Cannot Access Shopify API (Custom App) from Chrome Extension? Fix It with These Pro Tips!

Are you tired of banging your head against the wall trying to figure out why you can’t access the Shopify API from your Chrome Extension? You’re not alone! This frustrating issue has plagued many developers, but fear not, friend, for we’re about to dive into the solution and get you back to building that amazing Chrome Extension!

What’s the Problem, Anyway?

Before we dive into the fix, let’s quickly understand what’s going on. When you try to access the Shopify API from a Chrome Extension using a custom app, you might encounter errors like:

• Access to XMLHttpRequest at 'https://yourstore.shopify.com/api/v2/' from origin 'chrome-extension://-your-extension-id' has been blocked by CORS policy
• NET::ERR_CERT_COMMON_NAME_INVALID
• error: "Invalid API credentials"

These errors usually occur because of the way Chrome handles cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) and SSL certificates. But don’t worry, we’ll tackle each issue step by step.

Step 1: Configure CORS for Your Shopify API

To access the Shopify API from your Chrome Extension, you need to enable CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) for your custom app. Here’s how:

1. Log in to your Shopify Partner account and go to your app’s dashboard.
2. Click on the “API” tab and then click on “Edit API settings.”
3. In the “API settings” page, scroll down to the “CORS” section.
4. In the “Allowed origins” field, add the following URLs, one by one, and click “Save” after each addition:

https://chrome.google.com
https://chrome-extension://-your-extension-id

Replace -your-extension-id with your actual Chrome Extension ID.

Step 2: Handle SSL Certificates

By default, Chrome Extensions don’t trust the SSL certificate used by Shopify. To fix this, you need to configure your Chrome Extension to trust Shopify’s certificate:

1. In your Chrome Extension’s manifest file, add the following code:

{
  "name": "Your Extension Name",
  "version": "1.0",
  "manifest_version": 2,
  "permissions": [
    "activeTab",
    "https://*/*"
  ],
  "content_scripts": [
    {
      "matches": ["https://*/*"],
      "js": ["contentScript.js"]
    }
  ],
  "background": {
    "scripts": ["backgroundScript.js"],
    "persistent": false
  },
  "ssl_certificate": {
    "shopify_api": {
      "cert": "-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----\nMIIFnTCCBJWgAwIBAgIQ...\n-----END CERTIFICATE-----"
    }
  }
}

Replace the cert value with the actual SSL certificate used by Shopify (you can find it in the Shopify API documentation).

Step 3: Implement Authentication and Authorization

Now that we’ve configured CORS and SSL certificates, it’s time to implement authentication and authorization for your Chrome Extension:

1. Create a new file called auth.js in your Chrome Extension’s directory.
2. In this file, add the following code:

const apiKey = 'your_api_key';
const apiSecret = 'your_api_secret';
const shopUrl = 'https://yourstore.shopify.com';

const auth = {
  async getAccessToken() {
    const tokenUrl = `${shopUrl}/api/v2/auth/access_token`;
    const response = await fetch(tokenUrl, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json'
      },
      body: JSON.stringify({
        client_id: apiKey,
        client_secret: apiSecret
      })
    });

    const { access_token } = await response.json();
    return access_token;
  }
};

export default auth;

Replace your_api_key and your_api_secret with your actual Shopify API credentials.

Step 4: Make API Calls from Your Chrome Extension

Finally, let’s make API calls from your Chrome Extension using the authenticated token:

1. Create a new file called main.js in your Chrome Extension’s directory.
2. In this file, add the following code:

import auth from './auth';

async function makeApiCall() {
  const accessToken = await auth.getAccessToken();
  const apiUrl = `https://yourstore.shopify.com/api/v2/products.json`;

  const response = await fetch(apiUrl, {
    headers: {
      'Authorization': `Bearer ${accessToken}`,
      'Content-Type': 'application/json'
    }
  });

  const products = await response.json();
  console.log(products);
}

makeApiCall();

Replace yourstore.shopify.com with your actual Shopify store URL.

Conclusion

And that’s it! You’ve successfully configured your Chrome Extension to access the Shopify API using a custom app. By following these steps, you should be able to overcome the CORS and SSL certificate issues and make successful API calls from your Chrome Extension.

Common Errors	Solution
CORS policy error	Configure CORS for your Shopify API
SSL certificate error	Configure SSL certificates in your Chrome Extension’s manifest file
API credentials error	Implement authentication and authorization using the Shopify API credentials

We hope this comprehensive guide has helped you resolve the issue and get back to building your amazing Chrome Extension. Happy coding!

Frequently Asked Question

Having trouble accessing Shopify API from your Chrome Extension? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!