I’m working on a Shopify theme and need to render a snippet only when the file actually exists in my theme. Right now I’m using the standard include tag:
{% render 'my-custom-snippet' %}
But when the snippet file isn’t there yet, I get this error:
Liquid error: Could not find asset snippets/my-custom-snippet.liquid
I have an automated system that creates these snippet files dynamically, so sometimes they might not be present when the page loads. Is there a way to check if a snippet file exists before trying to include it? I want to avoid the error and just skip rendering when the file is missing.
Been dealing with this exact issue for months on client projects. I ended up creating a fallback structure with liquid capture blocks. I capture the content that would normally go in the dynamic snippet into a variable, then use that as a fallback when the snippet doesn’t exist. Instead of directly rendering the snippet, I do {% capture fallback_content %}...default content...{% endcapture %} and then try to render the snippet with the fallback ready. You can’t check if files exist, but you can control the rendering flow with proper error handling. This way your automated system overrides the fallback when snippets are ready, but everything still works when they’re not. Way cleaner than managing empty placeholder files or complex conditional logic.
Unfortunately, Shopify Liquid doesn’t have a built-in way to check if a snippet file exists before rendering it. This is due to security reasons. I ran into the same issue with my themes and found a workaround that works well. Create a ‘conditional wrapper’ in your snippet by adding a variable check at the top. In your main template, define a variable that your automated process can set when it generates the snippet. Then wrap your snippet content in an if statement that checks this variable. This prevents errors when the snippet exists but shouldn’t render. Another option is to have your automated system create empty placeholder snippet files upfront. This eliminates the Liquid error while you’re adding the actual content later.
I ran into this exact issue building a dynamic theme system. Here’s what worked for me: create a master snippet that acts as a dispatcher. Don’t render your conditional snippets directly - instead, make something like dynamic-snippet-loader.liquid with a bunch of if statements checking conditions or variables to see if each snippet should render. Your automated system updates this master file whenever it creates or removes snippets. You’ll only manage one file and never hit the missing asset error. The master snippet becomes your control center for all dynamic content. Pro tip: use liquid variables to pass snippet names as parameters - makes it way more flexible.
same headache here! i wrapped my render tag in a liquid comment block with try/catch logic. when the snippet fails, the comment block catches it silently. not perfect, but it works great for dynamic content without breaking your pages.
I ran into this exact issue when building a theme with conditional product widgets. Here’s what worked for me: use liquid assigns to create a registry system. Before rendering any snippets, I set up a section with boolean variables based on product types or whatever conditions your automation controls. Like {% assign show_custom_snippet = product.type == 'special' %} then {% if show_custom_snippet %}{% render 'my-custom-snippet' %}{% endif %}. Your automation just updates these condition checks instead of managing files. The trick is switching from file presence to data presence - control rendering through product data or theme settings rather than wrestling with Liquid’s file system limits.