Episode 59 - NYC Editions Meetup Recap
Liquid Weekly Podcast: Shopify Developers Talking Shopify DevelopmentShow Notes
In this episode of the Liquid Weekly Podcast, hosts Karl Meisterheim and Taylor Page recap Taylor's trip to New York City for the exclusive Shopify Winter Editions meetup. They break down the "Agentic Commerce" hype, the realities of the new Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), and why the best way to optimize for AI is actually just using Standard Category Metafields. The episode features on-the-ground interviews with key Shopify staff members, including Liam Griffin, Darius (Senior Product Lead, Dev Platform), and Eitan (Shopify Flow team), offering deep dives into the new developer tools, Shop Minis, and the future of Shopify Flow. Interviews & Highlights Liam Griffin: Discusses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for developers, using AI for mundane tasks like REST-to-GraphQL migration, and the "Pokemon generation" explosion of Shop Minis (including a virtual sommelier!). Darius: Breaks down the Universal Commerce Protocol (UCP), how the Catalog API works with agents, and why "Agentic Engine Optimization" isn't about hacks—it's about clean data and taxonomy. Eitan: Covers the "Flow 3.0" feel with new Sidekick-generated workflows, the highly anticipated testing layer, and moving toward declarative UIs. Timestamps 00:00 Introduction, Stickers, and Winter Storm Stories 06:40 Taylor’s NYC Editions Trip Recap 20:45 Key Takeaways: Agentic Commerce & UCP Realities 31:00 Live Demo: Shopify Flow Sidekick Generation & Testing Layer 38:30 Developer Tip: Running Queries from Dev Docs in GraphiQL 43:00 Interview: Liam Griffin (Dev MCP, Shop Minis, Dev Forums) 55:20 Interview: Darius (Universal Commerce Protocol, Metaobject Limits, Catalog API) 01:07:50 Interview: Eitan (Shopify Flow Updates) 01:20:30 Dev Changelog Highlights 01:25:00 Picks of the Week Dev Changelog New article list input settings for themes: Link Migrate metafields with Shopify App Import custom data definitions: Link [Action Required] Shop Minis development now requires partner account permissions: Link [Action Required] Standardization of asset_url version params: Link Shopify App extensions now support Admin and Theme App Extensions: Link [Action Required] Ensuring POS UI extension stability by hardening callback handling: Link Picks of the Week Karl: MagiQuest at Great Wolf Lodge – An interactive live-action game that turns the water park lodge into a questing adventure. Taylor: DJI Mic 3 – Wireless microphones that offer professional audio quality and ease of use for field recordings and interviews. Sign Up for Liquid Weekly Don't miss out on expert insights and tips—subscribe to Liquid Weekly for more content like this: https://liquidweekly.com/
More from Liquid Weekly Podcast: Shopify Developers Talking Shopify Development
Taylor is in India for Shop Quest, so Karl flies solo with Charles Swayne, owner and app developer at JadePuma Apps and the person behind Datify. Charles is 21, learned Python in sixth grade, and now runs a multi-agent development workflow that researches, plans, audits the plan, executes, and tests itself before he ever looks at the code.
Georgi Petrov, CEO and co-founder of Uxify, joins Karl and Taylor to talk about the half of web performance nobody optimizes for: the shopper's device. After building SMS Bump (acquired by Yotpo), ConsentMo, and NitroPack (acquired by WP Engine), Georgi is now tackling device-specific friction, the laggy buttons, layout shifts, and interaction delays that vary wildly from one phone to the next. We get into how Uxify profiles a visitor's capability without touching your code, the specialized agents that fix problems on the fly, the ClickHouse-powered data layer behind it all, and how to think about performance heading into BFCM. Plus the Dev Changelog and Picks of the Week. Sponsor The Support Heroes: https://www.thesupportheroes.com/ Subscribe to Liquid Weekly Don't miss out on expert insights and tips. Subscribe to Liquid Weekly for more content like this: https://liquidweekly.com/ Find Georgi Online Uxify: https://uxify.com/integrations/shopify/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgipetrov/ Timestamps (00:00) Open (00:29) Intros (02:11) Meet Georgi Petrov of Uxify (02:54) Origin story: hardware hacking to his first software (06:03) Finding Shopify: SMS Bump, ConsentMo, and NitroPack (12:23) Making fast decisions and failing cheaply (15:32) Why Uxify: performance is half website, half device (20:11) How it works: profiling devices and adapting on the fly (26:17) Sitting alongside your theme without touching your code (28:26) Real user monitoring and specialized agents (37:47) The tech stack: ClickHouse and heavy browser testing (41:57) Shopify cart variations and a clever checkout fallback (46:24) Prepping for BFCM and who Uxify is for (51:14) Dev Changelog (58:22) Picks of the Week Dev Changelog [action required] Variants now support multiple barcodes: https://shopify.dev/changelog/product-variant-barcode-is-being-replaced-by-barcodes Create and delete dev stores in Shopify CLI: https://shopify.dev/changelog/create-and-delete-dev-stores-in-shopify-cli [action required] Discounts Allocator Function API developer preview has ended: https://shopify.dev/changelog/discounts-allocator-function-api-developer-preview-has-ended Delivery options in Shopify Functions input now expose their metafields: https://shopify.dev/changelog/delivery-options-in-shopify-functions-input-now-expose-their-metafields Prepare your app for the Shopify admin's new look: https://shopify.dev/changelog/prepare-your-app-for-the-shopify-admins-new-look [action required] Updates to Events payloads and subscription configuration: https://shopify.dev/changelog/updates-to-events-payloads-and-subscription-configuration New Pricing audit trail for contextual product variant prices: https://shopify.dev/changelog/pricing-audit-trail-for-contextual-product-variant-prices [breaking api change] [action required] Removed session.currentSession.staffMemberId from POS UI Extensions (2026-10): https://shopify.dev/changelog/removed-session-currentsession-staffmemberid-from-pos-ui-extensions-2026-10 Request a bundle size exception for existing UI extensions: https://shopify.dev/changelog/request-a-bundle-size-exception-for-existing-ui-extensions Picks of the Week Karl: Keto Oreo-style sandwich cookies (about 50 calories each), part of his ongoing tour through packaged keto snacks: https://www.choczero.com/products/keto-sandwich-cookies Georgi: Calisthenics between AI prompts. Knocking out push-ups and squats while waiting on an agent, which he says burns the time well and sharpens his focus when he comes back. Taylor: Ted Lasso, season 4 on Apple TV+. Still, in his words, one of the most wholesome shows around: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10986410/
Prakhar Shrivastava of FoxSell joins Karl and Taylor to talk about Shop Quest, the Shopify community event he and his team run in Bengaluru, and to prep Taylor for his first trip to India.
In this episode of the Liquid Weekly Podcast, hosts Karl Meisterheim and Taylor Page are joined by Alexander Hupfer, founder of Fusion Metrics and a solo Shopify app developer.
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