
liquid-theme-standards
CSS, JavaScript, and HTML coding standards for Shopify Liquid themes. Covers BEM naming inside stylesheet tags, design tokens, CSS custom properties, Web Components for themes, defensive CSS, and progressive enhancement. Use when writing CSS/JS/HTML in .liquid files or theme asset files.
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/benjaminsehl/liquid-skills --skill liquid-theme-standards- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads liquid-theme-standards automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
CSS, JS & HTML Standards for Shopify Liquid Themes
Core Principles
- Progressive enhancement — semantic HTML first, CSS second, JS third
- No external dependencies — native browser APIs only for JavaScript
- Design tokens — never hardcode colors, spacing, or fonts
- BEM naming — consistent class naming throughout
- Defensive CSS — handle edge cases gracefully
CSS in Liquid Themes
Where CSS Lives
| Location | Liquid? | Use For |
|---|---|---|
{% stylesheet %} | No | Component-scoped styles (one per file) |
{% style %} | Yes | Dynamic values needing Liquid (e.g., color settings) |
assets/*.css | No | Shared/global styles |
Critical: {% stylesheet %} does NOT process Liquid. Use inline style attributes for dynamic values:
{%- comment -%} Do: inline variables {%- endcomment -%}
<div
class="hero"
style="--bg-color: {{ section.settings.bg_color }}; --padding: {{ section.settings.padding }}px;"
>
{%- comment -%} Don't: Liquid inside stylesheet {%- endcomment -%}
{% stylesheet %}
.hero { background: {{ section.settings.bg_color }}; } /* Won't work */
{% endstylesheet %}
BEM Naming Convention
.block → Component root: .product-card
.block__element → Child: .product-card__title
.block--modifier → Variant: .product-card--featured
.block__element--modifier → Element variant: .product-card__title--large
Rules:
- Hyphens separate words:
.product-card, not.productCard - Single element level only:
.block__element, never.block__el1__el2 - Modifier always paired with base class:
class="btn btn--primary", neverclass="btn--primary"alone - Start new BEM scope when a child could be standalone
<!-- Good: single element level -->
<div class="product-card">
<h3 class="product-card__title">{{ product.title }}</h3>
<span class="product-card__button-label">{{ 'add_to_cart' | t }}</span>
</div>
<!-- Good: new BEM scope for standalone component -->
<div class="product-card">
<button class="button button--primary">
<span class="button__label">{{ 'add_to_cart' | t }}</span>
</button>
</div>
Specificity
- Target
0 1 0(single class) wherever possible - Maximum
0 4 0for complex parent-child cases - Never use IDs as selectors
- Never use
!important(comment why if absolutely forced to) - Avoid element selectors — use classes
CSS Nesting
/* Do: media queries inside selectors */
.header {
width: 100%;
@media screen and (min-width: 750px) {
width: auto;
}
}
/* Do: state modifiers with & */
.button {
background: var(--color-primary);
&:hover { background: var(--color-primary-hover); }
&:focus-visible { outline: 2px solid var(--color-focus); }
&[disabled] { opacity: 0.5; }
}
/* Do: parent modifier affecting children (single level) */
.card--featured {
.card__title { font-size: var(--font-size-xl); }
}
/* Don't: nested beyond first level */
.parent {
.child {
.grandchild { } /* Too deep */
}
}
Design Tokens
Use CSS custom properties for all values — never hardcode colors, spacing, or fonts. Define a consistent scale and reference it everywhere.
