Shopify Academy closes on October 29, 2026, and its course pages go with it. If you were halfway through one, this page tells you where the same topic is taught now. Each Academy developer course below is listed by its exact name, with the free shopify.dev docs for it and the learnshopify.dev lessons that cover the same ground.
The course names come from the public Academy catalog. The dates come from Shopify's Academy FAQ. learnshopify.dev is my own product, and where it does not teach a topic, the table says so.
The short version
For every course, shopify.dev is the free reference. For hands-on practice, the Liquid and theme courses map to the theme development path (Module 1 free), the app, Functions and checkout courses map to Module 5 and the app development path (first 15 lessons free), and the Hydrogen and POS courses are best replaced by the docs alone.
Liquid and theme development courses
These made up most of the theme developer side of Academy, including the Liquid Storefronts for Theme Developers learning path.
| Academy course | Free docs now | On learnshopify.dev |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Shopify Liquid | Liquid reference | Module 1, Liquid Fundamentals: output, filters, conditionals, loops, capture and the liquid tag. Free. |
| Getting Started with Liquid for Developers | Liquid reference | Module 1 (free), then Module 2 for the object model: products, variants, collections, cart, customers, metafields. |
| Theme Architecture with Liquid for Developers | Theme architecture | Module 3, Theme Architecture: sections, section blocks, theme blocks, JSON templates, section groups, snippets, settings and locales. |
| Customizing Themes | Themes overview | Module 3, including the daily CLI flow: pull from the store, push back, theme console and theme check. |
| Liquid Optimization for Performance | Performance best practices and Theme Check | Partly: a performance audit lesson in Module 4 and the theme check lesson in Module 3. The docs go deeper. |
| Building Interactive Cart Operations in Themes | Cart Ajax API | Module 4: cart drawer, AJAX add-to-cart, quantity changes, removing lines, clearing the cart and an upsell row. |
Learn this properly · free lesson
Meet Liquid: write your first line
Start where Introduction to Shopify Liquid started: write your first line of Liquid and watch a storefront change. Free, in your browser.
Try this lesson for freeLearn this properly · free lesson
The shape of a theme: where everything lives
The first lesson of Theme Architecture: what every folder in a theme is for. Free.
Try this lesson for freePlatform and data courses
These sat under the Shopify Development Fundamentals side of Academy: how the platform fits together, where data lives and how other systems talk to a store.
| Academy course | Free docs now | On learnshopify.dev |
|---|---|---|
| Developing on Shopify | Themes and apps | Module 1 starts with the dev server and theme anatomy. Module 5 opens with when to use an app, a theme edit or a Function. |
| Exploring and Extending Shopify's Data Model | Custom data | Module 2: metafields and metaobjects, set up in the admin and rendered in the theme. Module 5: choosing between a tag, a metafield and a metaobject. |
| Integrating with Shopify | Admin GraphQL API and webhooks | Module 5: Admin GraphQL queries, cursor pagination, mutations, tokens and scopes, the orders/create and uninstall webhooks, and HMAC verification. |
| Data Migration for Shopify | Admin GraphQL API | Partly: the bulk operations lesson in Module 5. Migration planning itself is not covered. |
App development courses
These were the Developing Apps for Shopify learning path and the courses around it.
| Academy course | Free docs now | On learnshopify.dev |
|---|---|---|
| Creating an App for Shopify | Build an app | The app development path: install the Shopify CLI, create a dev store, create the app and run it on your own store. First 15 lessons free. |
| App Development Fundamentals | Build an app | The app path: shopify.app.toml, scopes, the app's database, admin pages, versions and deploys. Module 5 covers the APIs behind them. |
| App Surfaces Examples | Build an app | Module 5: app blocks, theme app extensions, app proxies, checkout UI and customer account extensions. |
| Advanced App Development | Build an app | The second half of the app path: a cart transform Function, your own tests, a separate production app, hosting, releasing and shipping updates. |
The app path works differently from the rest of the site. You build one real bundle app on your own development store, with the real Shopify CLI and an AI coding agent writing the code. A command line tool checks your local code and the platform checks your store through the Admin API. It ends with the app installed on a second store of yours. See the app development path.
