About stores
Your organization works with three types of store: the dev stores you own and test against, the client transfer stores you build and hand over to a merchant, and the collaborations on stores a merchant already owns.
Anchor to Where to manage storesWhere to manage stores
In the Dev Dashboard, Stores lists every store your organization can reach, whatever its type. Search by name when you know the store you want, or narrow the list by Type when you don't.
Create store starts a new dev store or client transfer store. Request store access asks a merchant for collaborator access to a store they already own.
Shopify CLI works from the terminal too. Use it to list the stores in your organization, and to create or delete dev stores.
What you can do depends on your role. Refer to user permissions.
Anchor to Store statusesStore statuses
A store's status depends on its type. Client transfer stores and collaborations each carry their own lifecycle:
- Client transfer store statuses track a handoff from your organization to the client.
- Collaboration statuses track the access a merchant has granted you.
What a row's Actions menu offers depends on the store's type, its status, and your permissions.
Anchor to Store typesStore types
Anchor to Dev storesDev stores
Dev stores are testing environments that you own and control. They're the right choice when you're building or testing an app, experimenting with a theme, or need a Shopify store that behaves like a real merchant store without the risk of affecting live data.
Dev stores can be created on any Shopify plan, and you can enable a feature preview at creation to test capabilities that aren't available to all stores yet.
Learn more about dev stores →
Anchor to Client transfer storesClient transfer stores
Client transfer stores are stores you build on behalf of a client. You own and configure the store during the build, then transfer ownership to the client when it's ready.
Use one when a merchant has hired you to build their store. The store is created under your organization, which gives you full access while you work and a clean handoff when you're done.
Learn more about client transfer stores →
Anchor to CollaborationsCollaborations
Collaborations are access relationships with merchant-owned stores. When a merchant grants your organization collaborator access, that store appears in your Stores list with Collaboration as its type. You're working inside a live merchant store. You don't own it, and it isn't transferred to you.
Use a collaboration when an existing merchant needs ongoing support, customization, or app development on their store.
Learn more about collaborations →
Anchor to Choosing the right store typeChoosing the right store type
Which type you need depends on who owns the store once the work is done.
| Dev store | Client transfer store | Collaboration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who owns the store | You (your organization) | You during the build; the merchant after transfer | The merchant |
| Primary use | App and theme development and testing | Build a store to hand off to a client | Work on a merchant's live store |
| Transferable to a merchant | No | Yes | N/A. The merchant already owns it. |
| How to create | Dev Dashboard, then Shopify admin, or entirely in Shopify CLI | Dev Dashboard, then Shopify admin | You don't create one. The merchant initiates, or you ask with Request store access. |
| Real transactions | No | No | Yes |
| Install custom or draft apps | Yes | No | Depends on merchant permissions |
Anchor to Next stepsNext steps
- Configure user permissions to control who can create, transfer, and delete stores in your organization.
- Start building an app to put your store to work as a testing environment.