What does "Could not find asset snippets" mean in Shopify?
It means a line in your theme asks Shopify to load a snippet file that does not exist. The fix is to open the file and line the error names, then delete that line (or create an empty snippet with the missing name). It usually appears after an app is uninstalled: the app's snippet file is gone, but the line that loaded it is still in your theme.
We reproduced the error on a Shopify development store on 15 October 2026 and tested both fixes. The exact messages below are copied from that store.
What does the full error look like?
Shopify prints it as plain text on your storefront, in the spot where the snippet should have appeared:
Liquid error (layout/theme line 9): Could not find asset snippets/gone-app-snippet.liquidIt has three useful parts:
layout/themeis the file that contains the broken line. Here it islayout/theme.liquid, the file that wraps every page, which is why the error shows on every page of the store. If it sayssections/headerorsections/main-product, the error only shows where that section is used.line 9is the line number inside that file.snippets/gone-app-snippet.liquidis the file Shopify looked for and did not find.
Everything else on the page still renders. In our test, the paragraphs before and after the broken line both appeared normally; only the snippet's spot was replaced by the error text. Your shoppers can see that text, so it is worth fixing the same day.
Why did this error suddenly appear?
Something deleted or renamed a snippet file while a line that loads it stayed behind. The common causes:
| What happened | Why it leaves the error | How to confirm |
|---|---|---|
| You uninstalled an app | Older apps wrote a snippet into your theme and added a {% render %} line to load it. Uninstalling removed the snippet but not the line. | The snippet name matches the app (for example a reviews, upsell or currency app) |
| You or a developer deleted a snippet | The file is gone but another file still loads it | The file is not in the Snippets folder, and no app is involved |
| A snippet was renamed | The render line still uses the old name | A snippet with a similar name exists |
| Code was copied from another theme | The pasted section loads snippets this theme never had | The error is inside the section you pasted |
Apps built on Shopify's theme app extensions (the model Shopify introduced with Online Store 2.0 in 2021) do not edit your theme files, so uninstalling them cannot cause this. Their blocks simply stop rendering. The error comes from apps that edited theme code directly.
How do I fix "Could not find asset snippets"?
- Duplicate your theme first. In the Shopify admin go to Online Store, then Themes, open the menu next to your live theme and choose Duplicate. You now have a copy to go back to.
- Open the code editor. On the same menu, choose Edit code.
- Open the file the error names. For
layout/theme line 9, opentheme.liquidin the Layout folder and go to line 9. - Find the line that loads the missing snippet. It looks like
{% render 'gone-app-snippet' %}or, in older themes,{% include 'gone-app-snippet' %}. - Delete that line and save. If the app is gone for good, this is the right fix: nothing else needs the line.
- Reload your store. In our test the first reload still showed the old error because of Shopify's page cache; the next one was clean.
If the same error appears more than once with different line numbers, the app added several lines. Repeat for each. If the error names a section file instead of layout/theme, open that file in the Sections folder.
Can I just create an empty snippet instead?
Yes, and it works. In the code editor, add a new snippet under Snippets with exactly the missing name (for example gone-app-snippet) and leave it empty. In our test, Shopify accepted a 0 byte snippet file, and the error disappeared from the page with nothing printed in its place.
| Fix | Removes the error? | Leaves anything behind? | Use it when |
|---|---|---|---|
Delete the render line | Yes | No | The app or feature is gone for good |
| Create an empty snippet with the missing name | Yes (tested) | An empty file and a line that loads it | You cannot find the line, or you need the store clean in 30 seconds |
| Reinstall the app | Usually, if the app rewrites its snippet | The app and its code | You uninstalled the app by mistake |
| Copy the snippet back from a duplicate or backup theme | Yes | The original snippet | A snippet you still need was deleted |
The empty snippet is a patch, not a cleanup. Deleting the line is the real fix, and it is no harder once you know the line number.
Is it different for render and include?
No. We tested both tags pointing at missing files and Shopify printed the same message for each: Liquid error (layout/theme line 11): Could not find asset snippets/gone-include-snippet.liquid for the include line. The only difference is that shopify theme check also flags include with a warning, "Use the 'render' tag instead of 'include'", because Shopify deprecated it.
