---
title: Libraries and templates
description: >-
  Official and community API libraries for Ruby, Node, PHP, Python, Go, and
  .NET, plus app templates and sample apps to help you get started quickly.
source_url:
  html: 'https://shopify.dev/docs/api/libraries-and-templates'
  md: 'https://shopify.dev/docs/api/libraries-and-templates.md'
---

# Libraries and templates

Use an app template to scaffold a working app in minutes with [Shopify CLI](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/shopify-cli), then choose from Shopify's official API libraries or community-maintained options to suit your language and framework.

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## App templates

App templates give you a fully working Shopify app out of the box, including OAuth, billing, and webhooks. Use [Shopify CLI](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/cli-for-apps) with the `--flavor` flag to scaffold from a template.

Shopify recommends the React Router template for most new apps. It uses the [`@shopify/shopify-app-react-router`](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/shopify-app-react-router) package and is actively maintained.

| Template | Description |
| - | - |
| [React Router template](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-app-template-react-router) | Recommended for most apps |
| [Extension-only template](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-app-template-extension-only) | For custom-distribution apps with no developer-hosted backend. Extension-only apps can have a page in App Home by using an [App Home UI extension](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/app-home/app-home-ui-extensions). |
| [Express template](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-app-template-node) | Express, Node.js, and React |
| [Ruby template](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-app-template-ruby) | Ruby on Rails |

***

## Sample apps

Sample apps demonstrate common patterns and integrations. Use them as a reference or starting point for your own project.

| App | Description |
| - | - |
| [Shopify QR Code app](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-app-examples/tree/main/qr-code/node) | A full-featured example app with QR code generation, built with Node.js and React Router. |

***

## Official API libraries

Shopify's official libraries handle authentication, versioning, and request management so you can focus on building your app's logic.

For PHP and Python apps, there isn't an app template. Scaffold your own project in your framework of choice, then compose the `shopify-app-php` or `shopify-app-python` primitives into it. The packages are framework-agnostic, so they work with Laravel and Symfony for PHP, and with Django, Flask, and FastAPI for Python. Each package's README documents every primitive, so you can hand the README to your [AI coding tool](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/ai-toolkit) as context when you scaffold the project.

| Library | Language | Description |
| - | - | - |
| [shopify-api-ruby](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-api-ruby) | Ruby | Ruby gem for the Admin API. Handles OAuth, webhooks, REST, and GraphQL. |
| [shopify\_app](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify_app) | Ruby / Rails | Rails engine that adds Shopify app scaffolding, session management, and webhooks to a Rails app. |
| [shopify-api](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-app-js/tree/main/packages/apps/shopify-api) | Node.js | Library for the Storefront and Admin APIs, OAuth, webhooks, and billing. |
| [admin-api-client](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-app-js/tree/main/packages/api-clients/admin-api-client) | Node.js | Lightweight library for making Admin API requests directly, without the full app framework. |
| [shopify-app-php](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-app-php) | PHP | Framework-agnostic package for building apps in any PHP framework, including Laravel and Symfony. Handles request verification, token exchange, and GraphQL Admin API calls. |
| [shopify-app-python](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-app-python) | Python | Framework-agnostic package for building apps in any Python framework, including Django, Flask, and FastAPI. Handles request verification, token exchange, and GraphQL Admin API calls. |

***

## Third-party API libraries

These community-maintained libraries cover additional languages and frameworks. Shopify doesn't officially maintain them, but they're widely used by the developer community.

| Library | Language | Description |
| - | - | - |
| [Shopify-api-node](https://github.com/MONEI/Shopify-api-node) | Node.js | Node Shopify connector |
| [shopify-node-api](https://github.com/christophergregory/shopify-node-api) | Node.js | OAuth2 module for Shopify API |
| [php-shopify](https://github.com/phpclassic/php-shopify) | PHP | PHP SDK for Shopify API |
| [Basic-Shopify-API](https://github.com/gnikyt/Basic-Shopify-API) | PHP | PHP API wrapper using Guzzle for GraphQL |
| [laravel-shopify](https://github.com/esign/laravel-shopify) | PHP / Laravel | Laravel integration for building Shopify apps |
| [go-shopify](https://github.com/bold-commerce/go-shopify) | Go | Go library for Shopify |
| [ShopifySharp](https://github.com/nozzlegear/ShopifySharp) | .NET | .NET library for Shopify |

***