# Best live chat for Shopify app developers — Orka Canonical: https://orka.chat/best-live-chat-for-shopify-apps Updated: 2026-09-21 [← Find your best live chat](/best-live-chat) FOR THE PEOPLE BEHIND SHOPIFY APPS # Live chat for Shopify app developers. Customer support for every Shopify app you build — in one shared inbox. Connect your merchant data with the Orka SDK. See their Shopify plan, app subscription, installation date and custom attributes beside every conversation. [One inbox for your apps ↗](http://dashboard.orka.chat/signup)[See the merchant context ↓](#merchant-context) APP 01 · BOOKINGS APP 02 · DOWNLOADS APP 03 · YOUR NEXT IDEA One support home. MORE PRODUCTS. NOT MORE SUPPORT TABS. ## The support tool for your whole portfolio. A merchant asking about a booking form should not get the instructions for a bundle discount. Orka keeps the project attached to the conversation while your team stays in the same inbox. ### One queue for every app Add a project for each app, launch page or store. Work through incoming conversations together, then filter by project when you need to focus. Your browser can finally stop looking like a support control tower. ### Context before the first question See the relevant merchant information your app supplies. A new trial, a long-time paid customer and a first-day installation need different explanations. Start with that context instead of asking everyone to repeat it. ### A useful answer, three ways Reply yourself, review an Orky draft or enable automatic answers from your knowledge. Keep a human in charge of exceptions and sensitive decisions. A busy launch does not have to mean abandoning your inbox. ### A crew that knows who owns it Give teammates access to the projects they support. Assign the conversation, leave a private note, mention the person who knows the answer and keep the handover in the thread. “WHICH APP? WHICH PLAN?” ALREADY ANSWERED. ## Your SDK. Your merchant data. Right beside the conversation. Your app already knows a lot about this merchant. Give your support team the useful part. Cowlendar ● Online STUDIO FERN · SUPPORT Can I add another team member to my booking calendar? Emma · private note New install. They are on Pro. Help them set up team availability. Absolutely. Let’s check your team settings together 👋 Reply with the context already there ↗ Your app knows it. Your support team sees it. → Subscription Usage tier Install date Admin link Your own fields Studio Fern merchant@example.com ● Online ▥ Visitor Data ⌄ shop studio-fern.myshopify.com shop_name Studio Fern pricing_type per-usage plan Pro per_usage_plan tier_1000 premium Yes has_branding No installed_at 2026-09-18 shopify_plan Basic admin_link Open customer record ↗ onboarding Calendar connected ＋ Your next useful field Any relevant value Fictional merchant, email and account values. Your app sends the fields you choose. ### A real SDK. Open-ended visitor attributes. Use the Orka JavaScript SDK — available as the orka-web-sdk npm package — to send the visitor attributes your team needs: Shopify plan, app subscription, installation date, billing type, usage tier, branding status, internal admin links or onboarding progress. The example fields are just a starting point. Update them when the merchant changes plans or their setup evolves. Those details travel with the support experience instead of living in another admin tab. [Explore the SDK and custom visitor data ↗](/sdk) [Install the SDK in your SPA ↗](/how-to-add-orka-to-single-page-application) Your integration decides which attributes to send. The widget does not grant access to Shopify’s Admin API, infer a subscription or read a merchant’s private account on its own. Source account-specific values from your authenticated backend and keep them current. EXAMPLE SUPPORT CONTEXT shopify_plan Grow app_plan Pro installed_at 2026-09-18 onboarding_stage Calendar connected Illustrative field names. Map them through your Orka SDK integration. Never include access tokens, passwords or payment credentials. Shopify App Store ⌕ Apps using Orka ## Also used by the people behind these apps. Apps already using Orka [ ### Cowlendar Appointments & bookings Uses Orka ↗ ](https://apps.shopify.com/cowlendar)[ ### BIG Digital Downloads Digital products & downloads Uses Orka ↗ ](https://apps.shopify.com/digital-download-products)[ ### EZ Product Image Translate Localized product images Uses Orka ↗ ](https://apps.shopify.com/ez-product-image-translate)[ ### Rapi Bundles Bundles & upsells Uses Orka ↗ ](https://apps.shopify.com/rapi) Support for the people who build the apps. Orka illustration inspired by the App Store interface. App names and logos belong to their owners. This is not a Shopify endorsement. THE QUESTIONS YOU GET ON A TUESDAY ## Four apps. Four kinds of “help”. Cowlendar ### “Why is my afternoon unavailable?” Bring the booking context into the conversation. Point to the availability article, ask for the missing detail and hand it to someone who knows the setup when needed. BIG Digital Downloads ### “How do I offer a second file version?” Use a product guide for the standard setup. Keep download access and account-specific checks with the right person rather than improvising a promise. EZ Product Image Translate ### “Why is this image different in French?” Help the merchant understand language-based images, then inspect their configuration when a general article does not explain the result. Rapi Bundles ### “Can I make this bundle look like my theme?” Start with the customization documentation. Keep screenshots, theme context and any private handover in the same support conversation. Example support scenarios, not quotes from customers or claims about these apps’ internal workflows. WRITE IT ONCE. LET IT HELP AGAIN. ## A help center for humans and Orky. Every plan includes the help center. Publish Markdown articles, group them into collections, use your own domain and bring existing content from tools such as GitBook, Intercom, Crisp, Gorgias or Gleap. Merchants can search and read answers inside the widget before starting a conversation. Multilingual articles and automatic translation help you cover more languages; manual edits let you correct the details. Published knowledge also gives Orky a foundation for drafts and automatic replies. [Explore the help center ↗](/help-center) ▤ Getting started with your app ▤ Plans, billing & cancellation ▤ Common setup questions A useful answer. Wherever they ask. INSIDE YOUR APP. CLOSE TO THE QUESTION. ## Bring Orka into your embedded app. Create one Orka project per app. Keep the name, knowledge and merchant context clear. All those projects can feed the same support inbox. Add the snippet to the app you control. Copy it from Settings → your project → Installation. Put it once in the embedded app’s shared head or equivalent script loader, and test navigation inside Shopify Admin. Connect the support entry point. Shopify’s Support API lets eligible embedded apps register a handler for the Admin Support button. Your developer can connect it to Orka’s opening action. The support-link extension must point inside your app for the handler to apply. Pass the context and test a real conversation. Check the project label, merchant attributes and reply delivery with a test merchant. Test on narrow screens too. The install is ready when the whole round trip works. A widget in your app admin supports the merchant using your software. To support shoppers on a storefront, follow the separate [Shopify store installation guide](/how-to-add-orka-to-shopify). SOLO Free One person. Unlimited projects. POD $29 /mo Up to three people. FLEET $99 /mo Up to twenty people. Help center included on every plan. AI usage is separate. [Full plans and AI conversation calculator ↗](/pricing) YOUR BEARINGS, BEFORE YOU DIVE IN ## Your Shopify app support questions. Still wondering about something? [Ask a human at Orka ↗](mailto:hello@orka.chat) What’s the best customer support tool if I run Shopify apps? + For a founder or small team supporting several Shopify apps, Orka is built around that exact job: all project conversations in one inbox, merchant context, a help center and optional AI. If you need a specific enterprise process or a native commerce action, compare that requirement directly. “Best” depends on what your team actually needs. Why choose Orka for a portfolio of Shopify apps? + A new app becomes another project in the same inbox. You do not need a separate support browser tab for each app. Conversations retain their project context, and you can focus on one project or handle the shared queue. Is support for a Shopify app different from support for a Shopify store? + Yes. An app developer helps merchants configure software, understand app billing or troubleshoot an integration. A storefront team helps shoppers choose products, track deliveries and understand returns. Orka supports both contexts, and you can keep them as separate projects. Which Shopify apps use Orka? + Cowlendar, BIG Digital Downloads, EZ Product Image Translate and Rapi Bundles use Orka. The app cards above link to their own Shopify listings. Can I show the merchant’s Shopify plan and app subscription plan? + Yes. Use Orka’s visitor-context SDK to attach the relevant information your app already knows. Keep the Shopify plan and your own app plan in separate fields. Your app supplies and refreshes these values; adding the widget does not automatically fetch private Shopify data. Can I include installation date and other custom attributes? + Yes. Relevant attributes can include installation date, app plan, store