Introduction

This page gives you the quickest mental model for how Relay is structured and what you need to configure first.

Relay has two main install surfaces:

• Widget: a website chat widget.
• Embed: Shopify embedded app surfaces like changelog, feature requests, helpdesk, and campaign banners.

If you are starting from scratch, set up the app first. After that, decide whether you need the widget, the Shopify embed, or both.

Quick start

1. Go to Settings → Apps and create a workspace app.
2. Click Enable Embed to generate the Relay embed token and reveal the embed snippet.
3. Under Relay Secret, click Generate Relay Secret and set it on your server as RELAY_SECRET. Your backend uses it to sign each shop's identity — see Identity Verification.
4. Go to Settings → Widgets if you also want the web widget, then create a widget and copy its install snippet.
5. Go to Settings → Partners if you want Relay to handle collaborator access requests through Shopify Partners.

What you need to fill in

In Settings → Apps, the minimum useful fields are:

• Name
• Shopify App Store URL

These fields are optional, but often useful:

• Shopify App Client ID: stored for reference.
• Shopify Partner App ID: used for Shopify Partners app history links.

The only credential Relay needs for authenticated surfaces is the Relay Secret it generates for you — you never give Relay your Shopify app client secret.

What requires a verified shop identity

Authenticated surfaces require a signed shop identity (window.RelayEmbed.identity) that your server produces with your Relay Secret. See Identity Verification.

• Widget chat: The basic install does not need a verified shop identity.
• Widget helpdesk: Link the widget to an app and provide a signed shop identity.
• Embed changelog: The embed token is enough.
• Embed campaign banner: The embed token is required, and shop context is used at runtime.
• Embed feature requests: The list can load with the token, but creating, voting, and replying need a verified shop identity.

If you have not configured the app yet, continue to Setup.