You see a Shopify store you like and want to know what it runs on. The theme is easy to find — Shopify prints it into every storefront — but the obvious field is the one most likely to mislead you. Here are three ways to check, from fastest to most thorough, and how to read the answer.
1. Use a theme detector
Paste the store's URL into our free Shopify theme finder and it reads the theme data for you: the theme's real name, its version and whether it came from the Theme Store. It takes a few seconds and needs no sign-up. It only works on live Shopify stores; password-protected stores, headless storefronts and other platforms return nothing.
2. Search the page source
- Open the store in a desktop browser.
- View the page source: Ctrl+U on Windows, Cmd+Option+U on a Mac.
- Search the source (Ctrl+F or Cmd+F) for
Shopify.theme. - Read the object that follows. It lists the theme's
name,id,schema_name,schema_version,theme_store_idandrole.
3. Ask the browser console
Open developer tools (F12, or Cmd+Option+I on a Mac), switch to the Console tab, type Shopify.theme and press Enter. You get the same object, already formatted, without scrolling through markup. Once you have done it twice, this is the quickest manual check there is.
How to read the result
name— the label the merchant gave their copy of the theme. Stores rename themes constantly ("Live — Black Friday", "Main v3"), so this field often tells you nothing.schema_name— the theme's own name, declared by its developer in the theme files. This is the answer you are looking for, and renaming the copy does not change it.schema_version— the theme version the store runs. An old version of a Theme Store theme usually means the store has stopped taking updates, often because of custom code.theme_store_id— a number when the theme was installed from the Shopify Theme Store; null when it was uploaded.role— "main" for the published theme. A preview link can show an unpublished theme instead.
When the answer is "custom"
A null theme_store_id with a schema_name you cannot find in the Theme Store means the theme was uploaded rather than installed. That covers three cases: a theme bought from an independent marketplace, a theme an agency built from scratch, and a Theme Store theme forked so heavily that its developer renamed it.
To tell them apart, look at the theme's asset file names in the source. Files such as base.css and global.js are typical of Dawn and the many themes derived from it; a set of unfamiliar names usually means custom work.
Dawn, Horizon and the free themes
Many stores you check will turn out to run one of Shopify's own free themes. Dawn has been Shopify's reference Online Store 2.0 theme since 2021. Horizon, released in 2025, is Shopify's newer theme family built around theme blocks, and Shopify has published several free themes on it. If schema_name shows one of these, the store paid nothing for its theme — what you like about it is configuration, content and photography.
Why the theme is only half the answer
Two stores on the same theme can look and perform completely differently. Sections, apps, product photography and page structure usually explain more of what you like than the theme does. If you are studying a competitor, check their apps as well — our app finder lists the ones that load on the storefront — and look at how their product pages are organised.
And if you are choosing a theme for your own store, start from your catalogue and content rather than from someone else's site. A theme that suits a brand with three hero products rarely suits one with three thousand SKUs.