> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.uselayers.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Shopify admin extensions

> Layers extensions in the Shopify admin: product and collection cards, one-click resync, dashboard links, Sidekick tools, and Shopify Flow automation.

## Overview

The Layers app adds a set of extensions to your Shopify admin so you can check how Layers treats a product or collection, queue a resync, and jump to the right place in the Layers dashboard from the page you are already on. It also gives Shopify Sidekick a set of read-only tools for answering questions about search and merchandising, and provides a Shopify Flow trigger and action for automating filter groups.

The extensions are installed automatically with the Layers app. There is nothing to enable in the theme editor or the Layers dashboard.

| Extension                                                                    | Where it appears                                | What it does                                                                                            |
| ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **How Layers sees this product**                                             | Product page (card)                             | Index freshness, indexing strategy, and which tags, collections, and metafields are included or ignored |
| **Layers indexing**                                                          | Variant page (card)                             | Whether the variant is indexed on its own or shares an entry with other variants                        |
| **Layers default sort**                                                      | Collection page (card)                          | The default sort order shoppers see for the collection                                                  |
| **Layers merchandising rules**                                               | Collection page (card)                          | Up to five merchandising rules for the collection, with status, schedule, and pin count                 |
| **Resync in Layers**                                                         | Product and collection pages (**More actions**) | Queues a resync of that product or collection                                                           |
| **View in Layers**, **View collection in Layers**, **Merchandise in Layers** | Product and collection pages (**More actions**) | Open the matching page in the Layers dashboard                                                          |
| **Layers tools for Sidekick**                                                | Shopify Sidekick                                | Read-only answers about zero-result searches, product indexing, collection rules, and collection sort   |
| **Value added to Filter**, **Sort Filter Value Groups**                      | Shopify Flow                                    | Automate filter value grouping                                                                          |

## Prerequisites

* The Layers app is installed and the store has finished [onboarding](/help/onboarding/install). Until then, the cards show a **Connect the store** or **Finish setting up Layers** banner with a link to the dashboard.
* To follow an **Open in Layers** link, you need a Layers account with access to the store. If you are signed out, Layers asks you to sign in and then continues to the page you asked for.

## Product page cards

### How Layers sees this product

The **How Layers sees this product** card is a compact version of the [AI product breakdown](/help/catalog/how-ai-sees-this-product) in the Layers dashboard. It shows:

* **Freshness**: **Up to date**, **Stale** (the product changed in Shopify since Layers last indexed it), or **Not indexed**.
* **Updated**: when Layers last indexed the product.
* **Strategy**: whether Layers indexed the product as a single entry, or split it by a variant option (for example by color) into several entries. Split products list each entry with its variant count.
* **Indexed fields**: for tags, collections, and metafields, how many values Layers included, the first few included values, and how many it ignored grouped by reason (**Not descriptive**, **Catalog-wide**, **Not shopper-facing**, **Not searchable**). The full explanation of each reason is in [See how AI reads a product](/help/catalog/how-ai-sees-this-product#signals-and-variant-treatment-right-pane).

If the product has never been indexed, the card tells you so and points you to the **Resync in Layers** action.

Use **Open in Layers** to jump to the product in the Layers dashboard, where you can read the full indexed content and flag anything that looks wrong.

### Layers indexing (variant page)

On a variant page, the **Layers indexing** card explains how that specific variant fits into the index:

* For products indexed as one entry, the card notes that variants are not indexed separately.
* For split products, the card names the entry the variant belongs to and whether it shares that entry with other variants or has one of its own.

The card also shows the product's freshness. If the parent product has never been indexed, open the product page and use **Resync in Layers** there.

## Collection page cards

### Layers default sort

The **Layers default sort** card shows the sort order shoppers see on the collection by default:

* The sort order's name and type (**Relevance**, **Metric**, or **Manual**), plus a **Sequences on** badge when [product sequences](/platform/sequences) apply.
* When the sort order was last updated and how many products are in the collection.
* **Edit sort in Layers** and, when available, **Preview** links that open the sort order editor and storefront preview.

If no default sort is set, the card shows a warning that shoppers see the collection in the fallback order, with a **Set default sort in Layers** button.

### Layers merchandising rules

The **Layers merchandising rules** card lists up to five [merchandising rules](/help/merchandising/create-merchandising-rule) that target the collection. For each rule you see its name (linked to the rule in Layers), an **Enabled** or **Disabled** badge, the number of pinned products, the schedule if one is set, and the sort order the rule applies. A count at the bottom shows how many rules exist in total.

**Manage rules** and **Open in Layers** take you to the collection's merchandising page in the dashboard.

If the collection isn't in Layers yet, the card says so. Layers only knows about collections that have synced from Shopify; see [Catalog sync](/shopify-integration/catalog-sync).

