Shopify App Detector: Every Free Way to Find Apps on Any Store

What an app detector can actually see

Every Shopify app that touches the storefront loads JavaScript from either Shopify’s extension CDN (cdn.shopify.com/extensions/) or the app’s own domain (Klaviyo, Yotpo, Judge.me, etc.). A detector works by matching those script URLs against a known-app database.

That means detection has a hard physical limit: an app that loads no script on the storefront is invisible to every outside detector, free or paid. Back-office apps (bookkeeping, inventory, wholesale) and apps that only use checkout APIs simply don’t appear. If a tool claims 100% detection of every app, it’s overstating.

The free detectors

1. Our Storefront Audit tool (no signup, runs locally)

Storefront Audit detects known app scripts from a store URL or pasted page source. It’s free, needs no login, and runs entirely in your browser — the HTML you paste never leaves your machine.

Paste a competitor’s URL: if the store allows cross-origin fetch, it scans directly. Most stores block that, so the tool tells you to paste the page source instead — open the store, View Page Source, select all, copy, paste. The scan matches the same script signatures either way.

2. Manual source inspection

View Page Source → Ctrl+F for cdn.shopify.com/extensions/. Every hit is an app script, and the path usually names the app (/extensions/klaviyo/..., /extensions/judge-me/...). This is the same data the detectors use — you’re just doing the matching by eye.

3. DevTools network filter

F12 → Network → reload → filter script. You’ll see every script the page loads, including ones triggered by interaction. Useful for catching lazy-loaded app scripts, slower than the automated tool.

What to do with the results

Knowing what a store runs is research. Knowing what your own store runs is money:

• Competitor research: see which tools a successful store standardizes on (email, reviews, bundles) — it’s a shortcut to a working stack.
• Supplier check: confirm a storefront is actually a Shopify store before trusting its claims.
• Your own audit: the expensive direction. Stores routinely pay for apps that stopped loading long ago. A storefront scan shows what loads; the full picture needs admin access — your app list, connection health, and webhook status. That’s what CostPilot Pro checks with read-only access (our tool, disclosed, 7-day free trial).

Detector comparison

Related reading

• The 20-Minute Shopify App Audit That Saved Me $600/Year
• I Was Paying for 3 Apps That Did the Same Thing
• Free Apps Hidden Price