Customer Merge
Merges duplicate customer records: invokes Shopify's native customer merge API where supported, otherwise consolidates the loser record's tags and notes into the winner via customerUpdate.
shopify-admin-customer-merge
Purpose
Resolves duplicate customer records identified by duplicate-customer-finder. Where the Shopify Admin API exposes customerMerge (a native merge that moves orders, addresses, subscriptions, and metafields onto a winner record), this skill calls it directly. When customerMerge is unavailable or fails for the given account pair, the skill falls back to consolidating searchable metadata — tags, notes, marketing consent — onto the winner via customerUpdate, then writes a clear annotation to the loser record so staff can complete the merge manually in Shopify Admin.
Prerequisites
shopify store auth --store --scopes read_customers,write_customers read_customers, write_customersParameters
| Parameter | Type | Required | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| store | string | yes | — | Store domain (e.g., mystore.myshopify.com) |
| format | string | no | human | Output format: human or json |
| dry_run | bool | no | true | Preview merge plan without executing mutations |
| customer_winner_id | string | yes | — | GID of the customer record to keep (e.g., gid://shopify/Customer/12345) |
| customer_loser_id | string | yes | — | GID of the customer record to merge into the winner |
| use_native_merge | bool | no | true | Try customerMerge first; if it fails or is unavailable, fall back to consolidation via customerUpdate |
| merge_tags | bool | no | true | Union the loser's tags onto the winner |
| merge_note | bool | no | true | Append the loser's note to the winner (with timestamp prefix) |
| annotate_loser | bool | no | true | Write a note on the loser record pointing to the winner GID for manual cleanup |
Safety
> ⚠️ Steps 2–4 execute mutations that modify customer records. customerMerge is irreversible — once orders and addresses are moved to the winner, the loser record is closed and cannot be split back. Run with dry_run: true first to confirm winner/loser GIDs and the merge plan. The default is dry_run: true. Always verify both records belong to the same human (matching email, phone, name) using duplicate-customer-finder output before committing. Do not merge a customer with active subscriptions or unfulfilled orders without confirming downstream systems will follow the new owner GID.
Workflow Steps
customer — query (called twice: winner and loser) Inputs: id: , select id, displayName, firstName, lastName, defaultEmailAddress { emailAddress }, phone, tags, note, numberOfOrders, amountSpent, emailMarketingConsent { marketingState }, smsMarketingConsent { marketingState }, addresses(first: 25) { id }, createdAt
Expected output: Both records' full identity payload — abort if either GID does not resolve
customerMerge — mutation (only if use_native_merge: true and not dry_run) Inputs: customerOneId: , customerTwoId: , overrideFields: prefer winner's name/email/phone/locale/marketing-consent
Expected output: job.id (merge runs asynchronously), userErrors. If userErrors indicates merge is not supported for this pair (B2B, gift card holder, subscriber, etc.), proceed to step 3 fallback.
customerUpdate — mutation (winner) — fallback path or when use_native_merge: false Inputs: input.id: , input.tags: (only if merge_tags), input.note: (only if merge_note)
Expected output: customer.id, customer.tags, customer.note, userErrors
customerUpdate — mutation (loser) — only if annotate_loser: true Inputs: input.id: , input.note: ", input.tags:
Expected output: customer.id, customer.tags, customer.note, userErrors
GraphQL Operations
# customer:query — validated against api_version 2025-01
query CustomerForMerge($id: ID!) {
customer(id: $id) {
id
displayName
firstName
lastName
defaultEmailAddress { emailAddress }
phone
tags
note
numberOfOrders
amountSpent { amount currencyCode }
emailMarketingConsent { marketingState marketingOptInLevel consentUpdatedAt }
smsMarketingConsent { marketingState marketingOptInLevel consentUpdatedAt }
addresses(first: 25) { id address1 city provinceCode countryCodeV2 zip }
createdAt
}
}
# customerMerge:mutation — validated against api_version 2025-01
mutation CustomerMerge(
$customerOneId: ID!
$customerTwoId: ID!
$overrideFields: CustomerMergeOverrideFields
) {
customerMerge(
customerOneId: $customerOneId
customerTwoId: $customerTwoId
overrideFields: $overrideFields
) {
job { id done }
resultingCustomerId
userErrors { field message code }
}
}
# customerUpdate:mutation — validated against api_version 2025-01
mutation CustomerConsolidate($input: CustomerInput!) {
customerUpdate(input: $input) {
customer { id displayName tags note }
userErrors { field message }
}
}
Session Tracking
Claude MUST emit the following output at each stage. This is mandatory.
On start, emit:
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ SKILL: Customer Merge ║
║ Store: <store domain> ║
║ Started: <YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM UTC> ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════╝
After each step, emit:
[N/TOTAL] <QUERY|MUTATION> <OperationName>
→ Params: <brief summary of key inputs>
→ Result: <count or outcome>
If dry_run: true, prefix every mutation step with [DRY RUN] and do not execute it.
On completion, emit:
For format: human (default):
══════════════════════════════════════════════
CUSTOMER MERGE OUTCOME
Winner: <name> (<email>) Orders: <n> Spent: $<n>
Loser: <name> (<email>) Orders: <n> Spent: $<n>
Path used: <native|fallback|skipped>
Merge job: <id or "n/a">
Tags consolidated: <n>
Note appended: <yes/no>
Loser annotated: <yes/no>
Errors: <n>
Output: none
══════════════════════════════════════════════
For format: json, emit:
{
"skill": "customer-merge",
"store": "<domain>",
"started_at": "<ISO8601>",
"completed_at": "<ISO8601>",
"dry_run": true,
"winner_id": "<gid>",
"loser_id": "<gid>",
"outcome": {
"path": "native|fallback",
"merge_job_id": "<id or null>",
"resulting_customer_id": "<gid or null>",
"tags_consolidated": 0,
"note_appended": false,
"loser_annotated": false,
"errors": 0,
"output_file": null
}
}
Output Format
No CSV output. The session summary reports the merge job ID, the resulting customer GID, and which path was taken. For batch merges, run this skill once per pair and capture the JSON output.
Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Recovery |
|---|---|---|
THROTTLED | API rate limit exceeded | Wait 2 seconds, retry up to 3 times |
customerMerge userError: customer has subscriptions | Active subscription on loser | Cancel subscription before merge or use fallback path |
customerMerge userError: B2B customer | Company-affiliated record | Use fallback path; manual merge in Shopify Admin |
customerMerge userError: gift card holder | Loser owns gift card balance | Transfer gift card or use fallback path |
| Either GID not found | Wrong ID or deleted customer | Re-run duplicate-customer-finder |
| Merge job pending | Async merge not yet complete | Re-query Job(id) to confirm done: true |
Best Practices
duplicate-customer-finder first to confirm the pair is genuinely duplicate. Manual misclassifications are unrecoverable.createdAt. Avoid making the marketing-consenting record the loser.dry_run: true first; the preview shows both records' order counts and spend so you can sanity-check before committing.duplicate-customer-finder's CSV output — never batch merges in a single call.job.done: false response is normal — Shopify processes merges asynchronously. Re-query the job ID until completion before assuming the loser is closed.customerUpdate consolidation only) does not move orders. It preserves searchability via tags/notes so a human can finish the merge in Shopify Admin (Customers → Merge).