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Caretaker · Leftovers from apps

Files left behind by an app you may have removed

Last updated: 2026-11-13

What Caretaker found

Some files in your theme look like they were added by a particular app (Caretaker recognises them by their names), but Caretaker sees no sign that the app is still running: its app embed is not on and it loads nothing on your home page.

Older apps used to copy their own files into your theme. When you uninstall such an app, Shopify cannot tell which theme files it added, so the files often stay.

This issue is marked Check before deleting: Caretaker can only see your theme, not the list of apps you have installed.

Why it matters

Most left-over files do nothing. Some are still used by a line somewhere else in the theme and keep loading the old app's scripts and styles, which makes every page a little slower. They also make the theme harder to work on, and they come back to life if somebody copies a line from an old tutorial.

How to check

  1. In Shopify admin, go to Settings → Apps and look for the app Caretaker names.
  2. If the app is still installed and you still use it, choose Ignore on the issue in Caretaker. The files are probably needed.
  3. If the app is installed but you no longer use it, uninstall it first, then come back to this guide.
  4. If the app is gone, the files are left-overs and can be removed.

Open Technical details on the issue to see the file names, and whether any other file still uses them.

How to remove the files

Work in a copy of your theme so your live store does not change until you are happy.

  1. Go to Online Store → Themes, click … next to your live theme and choose Duplicate.
  2. On the copy, click … and choose Edit code.
  3. If Caretaker's details say a file is still used by another file, open that other file first and delete the line that calls it. Otherwise you will get the error described in Your theme points to a file that no longer exists.
  4. Delete the left-over files: open each one, then use … next to the file name and choose Delete.
  5. Preview the copy and click through the home page, a product page, a collection and the cart.
  6. If everything looks right, Publish the copy and press Scan now in Caretaker.

Not comfortable editing code? This is a good job to hand to a developer.

Working with a developer

Click Copy report at the bottom of the Issues page and send it to them. It lists the files Caretaker matched to the app and the files that still call them. Ask them to remove the calls first, then the files, in a duplicate of the live theme.

When you can ignore it

When the app is still installed and you use it, or when you are not sure and would rather leave the files. Choose Ignore and Caretaker stops counting this issue. It will still tell you if something about these files changes.

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