks in the background.
- Review your Feed Health Score. When the sync completes, Optimise scores your feed and shows what it found. This is your starting point for enrichment.
Frequently asked questions
Can /tools change products in my Shopify store?
No. The connection is read-only for your product data. Enriched fields live in /tools and are served to Google through your /tools feed URL; your Shopify catalog is never modified.
Do variants come through?
Yes. All variants sync with their options, prices, barcodes and stock levels, and /tools maintains the variant relationships Google expects (item_group_id).
Why aren't my products appearing after connecting?
Large catalogs sync in batches, so give it a few minutes. If products are still missing, check that they're set to Active in Shopify and available on the Online Store sales channel.