domain, app version and onboarding stage. Send only information that helps with support, from a trusted source in your app. Where do I install the widget in an embedded Shopify app? + Add your project’s snippet once in the shared head or equivalent script-loading layer of the embedded app you control. That is different from inserting it in a merchant’s storefront theme. Test it inside Shopify Admin, including navigation and smaller screens. Can the Shopify Admin Support button open Orka? + Shopify provides a Support API for a custom handler when the support-link extension points within your app. Your developer can connect that handler to the Orka widget opening action. Confirm the current App Bridge setup and test it in the embedded app. Does Orka offer a free plan for app developers? + Solo is free for one person, with unlimited projects and the multilingual help center. Pod is $29 per month for up to three people and Fleet is $99 per month for up to twenty. AI usage is separate. Can Orky answer common app setup questions? + Yes, when the answers are covered by your published articles, website or other configured knowledge. You can choose AI drafts that a person reviews, or automatic replies. Escalate uncertain, account-specific or sensitive issues to a human. Can Orky cancel a subscription or issue a refund automatically? + Do not assume that. Explaining a documented billing policy and executing a billing action are different capabilities. Use a person or an explicitly configured and verified integration for account changes. Can each app have its own help center? + Organize support around the correct project and its knowledge. Orka’s help center supports Markdown articles, collections, custom domains, imports, multilingual content and automatic translation. Visitors can read articles through the widget’s Help tab. Can I support merchants in several languages? + Yes. Two-way chat translation keeps original and translated messages together. Help-center articles can also be translated automatically and corrected manually. On Solo, conversation translation requires your own AI provider key. Can a teammate access only some of my apps? + Yes. Choose project access for each teammate, then use assignments, private notes, mentions and reminders to coordinate work. A shared inbox does not mean every teammate must see every project. Can I bring articles from my current support tool? + Orka supports imports from providers including GitBook, Intercom, Crisp, Gorgias and Gleap. Review links, formatting, collections and billing policies before publishing imported articles. What happens when every app gets messages at once? + You keep one queue, with project labels and visitor context. Use assignments and priority signals to decide what needs attention. Orky can cover documented questions, but it does not remove the need for human judgment during incidents. Will installing Orka improve my App Store rating? + There is no guaranteed rating or review outcome. Orka gives you a way to answer clearly and consistently. Product quality, resolution, expectations and the merchant’s experience still determine their reaction. Can I use Orka for my Shopify apps and my other SaaS products? + Yes. You can support Shopify apps, SaaS products, websites and shops from the same inbox. Each project has its own identity and installation snippet. Your question for Orka ↗ Ask Orky · AI answers from our website, with sources. Your question is sent to OpenAI; please leave out personal information. [Privacy](/privacy) [Email your question ↗](mailto:hello@orka.chat) A FEW USEFUL BEARINGS ## Go straight to the source. Written by Orka. Valid as of September 2026. Platform requirements can change. Corrections are welcome at [hello@orka.chat](mailto:hello@orka.chat). [Orka: official Shopify app SDK integration ↗](https://penida.gitbook.io/orka-livechat/how-to-add-orka-.../how-to-add-orka-on-your-shopify-app) [Shopify: embedded app Support API ↗](https://shopify.dev/docs/api/app-home/latest/apis/user-interface-and-interactions/support-api) [Shopify: integrating with Shopify ↗](https://shopify.dev/docs/apps/build/integrating-with-shopify) [Orka: current widget client API ↗](https://widget.orka.chat/app.js) [Cowlendar on the Shopify App Store ↗](https://apps.shopify.com/cowlendar) [BIG Digital Downloads on the Shopify App Store ↗](https://apps.shopify.com/digital-download-products) [EZ Product Image Translate on the Shopify App Store ↗](https://apps.shopify.com/ez-product-image-translate) [Rapi Bundles on the Shopify App Store ↗](https://apps.shopify.com/rapi) ## Every app you launch. One place to answer. Unlimited projects. A free help center. A human when it matters, Orky when you need a hand. [Bring your apps aboard ↗](http://dashboard.orka.chat/signup)[Explore the plans](/pricing)