---
title: Legacy Hydrogen
description: >-
  The Hydrogen docs in this section cover Hydrogen versions 2026-04 and earlier.
  Learn why we recommend migrating to the latest version of Hydrogen.
source_url:
  html: 'https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/headless/legacy'
  md: 'https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/headless/legacy.md'
api_name: hydrogen
---

# Legacy Hydrogen

The Hydrogen and Oxygen docs in this section cover Hydrogen versions 2026-04 and earlier. In those versions, Hydrogen is a full-stack framework built on Remix or React Router, with its own components, project structure, and CLI workflow.

**Info:**

We recommend that you migrate to the latest version of Hydrogen. To learn how, refer to [Migrate to the latest version of Hydrogen](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/hydrogen/migrate).

***

## Why migrate

Starting with version 2026-10, Hydrogen is a toolkit that you add to your framework, instead of a framework of its own:

* **Use the framework you want:** Hydrogen works with Next.js, React Router, and other frameworks, with bindings for React and Vue. Earlier versions are built on Remix or React Router.
* **Deploy:** Your framework determines where you can deploy a Hydrogen storefront.
* **Own your UI:** Hydrogen doesn't ship a component library. You build pages with your own components and design system, and Hydrogen handles the cart, variant selection, analytics, and other commerce logic.
* **Get Shopify's routes for free:** Request handlers restore the routes that a Shopify storefront needs, including checkout, cart permalinks, redirects, and agent endpoints.

***

## What changes

| Area | Hydrogen 2026-04 and earlier | Hydrogen 2026-10 |
| - | - | - |
| Framework | Remix or React Router | Next.js, React Router, or another framework |
| UI | Hydrogen components, such as `Image` and `Money` | Your own components, with helpers such as `formatMoney()` |
| State | React hooks and loaders | Observable stores, with React and Vue bindings |
| Hosting | Oxygen, or self-hosted with an adapter | Your framework's supported hosts |

***

## Next steps

[Headless overview\
\
](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/hydrogen)

[Learn how Hydrogen's commerce primitives fit into your framework.](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/hydrogen)

[Deploy a template\
\
](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/hydrogen/getting-started/deploy-a-template)

[Deploy a starter template that uses the latest version of Hydrogen.](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/hydrogen/getting-started/deploy-a-template)

[Continue with an earlier version\
\
](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/headless/hydrogen/getting-started)

[Build or maintain a storefront on Hydrogen 2026-04 or earlier.](https://shopify.dev/docs/storefronts/headless/hydrogen/getting-started)

***