Shop Partners API Gone? Publishing Videos to Shop App Feed with Shopify

Hey everyone! As a Shopify migration expert and someone who spends a lot of time digging through community discussions, I often see merchants and developers grappling with API changes. It’s a common challenge in the fast-paced world of e-commerce, and knowing how to navigate these shifts is crucial. Recently, a thread popped up that really caught my eye, and it’s a perfect example of how the community comes together to solve a tricky problem.

Our fellow developer, Ashish, from Quinn, ran into a head-scratcher with the Shop Partners API. He was trying to programmatically publish videos to the Shop app feed with attached products, mimicking the manual process available through the Shop sales channel. Sounds straightforward, right? Well, not so much when the API endpoint starts returning a mysterious 410 "api_gone" error!

The Case of the Disappearing API: What Happened to Shop Partners?

Ashish’s initial post laid out the problem clearly. He was hitting the https://shop.app/api/partners/graphql.json endpoint and consistently getting a 410 response with the message "This API has been removed." This wasn't just a one-off glitch; it was happening for every request, even the exact curl example from Shopify’s own documentation. Talk about frustrating!

Here’s the curl example Ashish provided, which was returning the error:

curl -X POST https://shop.app/api/partners/graphql.json \\
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \\
-u '{CLIENT_ID}:{CLIENT_SECRET}' \\
-d '{"query":"{ metafieldDefinitions(first: 5) { edges { node { key } } } }"}'

Ashish did his due diligence, ruling out common issues like network problems, authentication errors (the 410 came before auth checks!), and even trying different routes. What made it even more perplexing was that the documentation for the mediaCreate, mediaUpdate, and mediaDelete mutations still existed, with no mention of deprecation or removal. This mismatch between live behavior and documentation is a classic developer headache.

Clarifying the Goal: Shop Feed Videos vs. Product Media

One of the most important distinctions that emerged from the discussion, thanks to insights from community members like Alex and the helpful ai-theme-code-editor, was clarifying Ashish’s exact goal. He wasn’t just looking to attach a video to a product on his store; his true purpose was to post videos with attached products directly onto the Shop app feed and stores. This is a crucial difference!

Why Admin GraphQL Isn't the Replacement (for this specific task)

When an API endpoint vanishes, the natural inclination is to look for the next best thing. Many developers might think of Shopify’s Admin GraphQL API for product media. It absolutely allows you to upload VIDEO or EXTERNAL_VIDEO to a product. However, as Alex pointed out:

"Uploading a VIDEO to a product only makes the video product media. It doesn’t mean that video will be published as Shop feed content."

So, while the Admin GraphQL API is fantastic for managing product visuals, it doesn't replicate the specific workflow of publishing content to the Shop app's social-style feed.

And What About Shop Minis?

Another avenue explored was Shop Minis. Ashish himself noted that Minis seemed like a different beast, more akin to "discord games." The community agreed. Shop Minis offer a way to create discoverable content and associate products, but it's a distinct integration model with its own eligibility and moderation requirements. It wasn't the direct API counterpart for the mediaCreate mutation that Ashish was seeking.

The Community's Consensus: Go Straight to Developer Support

Given the persistent 410 api_gone error and the lack of a clear, documented replacement, the collective wisdom of the community pointed to one definitive action: escalate the issue directly to Shopify Developer Support. This isn't just about reporting a bug; it's about getting official confirmation on the API's status and its intended replacement, if any.

Your Action Plan: How to Ask the Right Questions

If you find yourself in a similar situation, here’s a breakdown of how to approach Shopify Developer Support, drawing directly from the expert advice in the thread:

Confirm the "Gone" Status: Clearly state that you're receiving a 410 api_gone from the shop.app/api/partners/graphql.json endpoint, and that you've ruled out client-side issues, authentication, and specific routes. Include the curl example that failed.
Highlight the Manual Capability: Emphasize that merchants can manually publish videos to the Shop app/feed and attach products through the Shop sales channel. This establishes that the functionality exists within the Shopify ecosystem.
Be Specific About the Missing API: Ask directly: "The former Partners mediaCreate mutation is returning 410 api_gone. Is there currently a supported API for programmatically creating/publishing this same type of Shop feed video with attached products? If mediaCreate has been retired, what is its official replacement?"
Provide All Technical Details: Include the exact API version you were targeting (if applicable), the endpoint, the mutation, and crucially, any request/response IDs from your failed calls. This helps Shopify's team pinpoint the exact issue.
Seek Confirmation on Third-Party Access: The most critical piece of information to get from Shopify is whether this capability is still exposed to third-party developers at all. It might be that the functionality is now intentionally limited to the Shop admin, or that a new API is in the works but not yet public.

As Alex wisely put it, "If Shopify confirms that there is currently no public API for that workflow, then the 410 isn’t something you can fix by changing the GraphQL request, it would be an API availability/eligibility limitation rather than a coding issue." This distinction is key to saving you hours of troubleshooting a non-existent problem on your end.

This discussion really underscores the importance of clear communication with platform providers like Shopify when API behavior deviates from documentation. It’s a reminder that sometimes, the solution isn’t in tweaking your code, but in understanding the platform's current capabilities and limitations. Keep an eye on those API updates, and don't hesitate to engage with Shopify's developer resources and support channels when you hit a wall. Happy developing!

Shopify's Vanishing Act: Decoding the Shop Partners API 410 for Your Shop App Video Content