What is hydrogen-v1?

shopify/hydrogen-v1 — explained in plain English

Analysis updated 2026-07-03

★ 3,731TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((hydrogen-v1))
    What it does
      Custom Shopify storefronts
      React-based framework
      Connects to Shopify backend
    Storefront Features
      Product pages
      Collections
      Cart and checkout
    Status
      Legacy version
      No active development
      Migration recommended
    Getting Started
      Install CLI
      Create new project
      Local dev server
    Audience
      Shopify developers
      Frontend teams

mindmap root((hydrogen-v1)) What it does Custom Shopify storefronts React-based framework Connects to Shopify backend Storefront Features Product pages Collections Cart and checkout Status Legacy version No active development Migration recommended Getting Started Install CLI Create new project Local dev server Audience Shopify developers Frontend teams

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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Maintain an existing Hydrogen v1 storefront without upgrading to the new version while preparing a migration plan.

USE CASE 2

Reference the v1 codebase to understand how Shopify's React storefront architecture worked before the rewrite.

USE CASE 3

Set up a local development server to test a legacy Hydrogen project using the original install commands.

What is it built with?

TypeScriptReactJavaScriptNode.js

How does it compare?

	shopify/hydrogen-v1	iamvishnusankar/next-sitemap	ramonszo/zuck.js
Stars	3,731	3,732	3,728
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript	TypeScript
Setup difficulty	moderate	easy	easy
Complexity	3/5	1/5	2/5
Audience	developer	developer	developer

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

This version is no longer maintained, new projects should use the current Hydrogen repository instead.

Open-source under the MIT License, use freely for any project, including commercial storefronts, with no restrictions beyond keeping the copyright notice.

So what is it?

This is the legacy version of Hydrogen, a framework Shopify built for creating custom online stores powered by the Shopify platform. The active, maintained version now lives in a separate repository at github.com/Shopify/hydrogen. This repository is preserved for teams that built on the original version and have not yet migrated. Hydrogen is built with React, which is a popular JavaScript library for building web interfaces. The framework is specifically designed for building storefronts, meaning the customer-facing part of an online shop: product pages, collections, carts, checkout flows, and similar features. Rather than using Shopify's standard hosted themes, Hydrogen lets developers build completely custom shopping experiences that connect to Shopify's back end for inventory, orders, and payments. The README for this version is minimal. It confirms the framework uses React and Shopify's infrastructure, provides installation commands to create a new project, and shows how to start a local development server. Beyond that, it refers readers to the documentation site for more detail on getting started. If you are looking to build a new Shopify storefront, the current Hydrogen repository is the right place to start. This legacy version is no longer actively developed. The README itself flags this at the top with a warning, noting the current version is available elsewhere.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1

I have a Hydrogen v1 Shopify storefront and want to understand the difference between v1 and the current Hydrogen version. List the key API and architecture changes I need to know before migrating.

Prompt 2

Show me the Hydrogen v1 project structure after running the create command, and explain what each top-level file and folder does.

Prompt 3

I want to add a custom product page to my Hydrogen v1 store that shows metafield data. Write the React component and the Shopify Storefront API query needed.

Prompt 4

Walk me through migrating a Hydrogen v1 route to the current Hydrogen version, including how to update data fetching and component imports.

Frequently asked questions