Need help with data storage in Shopify development
I’m just getting started with creating apps for Shopify and I have a question about storing information. When I work with the API responses from Shopify, my app creates some processed data that I need to keep somewhere.
I’m wondering if there’s a way to save this generated information on the user’s device instead of sending it to a server. What are my options for local data storage in Shopify app development? Are there any limitations I should know about?
Any guidance would be really helpful since I’m still learning the basics of how Shopify apps handle data management.
yup, localStorage is super handy! Just remembr tho, there’s a limit of about 5-10MB, and users can easily clear it. So, keep it light and avoid storing anything too important.
Been working on Shopify apps for a while and hit similar storage issues. Web Workers are a game-changer for heavy data processing - learned this the hard way. Process your API responses in the background so you don’t freeze the UI, then cache everything with IndexedDB or the Cache API for HTTP responses. If your app needs offline support or has to handle spotty connections, you need a solid caching strategy. Shopify’s admin is picky about performance, so don’t let storage operations drag down the user experience. And add expiration timestamps - nobody wants stale data sitting around forever.
For Shopify apps, you’ve got a few browser storage options. SessionStorage is great for temporary stuff - it clears when users close the tab. For longer-term storage, skip localStorage and go with IndexedDB instead. It handles way more data and works with complex objects without all the stringify nonsense. Just remember users can disable or wipe any client-side storage, so don’t store anything critical you can’t rebuild. One heads up - if you’re building an embedded app in the Shopify admin, cross-origin restrictions might mess with your storage access.