request

The request object is the buyer-safe, Shopify-compatible view of the current storefront request. It describes the public host, origin, locale, path, page type, and theme-preview modes without exposing the underlying server request.

Availability and context

request is available in every storefront Liquid render, including theme editor and visual-preview renders. request.locale is a shop_locale object, not a plain locale string. Normal requests retain their pathname even when the route resolves to a 404. The themed fallback 404 currently normalizes its empty path to /; request.path is nil only when a render explicitly supplies a nil path.

Examples

Build a canonical absolute URL

request.path contains only the localized pathname; it never includes query parameters.

{% if request.origin != blank and request.path != blank %}
  <link rel="canonical" href="{{ request.origin }}{{ request.path }}">
{% endif %}

Example output:

<link rel="canonical" href="https://shop.example.com/products/sandalwood-candle">

<html lang="{{ request.locale.iso_code }}">
  <a href="{{ request.locale.root_url }}">
    {{ request.locale.endonym_name | escape }}
  </a>
</html>

Example output on the French storefront:

<html lang="fr">
  <a href="/fr">français</a>
</html>

Use localized resource URLs and request.locale.root_url; do not construct locale prefixes by splitting request.path.

Avoid analytics side effects in editor previews

Buyer functionality should remain testable in previews, but analytics and third-party scripts should not create production visits or interfere with the editor frame.

{% unless request.design_mode or request.visual_preview_mode %}
  <script src="{{ 'analytics.js' | asset_url }}" defer></script>
{% endunless %}

Example output in a normal storefront request:

<script src="https://cdn.example.com/assets/analytics.js" defer></script>

In design mode or visual preview mode, the example intentionally emits no script. Do not disable product forms, cart actions, account links, or checkout just because design_mode is true.

Branch on the routed page type

{% case request.page_type %}
  {% when 'product' %}
    <span class="visually-hidden">Product page</span>
  {% when 'collection' %}
    <span class="visually-hidden">Collection page</span>
  {% when 'customers/account' %}
    <span class="visually-hidden">Customer account</span>
  {% when '404' %}
    <span class="visually-hidden">Page not found</span>
{% endcase %}

Common Sellerlane values are index, product, collection, page, blog, article, search, policy, cart, customers/account, customers/login, customers/register, customers/addresses, customers/rewards, customers/activate_account, customers/reset_password, customers/order, list-collections, password, and 404. Custom storefront routes can provide additional values, so include a fallback when exhaustive routing matters.

Security boundary

Only the properties in the table below are public. Unknown property access returns nil. In particular, request does not expose:

headers, cookies, IP or geolocation headers;
raw query parameters or the server request body;
CSRF tokens, login/session tokens, or editor origins; or
internal middleware, tenant, tracing, or server state.

For the deliberately narrow public query values q, type, and sort_by, use sellerlane.query_state. Use each filter value’s url_to_add and url_to_remove for facet state; pagination state is not exposed through query_state. For POSTs, use {% form %}; it injects the CSRF field without making the token readable through Liquid.

Properties

Property	Description
`request.design_mode`	true for the current draft-theme editor render.
`request.host`	Host being served.
`request.locale`	Active locale.
`request.origin`	Accepted storefront scheme and host, or an empty string on a narrow/error render that has no public origin.
`request.page_type`	Runtime page type such as `product`, `collection`, `customers/account`, `customers/login`, or `customers/order`.
`request.path`	Current storefront path. Guard both `origin` and `path` before constructing an absolute URL because narrow/error surfaces can supply empty or fallback values.
`request.visual_preview_mode`	Currently equivalent to `design_mode`: true for the same draft-theme editor render.

Property list is generated from the storefront engine (RequestDrop), so it always matches what your theme can use. Use {{ request | json }} only as a curated debug snapshot; it can omit lazy or otherwise public properties.

Sellerlane differences from Shopify

Sellerlane account page types use customers/* values such as customers/account, customers/login, and customers/order.
request.locale is the active published Sellerlane shop locale, including iso_code, names, primary status, and root_url.
visual_preview_mode is a separate public property, but the current renderer sets it to the same value as design_mode: both are true for verified draft theme renders and false otherwise.
Sellerlane intentionally provides no generic request.params or raw query object. sellerlane.query_state exposes only q, type, and sort_by; it does not expose facet filters or pagination state.