Example scale (adapt to your theme's needs):
:root {
/* Spacing — use a consistent scale */
--space-2xs: 0.5rem; --space-xs: 0.75rem; --space-sm: 1rem;
--space-md: 1.5rem; --space-lg: 2rem; --space-xl: 3rem;
/* Typography — relative units */
--font-size-sm: 0.875rem; --font-size-base: 1rem;
--font-size-lg: 1.125rem; --font-size-xl: 1.25rem; --font-size-2xl: 1.5rem;
}
Key principles:
- Use
remfor spacing and typography (respects user font size preferences) - Name tokens semantically:
--space-smnot--space-16 - Define in
:rootfor global tokens, on component root for scoped tokens
CSS Variable Scoping
Global — in :root for theme-wide values
Component-scoped — on component root, namespaced:
/* Do: namespaced */
.facets {
--facets-padding: var(--space-md);
--facets-z-index: 3;
}
/* Don't: generic names that collide */
.facets {
--padding: var(--space-md);
--z-index: 3;
}
Override via inline style for section/block settings:
<section
class="hero"
style="
--hero-bg: {{ section.settings.bg_color }};
--hero-padding: {{ section.settings.padding }}px;
"
>
CSS Property Order
- Layout —
position,display,flex-direction,grid-template-columns - Box model —
width,margin,padding,border - Typography —
font-family,font-size,line-height,color - Visual —
background,opacity,border-radius - Animation —
transition,animation
Logical Properties (RTL Support)
/* Do: logical properties */
padding-inline: 2rem;
padding-block: 1rem;
margin-inline: auto;
border-inline-end: 1px solid var(--color-border);
text-align: start;
inset: 0;
/* Don't: physical properties */
padding-left: 2rem;
text-align: left;
top: 0; right: 0; bottom: 0; left: 0;
Defensive CSS
.component {
overflow-wrap: break-word; /* Prevent text overflow */
min-width: 0; /* Allow flex items to shrink */
max-width: 100%; /* Constrain images/media */
isolation: isolate; /* Create stacking context */
}
.image-container {
aspect-ratio: 4 / 3; /* Prevent layout shift */
background: var(--color-surface); /* Fallback for missing images */
}
Modern CSS Features
/* Container queries for responsive components */
.product-grid { container-type: inline-size; }
@container (min-width: 400px) {
.product-card { grid-template-columns: 1fr 1fr; }
}
/* Fluid spacing */
.section { padding: clamp(1rem, 4vw, 3rem); }
/* Intrinsic sizing */
.content { width: min(100%, 800px); }
Performance
- Animate only
transformandopacity(never layout properties) - Use
will-changesparingly — remove after animation - Use
contain: contentfor isolated rendering - Use
dvhinstead ofvhon mobile
Reduced Motion
@media (prefers-reduced-motion: reduce) {
*, *::before, *::after {
animation-duration: 0.01ms !important;
animation-iteration-count: 1 !important;
transition-duration: 0.01ms !important;
scroll-behavior: auto !important;
}
}
JavaScript in Liquid Themes
Where JS Lives
| Location | Liquid? | Use For |
|---|---|---|
{% javascript %} | No | Component-specific scripts (one per file) |
assets/*.js | No | Shared utilities, Web Components |
Web Component Pattern
class ProductCard extends HTMLElement {
connectedCallback() {
this.button = this.querySelector('[data-add-to-cart]');
this.button?.addEventListener('click', this.#handleClick.bind(this));
}
disconnectedCallback() {
// Clean up event listeners, abort controllers
}
async #handleClick(event) {
event.preventDefault();
this.button.disabled = true;
try {
const formData = new FormData();
formData.append('id', this.dataset.variantId);
formData.append('quantity', '1');
const response = await fetch('/cart/add.js', {
method: 'POST',
body: formData
});
if (!response.ok) throw new Error('Failed');
this.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('cart:item-added', {
detail: await response.json(),
bubbles: true
}));
} catch (error) {
console.error('Add to cart error:', error);
} finally {
this.button.disabled = false;
}
}
}
customElements.define('product-card', ProductCard);
<product-card data-variant-id="{{ product.selected_or_first_available_variant.id }}">
<button data-add-to-cart>{{ 'products.add_to_cart' | t }}</button>
</product-card>
JavaScript Rules
| Rule | Do | Don't |
|---|---|---|
| Loops | for (const item of items) | items.forEach() |
| Async | async/await | .then() chains |