What about "is not a valid section type"?
That is the same problem for a missing section instead of a missing snippet, and it can show up in two different places:
| Where the missing section is named | What Shopify did in our test |
|---|---|
A {% section 'gone-section' %} tag in theme.liquid | Upload succeeded. The page printed Liquid error (layout/theme line 13): Error in tag 'section' - 'gone-section' is not a valid section type |
A JSON template such as templates/page.json | Upload refused for that file: Section type 'deleted-app-section' does not refer to an existing section file |
A {% render %} line for a missing snippet | Upload succeeded. The page printed Could not find asset snippets/... |
The fix is the same idea: remove the reference, or put the file back. For the JSON template case, Shopify refuses the file before it reaches your store, so you see it as an upload error instead of a storefront one; we list the other upload errors in why a Shopify theme ZIP will not upload.
Why didn't Shopify warn me when I saved?
Because a missing snippet is not an upload error. In our test, shopify theme push uploaded the theme with three missing snippets and reported no problem at all. Shopify only finds out when a page is rendered. The developer tool does catch it: shopify theme check reported each one as an error under the MissingTemplate check, with the message 'snippets/gone-app-snippet.liquid' does not exist. If you work on themes with Shopify CLI, running theme check before you publish finds these before a shopper does.
Will fixing this break my store or lose my data?
No. Snippets are theme code. Your products, orders, customers and pages live in your store, not in the theme, so editing or deleting a theme line cannot touch them; we explain the split in will I lose my products if I change my Shopify theme. The worst case of a wrong edit is a broken page, which is why step 1 is duplicating the theme. One more thing to know: deleting the line is a code edit, and Shopify does not carry code edits into an updated theme version. That works in your favour here, since a fresh version of the theme will not contain the app's old line, but any other code changes you made need redoing; see will I lose my customizations if I update my Shopify theme.
Where these results come from
On 15 October 2026 we built a minimal theme whose theme.liquid loaded one missing snippet with render, one with include and one missing section with a section tag, plus a section that loaded a missing snippet and one that existed. We pushed it to a Shopify development store as an unpublished theme with Shopify CLI 3.93.1, read the rendered storefront HTML, ran shopify theme check, then pushed an empty snippet file and a JSON template that named a missing section. The test theme was deleted afterwards. If you would rather start from a theme with no leftover app code in it, every theme in our free theme gallery is built clean, and you can preview it before installing.
Frequently asked questions
What does "Liquid error: Could not find asset snippets" mean?
A line in your theme loads a snippet file that does not exist. Shopify prints the error in place of the snippet and renders the rest of the page normally. The error names the file and line number that contain the broken line.
How do I fix "Could not find asset snippets" in Shopify?
Duplicate your theme, open Edit code, open the file the error names (for example layout/theme.liquid for "layout/theme line 9"), go to that line and delete the {% render %} or {% include %} line that loads the missing snippet. Save and reload the store.
Why does this error appear after I uninstall a Shopify app?
Older apps added a snippet file and a line to load it directly into your theme code. Uninstalling removed the snippet but left the line. Apps built on theme app extensions do not edit theme files, so they cannot cause it.
Can I create an empty snippet to make the error go away?
Yes. A new snippet with exactly the missing name and no content removes the error; Shopify accepted a 0 byte snippet in our 15 October 2026 test. Deleting the line that loads it is the cleaner fix.
Can my customers see the Liquid error?
Yes. Shopify prints it as plain text on the storefront where the snippet should appear. If the broken line is in layout/theme.liquid, it shows on every page.
Why did Shopify let me upload a theme with a missing snippet?
Shopify does not check snippet references on upload. In our test the push succeeded with three missing snippets and no warning. shopify theme check does catch them, as MissingTemplate errors.
What does "is not a valid section type" mean in Shopify?
The theme names a section file that does not exist. A {% section %} tag prints a Liquid error ending in "is not a valid section type" on the page; a JSON template is refused on upload with "Section type 'name' does not refer to an existing section file". Remove the reference or restore the section.
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