# Migrate from Shopify

Most migrations move the data and leave you to rebuild the storefront. That rebuild is
the part that actually costs weeks, so it is the part this covers.

## Translate the theme

The CLI reads a theme you already have and writes a Mercemur storefront from it.

```bash
shopify theme pull      # their CLI, your existing Shopify login
mercemur theme check    # what will and will not translate
mercemur theme push     # upload, still not live
mercemur theme publish  # make it live
```

Nothing is live until you publish, so you can push, look at the preview, and push
again without a shopper seeing a half-migrated storefront.

<Info>
  The translation is built from **Dawn** and **Horizon**, Shopify's own reference
  themes. A theme derived from either translates well. A heavily customised commercial
  theme will translate partially, and `mercemur theme check` tells you which sections
  before you commit to anything.
</Info>

See [Theme workflow](/cli/theme) for the full command set.

## Bring the catalogue

Products, variants, collections, customers and orders come across through the import
path rather than by hand. What matters afterwards is the check, not the import: run
your top sellers and your most complicated variant setups first, because those are
where a mapping difference shows up.

## What does not come across

Be realistic about these up front rather than discovering them at launch:

- Apps and their embedded scripts have no equivalent. Find the Mercemur feature, or
  the integration, that replaces each one.
- Discount logic written as a Shopify Script needs rebuilding as a promotion.
- Anything a theme did through a Shopify-only Liquid object will be flagged by
  `theme check` rather than silently dropped.

## Finish the job

<Warning>
  Do not point DNS at the new storefront until you have placed a **real paid order**
  on it. A free or zero-total order exercises none of the payment path.
</Warning>

1. [Connect a payment provider](/guides/take-payments) and place a real order.
2. Check your highest-traffic pages render, especially the product page.
3. Set up redirects for any URL that changes, so search results keep working.

## Reference

- [Theme workflow](/cli/theme) for pull, check, push, publish and live preview.
- The **Storefront** tab for templates, sections and redirects.
- [MCP](/mcp/design) if you would rather adjust the storefront by asking an assistant.