Build your Shopify app in Python: introducing the FastAPI Launch Kit
You want to write your Shopify app's backend in Python. Before working on its features, you need to connect App Bridge, request verification, token storage, webhooks and background work, then give the app a permanent home.
Shopify Python Launch Kit brings those pieces into one portable project. It uses Shopify's official Python package and includes a guided Upferry deployment for the web app, Postgres and a separate worker. The source is free under the MIT license.
FastAPI✓ App Home and verified requestsPostgres + worker✓ Installations and background jobsStart with the backend you want to use
Shopify released new official PHP and Python packages in August 2026. They provide request verification, token exchange and GraphQL building blocks. Shopify's library guide explicitly says that there is no complete official Python app template: developers compose the pieces themselves.
This kit is for a new backend-dependent app whose developer already wants FastAPI. It provides a minimal App Bridge page, Postgres-backed installations and a worker example. It is an independent Upferry project, not an official Shopify template or an App Store approval promise.
Your first result is a running app
The sample app displays your development store's name using a server-side Admin GraphQL query. Select Run Python job and the separate worker fetches the shop name, then returns a result with its Python version and completion time.
Installation tokens live in Postgres, encrypted with a key you control. The token pair is saved before subsequent GraphQL work, and a database row lock coordinates refresh across processes. Redeploying the web process does not reset the stored installation.
The demo job is read-only. Before adding merchant-side writes or payments, add idempotency and extend the example's data-handling behavior for your application.
From local development to hosted operation
Upferry hosting currently requires an approved GitHub account; public self-service sign-up is not available yet. The source and local workflow are open to everyone. You can also run the containers on another host.
Get the repository, install its Python dependencies, start local Postgres and run the Shopify CLI development flow. The README contains the complete commands. You can inspect and run the source before choosing hosted operation.
For Upferry, link a separate Shopify release app and run uv run python -m app.deploy. The command signs in to Upferry, creates the database and two application services, applies schema migrations, deploys the web process, then starts the worker.
It updates the named release configuration and invokes Shopify CLI to review and publish the Shopify changes. Finish installation on your development store from Dev Dashboard. The local development configuration keeps its own app and tunnel.
Developer sign-in and installation consent are required. The tool does not bypass Shopify permissions, promise a deployment time or publish an App Store listing.
Understand the starting point
Source uploads exclude local environment files, virtual environments and deployment state. Hosting variables are sent separately to the authenticated Upferry API over HTTPS. Access logging is disabled in the app because Shopify page URLs can contain tokens.
The starter verifies webhook signatures and binds erasure actions to the shop inside the signed payload. Uninstall and shop-erasure handlers remove the stored installation and its jobs. The sample stores no customer records; extend customer data-request and redaction handling when your app begins collecting them.
The worker uses Postgres leases and bounded retries. Execution is at least once, so long-running or write-producing tasks need application-specific safeguards. The kit is not a security audit or a compliance certification.
Free source, optional Upferry hosting
The repository and local workflow are free. Hosted operation is a separate service: your web process, database and worker keep running after your laptop closes. The kit does not include free unlimited production hosting.
The Dockerfile also runs on other container hosts. Django Shopify packages, community Python starters and Shopify's Node templates are valid alternatives. Our focus is one maintained FastAPI starting point and a prepared path for running the complete stack on Upferry.