Setting up a store created with an AI tool or vibe code partner

When an AI tool or a vibe code partner builds a store for you, the store is created on Shopify before you have a Shopify account for it. The store starts as a trial store, so you can preview what was built before you take ownership of it.

Claiming the store connects it to your Shopify account and makes you the store owner. Your free trial begins when you claim the store, not when the store is created.

What happens to the tool's access after you claim the store depends on how the store was created:

• If a vibe code partner created the store, then the partner's app stays installed, and the partner platform can continue to make changes to your store after you claim it.
• If you created the store from a preview in an AI tool, such as the Shopify plugin for ChatGPT or the Shopify connector for Claude, then the tool isn't connected to your new store yet. Authorize access to the new store before the tool can make changes to it.

A store created through the Stripe Projects CLI is yours as soon as it's created, so it has no claim step.

To review what an app can access, refer to authorizing AI tool access to your store.

mock.shop is a public Shopify Storefront API that serves sample catalogs. It needs no store, app, or access token, so a developer or an AI coding tool can build a storefront against realistic products, collections, and carts before connecting it to a real store.

The catalogs, prices, and inventory are fictional, and checkout isn't available, so mock.shop is for building rather than for selling. It mirrors the Storefront API, so a query written against mock.shop runs unchanged against a real store. Moving to your own store means changing the store domain and adding a Storefront API access token.

mock.shop is a developer tool, so the details are in the developer documentation. Refer to the mock.shop documentation for the API, the sample stores, and how to switch to a real store. For an overview of how AI coding tools use it, refer to the mock.shop announcement on the Shopify blog.

If you don't already have a Shopify account, then a Shopify account is created for you, and you receive a welcome email from Shopify with a link to finish setting up your account.

Steps:

1. Open the welcome email from Shopify.
2. Click Finish setup.
3. Add your profile details.
4. Choose your sign-in options to create your Shopify account.

The setup link expires 10 days after the email is sent. If the link expires, then you can still log in to your Shopify account with a one-time code sent to your email address, or reset your password.

A store created with an AI tool or vibe code partner starts with its storefront password protected, so customers can't buy from it yet. To remove the storefront password and start selling, choose a paid plan in your Shopify admin.

Choosing a plan is one part of getting ready to sell. You also set up payments, shipping, taxes, and your store policies, and you do this in your Shopify admin rather than in the AI tool or the partner platform.

For the full list of what to finish before you sell, refer to preparing your Shopify store for launch. For the setup tasks for a new store, refer to setting up your store.

A new store created with an AI tool or vibe code partner starts on a free trial, currently 4 months. You can build and test your store during the trial, and you're billed for your Shopify subscription after your free trial ends and you choose a paid plan. A store created through the Stripe Projects CLI can instead start on a paid plan, because the developer or AI agent chooses the plan when creating the store. To check your plan, go to Settings > Plan in your Shopify admin. For more information, refer to free trials for stores created with an AI tool or vibe code partner.

If your store was created through the Stripe Projects CLI, then your Shopify subscription uses Stripe as the payment method when you're on a paid plan, and your Shopify bills are charged to Stripe. You manage this Stripe payment method through the Stripe Projects CLI, not in the Shopify admin. To use a different payment method for your Shopify subscription, add one in your billing settings in the Shopify admin. If you remove the Stripe payment method from your billing settings, then you can add it back only through the Stripe Projects CLI.

A store that an AI tool or a vibe code partner created has 2 providers behind it, so where you go for help depends on what you need help with. Each AI tool and vibe code partner runs its own support process, so for a link to a provider's own help documentation, refer to that provider's page in building and managing your store with third-party AI tools. Review the following table to determine who to contact.

Where to get help with a store created by an AI tool or vibe code partner, based on whether the provider or Shopify handles the issue.

What you need help with	Who to contact
The design or the code that was built for you	The AI tool or vibe code partner that built your store
The AI tool itself, such as its interface, account, or subscription	The AI tool provider
Your Shopify admin, products, orders, or customers	Shopify Support
Claiming your store, signing in, or Shopify account access	Shopify Support
Your Shopify subscription, free trial, or selecting and changing your plan	Shopify Support