# Dawn
[](https://github.com/Shopify/dawn/actions/workflows/ci.yml?query=branch%3Amain)
[](/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md)
[Getting started](#getting-started) |
[Staying up to date with Dawn changes](#staying-up-to-date-with-dawn-changes) |
[Developer tools](#developer-tools) |
[Contributing](#contributing) |
[Code of conduct](#code-of-conduct) |
[Theme Store submission](#theme-store-submission) |
[License](#license)
Dawn represents a HTML-first, JavaScript-only-as-needed approach to theme development. It's Shopify's first source available theme with performance, flexibility, and [Online Store 2.0 features](https://www.shopify.com/partners/blog/shopify-online-store) built-in and acts as a reference for building Shopify themes.
* **Web-native in its purest form:** Themes run on the [evergreen web](https://www.w3.org/2001/tag/doc/evergreen-web/). We leverage the latest web browsers to their fullest, while maintaining support for the older ones through progressive enhancement—not polyfills.
* **Lean, fast, and reliable:** Functionality and design defaults to “no” until it meets this requirement. Code ships on quality. Themes must be built with purpose. They shouldn’t support each and every feature in Shopify.
* **JavaScript not required, fails gracefully:** We extract every bit of speed and functionality out of HTTP, semantic HTML, and CSS before writing our first line of JavaScript. JavaScript can only be used to progressively enhance features.
* **Server-rendered:** HTML must be rendered by Shopify servers using Liquid. Business logic and platform primitives such as translations and money formatting don’t belong on the client. Async and on-demand rendering of parts of the page is OK, but we do it sparingly as a progressive enhancement.
* **Functional, not pixel-perfect:** The Web doesn’t require each page to be rendered pixel-perfect by each browser engine. Using semantic markup, progressive enhancement, and clever design, we ensure that themes remain functional regardless of the browser.
You can find a more detailed version of our theme code principles in the [contribution guide](https://github.com/Shopify/dawn/blob/main/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md#theme-code-principles).
## Getting started
We recommend using Dawn as a starting point for theme development. [Learn more on Shopify.dev](https://shopify.dev/themes/getting-started/create).
> If you're building a theme for the Shopify Theme Store, then you can use Dawn as a starting point. However, the theme that you submit needs to be [substantively different from Dawn](https://shopify.dev/themes/store/requirements#uniqueness) so that it provides added value for merchants. Learn about the [ways that you can use Dawn](https://shopify.dev/themes/tools/dawn#ways-to-use-dawn).
Please note that the main branch may include code for features not yet released. The "stable" version of Dawn is available in the theme store.
## Staying up to date with Dawn changes
Say you're building a new theme off Dawn but you still want to be able to pull in the latest changes, you can add a remote `upstream` pointing to this Dawn repository.
1. Navigate to your local theme folder.
2. Verify the list of remotes and validate that you have both an `origin` and `upstream`:
```sh
git remote -v
```
3. If you don't see an `upstream`, you can add one that points to Shopify's Dawn repository:
```sh
git remote add upstream https://github.com/Shopify/dawn.git
```
4. Pull in the latest Dawn changes into your repository:
```sh
git fetch upstream
git pull upstream main
```
## Developer tools
There are a number of really useful tools that the Shopify Themes team uses during development. Dawn is already set up to work with these tools.
### Shopify CLI
[Shopify CLI](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-cli) helps you build Shopify themes faster and is used to automate and enhance your local development workflow. It comes bundled with a suite of commands for developing Shopify themes—everything from working with themes on a Shopify store (e.g. creating, publishing, deleting themes) or launching a development server for local theme development.
You can follow this [quick start guide for theme developers](https://github.com/Shopify/shopify-cli#quick-start-guide-for-theme-developers) to get started.
### Theme Check
We recommend using [Theme Check](https://github.com/shopify/theme-check) as a way to validate and lint your Shopify themes.
We've added Theme Check to Dawn's [list of VS Code extensions](/.vscode/extensions.json) so if you're using Visual Studio Code as your code editor of choice, you'll be prompted to install the [Theme Check VS Code](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=Shopify.theme-check-vscode) extension upon opening VS Code after you've forked and cloned Dawn.
You can also run it from a terminal with the following Shopify CLI command:
```bash
shopify theme check
```
### Continuous Integration
Dawn uses [GitHub Actions](https://github.com/features/actions) to maintain the quality of the theme. [This is a starting point](https://github.com/Shopify/dawn/blob/main/.github/workflows/ci.yml) and what we suggest to use in order to ensure you're building better themes. Feel free to build off of it!
#### Shopify/lighthouse-ci-action
We love fast websites! Which is why we created [Shopify/lighthouse-ci-action](https://github.com/Shopify/lighthouse-ci-action). This runs a series of [Google Lighthouse](https://developers.google.com/web/tools/lighthouse) audits for the home, product and collections pages on a store to ensure code that gets added doesn't degrade storefront performance over time.
#### Shopify/theme-check-action
Dawn runs [Theme Check](#Theme-Check) on every commit via [Shopify/theme-check-action](https://github.com/Shopify/theme-check-action).
## Contributing
Want to make commerce better for everyone by contributing to Dawn? We'd love your help! Please read our [contributing guide](https://github.com/Shopify/dawn/blob/main/.github/CONTRIBUTING.md) to learn about our development process, how to propose bug fixes and improvements, and how to build for Dawn.
## Code of conduct
All developers who wish to contribute through code or issues, please first read our [Code of Conduct](https://github.com/Shopify/dawn/blob/main/.github/CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md).
## Theme Store submission
The [Shopify Theme Store](https://themes.shopify.com/) is the place where Shopify merchants find the themes that they'll use to showcase and support their business. As a theme partner, you can create themes for the Shopify Theme Store and reach an international audience of an ever-growing number of entrepreneurs.
Ensure that you follow the list of [theme store requirements](https://shopify.dev/themes/store/requirements) if you're interested in becoming a [Shopify Theme Partner](https://themes.shopify.com/services/themes/guidelines) and building themes for the Shopify platform.
## License
Copyright (c) 2021-present Shopify Inc. See [LICENSE](/LICENSE.md) for further details.
# iced-bliss