| Variables | const by default | let unless reassigning |
| Conditionals | Early returns | Nested if/else |
| URLs | new URL() + URLSearchParams | String concatenation |
| Dependencies | Native browser APIs | External libraries |
| Private methods | #methodName() | _methodName() |
| Types | JSDoc @typedef, @param, @returns | Untyped |
AbortController for Fetch
class DataLoader extends HTMLElement {
#controller = null;
async load(url) {
this.#controller?.abort();
this.#controller = new AbortController();
try {
const response = await fetch(url, { signal: this.#controller.signal });
if (!response.ok) throw new Error(`HTTP ${response.status}`);
return await response.json();
} catch (error) {
if (error.name !== 'AbortError') throw error;
return null;
}
}
disconnectedCallback() {
this.#controller?.abort();
}
}
Component Communication
Parent → Child: Call public methods
this.querySelector('child-component')?.publicMethod(data);
Child → Parent: Dispatch custom events
this.dispatchEvent(new CustomEvent('child:action', {
detail: { value },
bubbles: true
}));
HTML Standards
Native Elements First
| Need | Use | Not |
|---|---|---|
| Expandable | <details>/<summary> | Custom accordion with JS |
| Dialog/modal | <dialog> | Custom overlay div |
| Tooltip/popup | popover attribute | Custom positioned div |
| Search form | <search> | <div class="search"> |
| Form results | <output> | <span class="result"> |
Progressive Enhancement
{%- comment -%} Works without JS {%- endcomment -%}
<details class="accordion">
<summary>{{ block.settings.heading }}</summary>
<div class="accordion__content">
{{ block.settings.content }}
</div>
</details>
{%- comment -%} Enhanced with JS {%- endcomment -%}
{% javascript %}
// Optional: smooth animation, analytics tracking
{% endjavascript %}
Images
{{ image | image_url: width: 800 | image_tag:
loading: 'lazy',
alt: image.alt | escape,
width: image.width,
height: image.height
}}
loading="lazy"on all below-fold images- Always set
widthandheightto prevent layout shift - Descriptive
alttext; emptyalt=""for decorative images
JSON Template & Config Files
Theme templates (templates/*.json), section groups (sections/*.json), and config files (config/settings_data.json) are all JSON. Use jq via the bash tool to make surgical edits — it's safer and more reliable than string-based find-and-replace for structured data.
Common patterns
# Add a section to a template
jq '.sections.new_section = {"type": "hero", "settings": {"heading": "Welcome"}}' templates/index.json > /tmp/out && mv /tmp/out templates/index.json
# Update a setting value
jq '.current.sections.header.settings.logo_width = 200' config/settings_data.json > /tmp/out && mv /tmp/out config/settings_data.json
# Reorder sections
jq '.order += ["new_section"]' templates/index.json > /tmp/out && mv /tmp/out templates/index.json
# Remove a section
jq 'del(.sections.old_banner) | .order -= ["old_banner"]' templates/index.json > /tmp/out && mv /tmp/out templates/index.json
# Read a nested value
jq '.sections.header.settings' templates/index.json
Prefer jq over edit for any .json file modification — it validates structure, handles escaping, and avoids whitespace/formatting issues.
References
- CSS patterns and examples
- JavaScript patterns and examples
FAQ
What does the liquid-theme-standards skill do?
CSS, JavaScript, and HTML coding standards for Shopify Liquid themes. Covers BEM naming inside stylesheet tags, design tokens, CSS custom properties, Web Components for themes, defensive CSS, and progressive enhancement. Use when writing CSS/JS/HTML in .liquid files or theme asset files.
How do I install liquid-theme-standards?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/benjaminsehl/liquid-skills --skill liquid-theme-standards in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/liquid-theme-standards/ (personal) or .claude/skills/liquid-theme-standards/ (project).
Which AI agents can use liquid-theme-standards?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is liquid-theme-standards safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains liquid-theme-standards?
It is published by benjaminsehl in benjaminsehl/liquid-skills. It has 2,887 recorded installs.
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