Sections

Sections are Liquid files that allow you to create reusable modules of content that can be customized by merchants. They can also include blocks which allow merchants to add, remove, and reorder content within a section.

For example, you can create an Image with text section that displays an image and text side-by-side with options for merchants to choose the image, set the text, and select the display order.

Sections can be dynamically added to pages using JSON templates or section groups, giving merchants flexibility to easily customize page layouts. Sections that are included in JSON templates or section groups can support app blocks, which give merchants the option to include app content within a section without having to edit theme code. JSON templates and section groups can render up to 25 sections, and each section can have up to 50 blocks.

Sections can also be included statically, which can provide merchants with in-context customization options for static content.

By default, sections are available for any template or section group. You can limit which templates and section groups have access in the section schema.

The following diagram shows the main theme architecture components with sections highlighted in blue and blocks highlighted in red:

Diagram of theme architecture components with sections highlighted in blue and blocks highlighted in red.

Location

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Section files are located in the sections directory of the theme:

Content

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Sections can contain three main types of content:

Type Description Required

Type	Description	Required
Main content	Any HTML or Liquid content you might want to include in the section. Sections have the same access to global objects, tags, and filters as other Liquid theme files, as well as the following section-specific objects: The `section` object - Contains the section's properties and setting values. The `block` object - Contains the properties and setting values of a single section block. Aside from global objects, variables created outside of sections aren't accessible within sections. The section and block objects, as well as variables created within sections, aren't available outside of their respective section. The only exception is when you reference section and block objects within a snippet that's rendered inside the section you're referencing.	No
Assets	Sections can bundle their own JavaScript and stylesheet assets with the following section-specific Liquid tags: {% javascript %} {% stylesheet %} To learn more, refer to Section assets.	No
Schema	Sections support the `{% schema %}` Liquid tag. This tag is used to define the following section attributes and settings: name tag class limit settings blocks app blocks max_blocks presets defaults locales enabled_on disabled_on To learn more, refer to Section schema.	Yes

Main content

Any HTML or Liquid content you might want to include in the section.

Sections have the same access to global objects, tags, and filters as other Liquid theme files, as well as the following section-specific objects:

The section object - Contains the section's properties and setting values.
The block object - Contains the properties and setting values of a single section block.

Aside from global objects, variables created outside of sections aren't accessible within sections.

The section and block objects, as well as variables created within sections, aren't available outside of their respective section. The only exception is when you reference section and block objects within a snippet that's rendered inside the section you're referencing.

Assets

Sections can bundle their own JavaScript and stylesheet assets with the following section-specific Liquid tags:

To learn more, refer to Section assets.

Schema

Sections support the {% schema %} Liquid tag. This tag is used to define the following section attributes and settings:

To learn more, refer to Section schema.

Yes

Usage

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When working with sections, you should familiarize yourself with the following:

How to render a section
How to integrate sections with the theme editor
Support app blocks

Render a section

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You can render sections in one of the following ways:

Reference the section in a JSON template, or a section group in a layout file.
Statically render the section with the section Liquid tag.
Use the Section Rendering API.

Statically render a section

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You can statically render a section using the Liquid section tag.

For example, to include a section in a Liquid template, you can include it with a section tag:

Integrate sections with the theme editor

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When users customize sections through the theme editor, the HTML of those sections is dynamically added, removed, or re-rendered directly onto the existing DOM, without reloading the entire page. However, any associated JavaScript that runs when the page loads won't run again.

Additionally, you must make sure that when a section or block is selected, that section or block becomes, and remains, visible while it’s selected. For example, a slideshow section should scroll into view when the section is selected, slide to a selected block (slide), and pause while that block is selected.

To help identify theme editor actions like section and block selection or reordering, you can use the JavaScript events emitted by the theme editor.

You might also want to prevent specific code from running in the theme editor. To do so, you can use Liquid and JavaScript variables for detecting the theme editor.

Support app blocks

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App blocks allow app developers to create blocks for merchants to add app content to their theme without having to directly edit theme code.

To learn more about how to make your theme compatible with app blocks, refer to App blocks.