Shopify Slate Toolkit: Everything you need to know
By Sam Nguyen
The Shopify Slate Toolkit is useful for creating, testing, and deploying high-quality themes faster and with fewer errors. In this guide, we’ll dive deep into how the Shopify Slate Toolkit can enhance your workflow, improve your store’s design, and provide a better customer experience. Let’s get started and see how Slate can make your Shopify store shine!
About Shopify Slate Toolkit
The Shopify Slate Toolkit is a command-line tool designed to speed up and simplify Shopify theme development. It offers a set of tools and a reliable workflow that helps developers create, test, and deploy Shopify themes more efficiently.
Features of Shopify Slate
- Manage dependency through Wepack
- Get assistance from ES6+ through Babel
- Have local development asset server
- Compiling local SASS
- Create starter Themes
- Deploy environment
- Get a secure watch and deploy
- Minimise asset
- Configure via slate.config.js
What Does the Shopify Slate Toolkit Include?
The Shopify Slate Toolkit comes with everything you need to get started with theme development:
All Necessary Files and Templates
Slate provides a comprehensive set of files, templates, and layouts for building Shopify themes. This eliminates the need for extensive setup, allowing you to focus on creating your store’s design.
Helper Scripts
Slate comes with a variety of helper scripts, such as a11y.js for accessibility, currency.js for currency formatting, and variants.js for managing product variants. These scripts help streamline the theme development process and reduce common pitfalls.
Multi-Language Support
Slate allows you to add translated .json files into your theme, enabling you to offer your store in multiple languages. Translations are available in English, Canadian French, Spanish, German, and Portuguese.
Why You Should Use Shopify Slate Toolkit
Shopify Slate Toolkit is a valuable asset for anyone looking to develop high-quality Shopify themes quickly and efficiently with a lot of benefits:
- Efficient theme development: Provide a structured workflow for creating, testing, and deploying themes..
- Optimized code: Create clean code, reducing unnecessary markup and making theme management easier.
- Modern coding tools: With Webpack, Babel, and SASS, Slate lets you write modern code and view real-time changes.
- Consistent development environment: Offer a consistent setup, allowing multiple developers to collaborate smoothly without compatibility issues.
- Best practices: Encourage best practices, enabling you to build high-performing, accessible themes that enhance user experience.
- Beginner and pro-friendly: Support both beginners and professionals, offering starter themes and customizable options to grow with your needs.
- Shopify workflow alignment: Adhere to Shopify’s recommended workflow, ensuring your themes meet Shopify’s guidelines.
How to Use Shopify Slate Toolkit: A Step-by-Step Guide
Getting started with the Shopify Slate Toolkit is straightforward. Follow these simplified steps to improve your Shopify theme:
Step 1: Install Node.js and npm
Before getting started, ensure that Node.js and npm are installed on your computer. You can download the latest version of Node.js from the official website, which will automatically include npm.
Open your terminal or command prompt. Run the following command to install Slate globally:
npm install -g @shopify/slate
Step 2: Create a New Theme Project
Once you’ve installed Slate, create a new theme.Go to the folder in which you want your theme project and run the command below to start a new theme:
slate theme [theme-name]
Substitute “[theme-name]” in the command with your desired theme name. This will generate the structure for your new Shopify theme, complete with all essential files and directories.
Step 3: Update Shopify Slate Toolkit
Keep Slate up-to-date to ensure you have the latest features and fixes.
To update Slate tools, use npm:
npm install @shopify/slate-tools@latest
Or, if you use Yarn:
yarn upgrade --latest @shopify/slate-tools
That’s it! By following these simple steps, you can use the Shopify Slate Toolkit to build and manage your Shopify theme easily.
Latest Information: Shopify Slate – The Official End of Support
Shopify has officially discontinued support for the Slate Toolkit after assessing its current state and future relevance. This decision aligns with Shopify’s ongoing efforts to improve its theming capabilities and developer tools.
Why Has Shopify Ended Support for Slate?
With the introduction of the new section theme, Shopify is reviewing its development tools to ensure they provide the best possible experience for theme developers.
Unfortunately, Slate no longer fits with Shopify’s vision for the future of themes. It also doesn’t fully address two significant needs identified by developer: the local development of Shopify Themes and support for code versioning.
What Should Developers Using Slate Do Now?
If you’re a theme developer who has been using Slate, there are still options available:
- Continue using Slate: While Shopify won’t be maintaining it anymore, the toolkit remains available. You can fork the repository to customize it for your needs.
- Explore theme kit: Slate was built on top of Theme Kit, a tool that Shopify will continue to support and develop through the open-source community.
- Consider new tools and workflows: With Shopify’s focus on improving its theming tools, now might be a good time to explore new methods and tools that align with the platform’s latest updates.
Final thoughts
You can still use Slate if it suits your needs, or you can explore other tools like Theme Kit, which Shopify still actively maintains. Remember, the key to successful theme development is using tools that align with your workflow and the latest platform updates.
