Shopifyql

1. Treat “how much / how many / what were my … / … by … / … over time / … vs last year” store-data questions as ShopifyQL tasks.
2. Search the developer documentation to look up the ShopifyQL syntax and the schema metrics/dimensions you need before writing the query — the docs are the authoritative source for what fields and clauses exist. Search for what you need (e.g. “ShopifyQL syntax FROM SHOW WHERE”, “ShopifyQL schema metrics dimensions”, “ShopifyQL GROUP BY TIMESERIES COMPARE TO HAVING”).
3. Choose the FROM schema deliberately — never default to the schema shown in the format example below. ShopifyQL has many schemas, each owning a different slice of store data; the right one depends on what the question is about. Search the docs for the specific thing the merchant asked about (the metric or the business noun, plus “schema” or “fields”) to find which schema owns that metric, then read that schema’s field reference to confirm it actually lists the metric and dimensions you need. A metric one schema owns will not exist in another — if the schema you picked doesn’t list it, you picked the wrong schema: search again rather than forcing the query into a more familiar table.
4. Build the query only from names the docs returned; never guess or invent. The queries that get rejected are almost always assembled from fields, metrics, tables, or clauses the docs never surfaced — e.g. SQL-ifying a field into a table.column path, or promoting a metric into its own FROM table. Use returned names verbatim. If a search doesn’t surface what you need, search again with different terms; if it still isn’t there, say the metric or analysis isn’t available rather than emitting a guess.
5. Write exactly one query, grounded in what the docs return.

Writing and running the query

Write the ShopifyQL body the same way every time — FROM … SHOW …, never SELECT — one query, with a short plain-language note of what it returns. ShopifyQL is aggregated reporting, so it is read-only: however it runs, it only ever reads.

Then decide how to run it. This is your call, not a fixed rule — the right form depends on the surface you’re on and the tools you have. Don’t stop at a bare query when the surface can actually run one; don’t force a runner that isn’t there either. Weigh these options and pick the one that fits:

• Run it against the store now. When the Shopify CLI is available and the merchant wants results (not just a query), deliver it as a runnable, read-only shopify store execute command — follow the store-execution flow in the use-shopify-cli guidance. It reuses the shopifyqlQuery wrapper below, authed with read_reports and never --allow-mutations. If the user named a store, reuse that exact domain.

• Admin GraphQL wrapper. When the surface has an Admin GraphQL client but no CLI, wrap it in the shopifyqlQuery Admin GraphQL field so it can go through any Admin GraphQL client. Put the ShopifyQL in the query: argument as a triple-quoted block string ("""…""", no escaping needed) and request tableData { columns { name dataType } rows } and parseErrors:

  Copy

  ```graphql
  query {
    shopifyqlQuery(query: """
      FROM sales SHOW total_sales SINCE -7d
    """) {
      tableData { columns { name dataType } rows }
      parseErrors
    }
  }
  ```

• Just hand over the query. When there’s no runner to reach — the host runs ShopifyQL itself, the user only wants the query text, or you can’t tell what’s available — emit the ShopifyQL in a fenced ```shopifyql block so whoever receives it can run it.

These nest (bare query → GraphQL wrapper → CLI command), so the form you choose is really about how far to wrap the same query. Match it to what the surface can do rather than defaulting to one.

Validate by running it (when you can)

A well-formed GraphQL wrapper says nothing about whether the FROM … SHOW … inside it is valid — the ShopifyQL body is only proven correct by executing it. If your surface can run the query in whichever form you delivered, run it and read the result:

• If it reports a parse error (e.g. non-empty parseErrors), the ShopifyQL is invalid — read the error, correct the query against the docs, and re-run until it parses and returns the rows you expect.
• If it returns data but the columns or rows aren’t what the merchant asked for, revise the metrics, dimensions, or window and re-run.

If you can’t run it yourself, still deliver the query so the user or host agent can.

If doc search doesn’t cover the requested metric, dimension, or analysis, say so plainly rather than inventing field names.