Clone a reference store into a draft theme

Cloning here means learning structure, not copying content. GemBoss reads how a reference site is built, which sections it uses and in what order, then rebuilds that structure with your brand, your products and your words.

The path

1. gem.capture_digest reads the reference and reports what can be rebuilt.
2. gem.clone_reference_to_theme_review runs capture, snapshot and the store builder, and registers the result as a review.
3. gemtheme.check_draft_theme_readiness checks the generated bundle is importable.
4. gem.request_approval opens the gate.
5. gemtheme.create_draft_theme_from_generation creates the unpublished theme.

Steps 1 to 3 change nothing in Shopify. Step 5 cannot run without step 4.

Ask for it in one go

Using the gemboss MCP server: run a capture digest for https://reference-store.example, then clone it to a theme review for shop your-store.myshopify.com. Stop before creating any Shopify theme and show me the readiness check.

Claude will chain the tools and come back with a review plus the readiness result. Read it before going further.

Check before you approve

Ask for the specifics rather than a verdict:

Which sections did the clone produce, and which pages do they cover? Anything the capture could not resolve?

gem.list_plan_pages is the tool behind a good answer here. It lists the plan's pages and how each one is addressed, which matters because a content page cannot be targeted by type the way a template can.

Approve, then land it as a draft

Request approval for the draft theme creation, and once I approve, create the draft theme.

You will be asked to decide. After you approve, the theme is created in Shopify as an unpublished theme. Open it in Shopify's preview and look at it properly before publishing.

Capacity, first time round

Shopify caps how many themes a store can hold. If creation fails on capacity:

Check theme capacity for the shop and propose a cleanup.

gemtheme.check_shopify_theme_capacity and gemtheme.propose_shopify_draft_cleanup handle this. The proposal is read-only and never deletes anything on its own.

Next

• Edit a theme safely
• What Claude can and cannot change