Shopify Functions and checkout courses
These belonged to the Creating Solutions for Shopify Checkout learning path.
| Academy course | Free docs now | On learnshopify.dev |
|---|---|---|
| Customizing Business Logic with Shopify Functions | Shopify Functions | Module 5: what Functions are, a discount Function, payment and delivery customizations. The app path builds and tests a cart transform Function. |
| Choosing the Right Shopify Functions Strategy: Rust, JavaScript, and Alternatives | Shopify Functions | Partly: Module 5 covers when a Function is the right tool at all. Choosing between Rust and JavaScript is not covered. |
| Checkout and Cart Validation with Shopify Functions | Shopify Functions | Module 5: a cart validation Function for a wholesale minimum, and when to use an extension, a Function or both. |
| Building Backend Logic for Shopify Checkout | Checkout | Module 5: the Functions lessons above, plus where subscriptions and bundles belong. |
| Enhancing Checkout with UI Extensions | Checkout UI extensions | Module 5: a thank-you page extension, a pre-purchase upsell review and checkout validation. |
| Building Data Collection Solutions with Shopify Web Pixels | Web pixels | Module 5: one lesson on a web pixel extension. |
Learn this properly · free lesson
App vs theme vs Function: which tool for which job
Before any Functions code: one client request, several ways to build it, one right call. The first lesson of Module 5, free.
Try this lesson for freeHydrogen, headless and POS courses
learnshopify.dev does not teach Hydrogen or POS UI extensions, so for these the docs are the place to go.
| Academy course | Free docs now | On learnshopify.dev |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Storefronts and Introduction to custom storefronts for developers | Headless overview | One Module 5 lesson compares the Admin and Storefront APIs. Building a headless storefront is not covered. |
| Build a Custom Storefront with Hydrogen, Hydrogen Best Practices and Liquid to Hydrogen Migration | Hydrogen docs | Not covered. Read should you learn headless Shopify before you pick it as your next step. |
| Storefront API Customization | Headless overview | Not covered beyond the Admin vs Storefront API lesson. |
| Introduction to POS UI Extensions and Building Custom POS Interfaces with UI Extensions | POS UI extensions | Not covered. |
If you were halfway through a course
- Write down where you stopped before October 29: the course, the last lesson you finished and the topics left.
- Find the row above and open the shopify.dev page for it. That is the reference you will keep using either way.
- Pick up at the matching module, not at the start. If you were in Theme Architecture with Liquid for Developers, start at Module 3. If you were in an app course, start the app path.
- Build it on a development store. Development stores are free for Partners, and a store you built is worth more than a finished course.
Starting from scratch instead? The free 6-week plan puts the same docs in order, week by week, with something to show at the end of each one.
For refunds and what happens to your badges, see Shopify Academy is closing. For the exams themselves, see Shopify developer certification after Academy. To compare all the options side by side, see Shopify Academy alternative.
Start Module 1 for free, no card needed, or go straight to the app development path if you already know themes.
Frequently asked questions
Where can I take Shopify Academy courses after October 29, 2026?
Nowhere: Shopify Academy closes on October 29, 2026, and Shopify points developers to the Dev Docs, the Partner Help Center and the Dev Community Forums. The same topics are covered by the shopify.dev docs, and hands-on by courses such as learnshopify.dev.
What replaces Getting Started with Liquid for Developers?
The Liquid reference on shopify.dev covers every tag, filter and object. For practice, Module 1 of learnshopify.dev (Liquid Fundamentals, free) teaches output, filters, conditionals and loops with your code checked in the browser.
What replaces the Developing Apps for Shopify learning path?
The app docs on shopify.dev, plus a hands-on course. learnshopify.dev's app development path has you build one real app on your own development store with the Shopify CLI, from setup to a release on a second store. The first 15 lessons are free.
Where can I learn Shopify Functions now?
Shopify's Functions documentation on shopify.dev is the reference. learnshopify.dev covers Functions in Module 5 (discount, cart validation, payment and delivery customizations) and builds a cart transform Function in the app development path.
Where can I learn Hydrogen after Shopify Academy closes?
The Hydrogen documentation on shopify.dev. learnshopify.dev does not teach Hydrogen.
Can I still download Shopify Academy course material?
Shopify's FAQ does not mention a download option for course content. If you are in the middle of a course, note what you covered before October 29, 2026.
- Shopify Academy
- Learning Shopify
- Liquid
- Shopify apps
About the author
Bas Lefeber, Founder, learnshopify.dev
Bas builds learnshopify.dev, where developers learn production-grade Shopify theme development against a live storefront. He writes about Liquid, theme architecture, and the parts of the job that still matter now that AI writes the code.
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