Shopify Detector & Spy: Detect Stores and Export JSON/CSV

You are researching a competitor's storefront. You want to know whether it uses Shopify, which products and options it exposes, and how to take that public catalog into your own analysis without copying every product by hand.

I built Shopify Detector & Spy Catalog Scraper - Export to JSON/CSV for that research workflow in Chrome. Open a public Shopify storefront, choose the store, collection, or product you want, then capture and download the exposed catalog data.

The first useful result is a file you can inspect: product and variant identities, original values, image references, and a coverage report explaining the capture.

Detect the storefront, then choose a catalog scope

Install Shopify Detector & Spy from the Chrome Web Store and pin it to the toolbar. Open the public storefront you want to review, then click the extension while that tab is active.

The popup checks public Shopify storefront signals and identifies the current page and shows separate choices for Whole website, Current collection, and Current product, where available. A searchable Other collections list helps you choose another discovered category without leaving the page.

1. Choose a small scope for your first export.
2. Click Get data beside that scope.
3. Keep the popup open while it captures.
4. Expand Preview captured products to inspect the result.
5. In version 1.0.4, use Download JSON, Download exact CSV, or Download catalog ZIP.

Download a capture before starting another on the same active page. The latest capture replaces the previous saved result for that page. If you interrupt collection, reopen the popup on the same storefront and use Resume capture to continue saved progress.

Choose the file that fits the work

Version 1.0.4 adds a standalone Download JSON button beside CSV. Its file is the same normalized product array as observed-catalog.json in the ZIP, with nested variants, tags and image links. IDs and prices remain strings; this is observed catalog data rather than an untouched server-response archive.

The ZIP keeps several useful views together:

Use Excel when you want to inspect identifiers and source text without automatic type conversion. Use JSON when preserving relationships matters. Image exports contain links and metadata; they do not download the image files themselves.

Keep the fields that make catalog work possible

Shopify Detector & Spy captures exposed titles, descriptions, product and variant IDs, SKUs, tags, option values, prices, availability, timestamps, and image links. Available galleries and variant associations help keep the export useful beyond a list of product titles.

A jacket with three sizes should remain one product with three variant identities. A missing SKU should remain a missing value. A repeated SKU should not cause a different variant to disappear.

That is why I treat identity, source values, and coverage as part of the product. The SKU and variant guide explains how to inspect those details in a worksheet.

Understand the count before expanding the run

The website count and a collection count describe different scopes. A collection named "All Products" can still differ from the public whole-store feed. Products can also appear in multiple collections, so adding collection totals can count the same product repeatedly.

Counts show Counting… while scanning and an exact number only when established. An interrupted or unavailable count stays unknown; it does not become zero or a displayed + total. Partial and blocked captures remain labeled in the result. The collection export guide walks through scope selection.

Pro has no fixed product or variant cap per run. Free captures use the remaining monthly allowance. Browser memory, storage and source access can still limit capture coverage. Check the manifest before treating a download as complete.

Start free, then choose a plan for repeated work

The extension plans linked from the Chrome Web Store listing are:

These USD prices are recorded in the version 1.0.4 documentation, before applicable taxes or checkout currency conversion. Variants do not consume extra product units, and downloading a saved capture again does not use more allowance. Starting a new capture counts its products again.

Catalog records stay on your device

Collection and saved files stay in your browser and chosen download location. Optional Pro checkout and licensing use Dodo Payments. No Shopify Admin account is required. The privacy policy explains what goes to the storefront and licensing provider.

Shopify Detector & Spy preserves observed prices without currency conversion. Public availability is not inventory quantity, and catalog records do not establish sales or revenue. Here, “spy” means inspecting public catalog data. Detecting Shopify does not guarantee access to a usable public feed. The extension does not detect themes or apps, estimate sales or revenue, provide background monitoring, or access unpublished products.

Check the version, then choose the interface

The updated name and direct JSON button are documented in version 1.0.4. The store listing checked on 1 November still used the earlier name and version 1.0.1; check your installed version for the new JSON button.

The companion Shopify Product Scraper on Apify is available for supplied URLs, API calls, and saved tasks. It has its own limits, pricing, and output structure. Use the browser-versus-actor guide to choose between them.

For a catalog in front of you, install Shopify Detector & Spy. Capture one collection, preview a few products, and open the Excel file beside the source. You can evaluate the result on the task you actually need to finish.