## Resync in Layers

Both the product and collection pages have a **Resync in Layers** action in the **More actions** menu. It does the same thing as **Sync from Shopify** in the Layers dashboard (see [resync a single product](/help/catalog/resync-single-product) and [resync a single collection](/help/catalog/resync-single-collection)) without leaving Shopify.

1. Open the product or collection in Shopify admin.
2. Click **More actions**, then **Resync in Layers**.
3. Review the description and click **Resync**.

Layers confirms one of the following:

* **Resync queued**: the job is scheduled. Search and collection results update once it finishes, usually within a few minutes. Large collections can take longer.
* **Already queued**: a resync was requested recently and is still pending. There is no need to request another.
* **Sync already running**: the collection is being synced right now. Changes appear when it finishes.
* **Resync paused**: background jobs are paused for the store. [Contact support](mailto:support@uselayers.com) if this persists.

## Open in Layers links

The **More actions** menu on product and collection pages includes links that open the matching page in the Layers dashboard in a new tab:

* **View in Layers** (product page) opens the product's detail page.
* **View collection in Layers** (collection page) opens the collection's detail page.
* **Merchandise in Layers** (collection page) opens the collection's merchandising rules.

The **Open in Layers** buttons inside the cards go to the same places. If you are signed out of Layers, you are asked to sign in first and then taken to the page you asked for.

## Layers tools for Shopify Sidekick

Layers gives [Shopify Sidekick](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/shopify-admin/productivity-tools/sidekick) four read-only tools. Sidekick uses them automatically when you ask a question they can answer, and includes links back to the Layers dashboard so you can act on what you learn. None of these tools change anything in Layers.

| Ask Sidekick about...                     | Tool                        | What it returns                                                                                            |
| ----------------------------------------- | --------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Searches with no results, failed searches | **Zero-result searches**    | Search terms that returned nothing in Layers over the last 7 or 30 days, with counts                       |
| Whether or how a product is indexed       | **Product index view**      | Freshness, indexing strategy, entries, and which tags, collections, and metafields are included or ignored |
| What rules apply to a collection          | **Collection rules**        | Merchandising rules for the collection with status, schedule, pin count, and sort order                    |
| How a collection is sorted                | **Collection default sort** | The default sort order, its type, whether sequences are on, and when it last changed                       |

Example prompts:

* "Which searches returned no results in the last 30 days?"
* "How is this product indexed in Layers?"
* "What merchandising rules apply to this collection?"
* "What sort order does this collection use?"

<Note>
  Zero-result counts from Sidekick are deliberately narrower than raw empty searches. They exclude searches answered by a semantic redirect or a SKU lookup, so they will not match other analytics tools exactly. The first time you ask, Sidekick may report that the report is still warming up. Check the dashboard link it provides, or ask again in a few minutes.
</Note>

Sidekick is limited to reading these four things. For full store management from an AI assistant, including making changes, connect to the [Layers MCP server](/developers/mcp-servers).

## Shopify Flow

Layers also ships a Shopify Flow trigger, **Value added to Filter**, and an action, **Sort Filter Value Groups**, so new filter values can be placed into your existing value groups automatically. See [Automate grouping with Shopify Flow](/help/advanced-merchandising/facet-grouping#automate-grouping-with-shopify-flow) for setup steps and how the action behaves.

## Troubleshooting

* **"This store isn't connected to Layers"**: the Shopify store hasn't been linked to a Layers store. Open the Layers dashboard and finish [installing Layers](/help/onboarding/install).
* **"Finish setting up Layers"**: onboarding is still in progress. The cards and actions work once onboarding completes.
* **"Layers is temporarily unavailable"**: a transient issue reaching Layers. Click **Retry** or try again in a moment.
* **"Not in Layers" / "Collection not synced to Layers"**: Layers hasn't received this product or collection yet. Wait for [catalog sync](/shopify-integration/catalog-sync) to pick it up, or use **Resync in Layers**.
* **"Not indexed yet"**: Layers knows about the product but hasn't indexed it. Use **Resync in Layers** on the product page to queue it.
* **Open in Layers doesn't open a tab**: your browser may block pop-ups from the Shopify admin. Click the **Continue to Layers** link that appears next to the button.
* **Open in Layers shows "This link has expired"**: go back to Shopify and click the button again. Links are single-use and short-lived.

## Next steps

* [See how AI reads a product](/help/catalog/how-ai-sees-this-product)
* [Manually resync a single product](/help/catalog/resync-single-product)
* [Manually resync a single collection](/help/catalog/resync-single-collection)
* [Create a merchandising rule](/help/merchandising/create-merchandising-rule)
* [Automate filter grouping with Shopify Flow](/help/advanced-merchandising/facet-grouping#automate-grouping-with-shopify-flow)
* [MCP servers](/developers/mcp-servers)