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Apps in POS

Shopify Point of Sale (POS) is an app that enables merchants to sell products in person, manage inventory, and deliver omnichannel experiences.

Integrating your app with Shopify POS lets you add custom functionality directly into the point-of-sale interface. You can build discount apps, loyalty programs, inventory management tools, or custom workflows that work within the POS app.

This guide explains the technologies that you can use to integrate your app with Shopify POS.

Anchor to Use casesUse cases

You can build POS apps for a wide range of merchant needs using either POS UI extensions or App Bridge:

  • Discount and promotion apps: Apply multiple discounts, loyalty rewards, and special offers.
  • Inventory management tools: Receive transfers, conduct stocktakes, and manage product information.
  • Customer relationship apps: Access customer profiles, purchase history, and communication tools.
  • Payment and checkout enhancements: Provide custom payment flows, gift card management, and receipt customization.
  • Analytics and reporting: Offer real-time sales data, staff performance metrics, and business insights.

Anchor to POS UI extensionsPOS UI extensions

Tip

We recommend building with POS UI extensions for most apps.

POS UI extensions enable you to customize Shopify's POS interface by rendering native UI components in the POS app.

Apps built with POS UI extensions provide:

  • Native performance: Extensions render as native components for faster load times.
  • Consistent design: Automatically match Shopify's design system and receive updates.
  • Guided development: Use pre-built components and defined extension targets.
  • Cross-platform compatibility: Offer an identical experience across iOS and Android platforms.

For example, you can add a clickable tile to the POS home screen that launches your app's features:

The Shopify POS home screen showing various tiles including first time customer, Local delivery, Pickup, Purchase orders, Transfers, and Add tile, with a New order section on the right side.

Anchor to App BridgeApp Bridge

Tip

Choose App Bridge when you need complete control over the user interface, unique workflows that don't fit within pre-built extension targets, or when migrating an existing web application to Shopify POS.

App Bridge provides a way to extend Shopify POS by embedding web applications directly into the POS interface.

POS apps built with App Bridge provide:

  • Complete UI control: Build fully custom interfaces without design system constraints.
  • Web application rendering: Your app renders as an embedded web application within the POS interface.
  • Tile-based integration: Embed your app as tiles within the POS interface with full web capabilities.
  • Unlimited customization: Create unique user experiences tailored to specific workflows.

Anchor to Developer tools and resourcesDeveloper tools and resources

POS UI extensions reference

Integrate with merchant workflows and offer enhanced functionality that feels native to the POS experience.

App Bridge reference

Learn about the JavaScript SDK for embedded apps, which provides access to data and UI rendering within the Shopify admin.

Anchor to Next stepsNext steps

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