Learn to publish and run your own Shopify app: meet the AppQuest course
AppQuest (full Japanese name: AIで作るShopifyパブリックアプリ開発【アプリオーナーになるための実践講座】#AppQuest) is an online course launched on September 25, 2026 by MEMENTO LLC, the company that develops and runs SAKU Apps. It is taught by two developers who still publish and run their own apps today: Saku (Takeshi Sakuma), the developer of SAKU Apps, and Guin Takahashi, the developer of Howdy Apps.
The course is for people who already build Shopify stores and want to move into app development, or who want their own product instead of only client work. It has 20 chapters and 28 explainer videos, and the goal is that by the end of Part 1 you have submitted your own paid app to the Shopify App Store.
Note: the course and its materials are in Japanese.
1. Turn your store-building experience into recurring revenue
Client work pays once per project, but a Shopify app can be sold as a monthly subscription, so revenue grows as more stores install it. With AI-driven development, even store builders who can't write code from scratch can now realistically ship an app.
2. Build and publish first, understand later
Instead of studying before building, you build first and learn along the way. The goal of Part 1 is to sell a paid app on the App Store. After going through the whole process once — from planning to review and launch — you can either move on to a second app on your own, or continue to the advanced chapters to learn how to make apps that sell.
3. Ten app specs written for AI
You get specs for 10 apps you can build with a Theme App Extension — such as a slideshow, breadcrumbs, delivery date selection and short video embeds — written as prompts for AI to read. To pass app review, the rule is that you must add at least one customization of your own, such as new settings or a clear change in design.
4. Four parts: ship, understand, sell, grow
- Part 1 Ship your app (chapters 1–8): from setup and implementation to hosting, App Listing and review
- Part 2 Understand (chapters 9–12): the big picture of apps, extension points, operations and security
- Part 3 Sell (chapters 13–18): finding ideas, turning them into specs with AI, pricing and App Store SEO
- Part 4 Grow (chapters 19–20): reading your numbers, improving, and getting Built for Shopify
5. Ready-to-use appendix
- CLAUDE.md and agents.md templates to keep AI from causing accidents
- Prompts for each chapter
- A break-even spreadsheet
- A privacy policy template
- A checklist for building your second app and beyond on your own
6. One year of support and a community
- Q&A support on Discord (1 year, replies within 24 hours)
- A student community (free, with no time limit)
- A 30-minute one-on-one meeting after joining (optional)
- Online tech consultations 1–2 times a month
- Group meetings during the first 2 months (3 in total)
Pricing
The first-term price is 298,000 JPY (tax included), as a one-time purchase. The first term was on sale from September 25 to October 4, 2026, and the next sale date has not been set yet. You can sign up on the course page to be notified when sales open again.
In addition to the course fee, you will need Claude Code (from $20/month), the App Listing fee (one-time $19), and server costs (Render, about $13.3/month per app).
Summary
AppQuest lets you learn by doing: build a Shopify app with AI, publish and sell it on the App Store, and keep growing it after launch. If you want to use your Shopify store-building experience to own an app of your own, take a look at the course page.
Note that the course is not a good fit for people with no Shopify experience or who don't want to read any code at all.