My app isn't showing up under App Embeds and I can't turn it on. Is it broken?
If an app's on-off switch has vanished from the App Embeds panel in your theme editor, the app itself likely was never updated to Shopify's current extension model. Here is how to confirm that and what to do about it.
What's going on
You install an app that is supposed to add something to your storefront, like a banner, a chat widget, a tracking script, or an announcement bar, and it used to just work. But when you go to Online Store, Themes, Customize, App embeds, the app is either not listed at all, or it is listed but toggling it on does nothing.
This is a common symptom with apps that were built before Shopify introduced its current theme architecture and app embed system. Older apps often added their code to your storefront by writing directly into theme files or using older methods for injecting scripts. Those approaches can still run on many stores today, but they were never designed to appear as a toggle in the App Embeds panel, since that panel is populated specifically by apps that have built a theme app extension with an app embed block.
If the app's developer never built that kind of extension, there is nothing for the App Embeds panel to display, no matter how current your own theme is. The app might still be working quietly through its older method, or it might have stopped working after a theme change overwrote code that was inserted manually, which is part of what the App Embeds system was designed to prevent, since embeds installed through it are added and removed automatically along with the app.
Why it happens
Shopify's current storefront extension model requires an app to declare an app embed block inside a theme app extension in order to appear in the App Embeds panel. An app that predates this system, or whose developer never migrated it to use one, simply has no such extension, so there is nothing for Shopify to surface as a toggle.
Shopify has been steering developers away from older methods of injecting code into a merchant's theme, partly because that code can be left behind in your theme files even after the app is uninstalled. Theme app extensions are designed to avoid that by keeping an app's storefront code sandboxed and removing it automatically on uninstall, but that only applies to apps whose developers have actually rebuilt their integration this way. It is an opt-in migration on the developer's side, not something that happens automatically to existing installs.
App embeds and app blocks also depend on the merchant's theme using Shopify's current Online Store 2.0 architecture. An older theme that has not been upgraded can limit what the App Embeds panel is able to show, even for apps whose developers have done the migration correctly.
5 ways to fix it
Push the app's developer to add a theme app extension
If the app is still supported, contact the developer and tell them it no longer shows up under Online Store, Themes, Customize, App embeds. Fixing that is on their side: they need to build a theme app extension with an app embed block using Shopify's current tooling and publish an update. It is usually a modest amount of work for them, not something you can do as a merchant, but many app teams will prioritize it once a customer flags that it is blocking a storefront setup.
Check whether the app is actually broken or just missing a toggle
Not every app needs an entry in App Embeds to keep working. Some older apps still inject their script into your theme directly or rely on older Shopify mechanisms for adding code to storefronts, and those can keep functioning even without a toggle. Before assuming something is broken, check whether the app's actual output is missing, such as a banner or script not appearing, rather than treating the absence of a toggle as proof the app is dead.
Confirm your theme supports app embeds
App embeds and app blocks depend on your theme using Shopify's current Online Store 2.0 architecture. If you are on an older theme that has not been upgraded, the App Embeds section may behave inconsistently or an app's embed may not surface even when the developer has done their part correctly. Check your theme's compatibility and consider upgrading to a current theme, since that benefits every app you install, not just this one.
Look for a replacement app that already supports app embeds
If the original app is abandoned or unresponsive, search the Shopify App Store for a current alternative that advertises theme app extension or app embed support. Apps built on Shopify's current extension model install cleanly, remove their own code when uninstalled, and show up in App Embeds right away. This sidesteps waiting on a legacy vendor entirely.
As a stopgap, have a developer add the code manually
If you need the functionality now and cannot wait on the vendor, a developer can add the required script or markup directly into your theme code. Treat this as temporary, not a real fix: manual edits like this will not be cleaned up automatically if you uninstall the app later, and you will need to redo them if you switch themes.
Bottom line
Most of the time this is not something you can fix directly as a merchant, it is a sign that an app you rely on has not been updated to Shopify's current extension model, and the real fix has to happen on the developer's side. Your job is mainly to confirm your theme is current, push the app vendor to modernize or find a replacement that already supports app embeds, and treat any manual theme-code workaround as temporary. If you are running into stale or poorly maintained apps like this repeatedly, a periodic app and theme review can catch these gaps before they cause a bigger problem.
Browse the rest of the problem library, run a free storefront scan to catch issues like this automatically, or email us and we'll work out a custom solution for it.