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Setting up Vortex Staging is a Shopify App Store install plus a short subscription confirmation. The longer pieces (linking environments, adding GitHub, configuring notifications) are covered in Onboarding. This page covers the install itself.

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Step 1. Install from the Shopify App Store

Install Vortex Staging on each Shopify store you intend to link, including Production and any non-production stores you want to use as Staging, UAT, or Integration environments. The app is published in the Shopify App Store at apps.shopify.com/vortexiq-staging-1. When you click Install in the App Store, Shopify shows the standard permission and pricing screen. Approve the requested API scopes (which cover read and write to products, collections, customers, orders, themes, files, locations, markets, delivery profiles, metaobjects, and store policies).

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Step 2. Accept the subscription tier

Vortex Staging is available in three licence tiers:
  • Standard. Production plus 2 connection slots.
  • Plus. Production plus 3 connection slots.
  • Premium. Production plus 5 connection slots.
Pick the tier that matches the number of staging, UAT, and integration stores you plan to link. You can upgrade later from the Vortex Staging settings if your environment needs grow.

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Step 3. Confirm install on each store

Once installed on Production, repeat the install process on each non-production store you want to link. Each store needs the Vortex Staging app present before linking can complete. After install, the app appears in the Shopify Admin sidebar under Apps. Click into Vortex Staging to land on the home dashboard, where Production will be listed as the only currently linked environment. After signing the subscription licence agreement and confirming Vortex Staging is installed on the relevant Shopify stores, share the store IDs with the Vortex IQ Helpdesk. They can complete the environment linking on your behalf within 2-3 working days. If you want to link environments yourself, follow the self-serve flow in Onboarding. It is the same flow the Helpdesk runs, simply self-driven.

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What is a Shopify store ID

The store ID (sometimes called the production hash ID) is the unique identifier Shopify assigns to your store. Vortex Staging displays the production hash ID on the home dashboard for the currently logged-in store. You will need this value when linking sandbox stores back to Production.

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After install

Once installed, your next step is Onboarding, which walks through:
  1. Planning environment names
  2. Linking sandbox stores to Production
  3. Adding GitHub for theme deployments
  4. Setting up Email, Slack, or Microsoft Teams notifications
  5. Running a first test migration

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FAQ

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Do I need to install Vortex Staging on every store I want to use?

Yes. Vortex Staging needs to be present on each Shopify store (Production plus every sandbox) before that store can be linked into a Vortex Staging environment.

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Does install affect the live storefront?

No. Installing Vortex Staging adds API access scopes but does not change any storefront content, theme, or configuration. Migrations only run when you explicitly start one.

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Can I trial Vortex Staging on a development store first?

Yes. Many merchants install Vortex Staging on a Shopify development store first, run a small test migration, and confirm the workflow before adding it to Production.