Frequently Asked Questions

MacSleuth is a Shopify app, and Mack is your store's detective. He keeps watch over your theme and apps, so when something breaks you can see which app changed what and put it right.

Mack helps you:

• Spot app conflicts before they break your store
• Find CSS that clashes and makes your store look broken
• Find leftover code from apps you've uninstalled
• Restore your theme to an earlier date if something goes wrong (Detective and Pro plans)
• Research apps before you install them

Mack checks your store automatically during his quiet hours (1 to 6 AM in your store's timezone): every night on Detective and Pro, and once a week on Free. Each check:

• Backs up any theme files that have changed, so you can restore them later
• Checks for CSS conflicts that could change how your store looks
• Tracks which scripts your apps are adding
• Measures your store's performance
• Compares your apps against known conflicts

If Mack finds something worrying, you'll see it on your dashboard with a plain explanation of what to do next.

No. Mack starts working on his own. After you install MacSleuth:

• Your first automatic check runs that night (1 to 6 AM your time)
• After that it checks every night on Detective and Pro, or once a week on Free
• Theme backups start building up, ready for when you need them

You can open your dashboard any time to see how your store is doing, or run a scan yourself straight away, for example after installing a new app.

Mack keeps a copy of every file in your theme. After the first copy, each check saves only the files that changed, so you build up a record of every version without storing the same thing twice.

Think of it as a time machine for your store's design. If an app breaks something, you can put your theme back to how it was on an earlier date.

Files backed up is the number of different files in your theme that Mack has a copy of.

Restore points is the total number of saved versions across all those files.

Because Mack only saves a file again when it changes, your restore points go up when your theme changes, not every day. A quiet theme might gain only a few a week; a busy one, with apps making changes, gains more.

It depends on your plan:

Older versions are cleaned up automatically. The latest copy of every file is always kept, however old it is, so you always have something to go back to.

Backups you can restore start from the day you join Detective or Pro. Copies made while you were on Free are only used to spot changes.

No. Mack only backs up your theme files, the code that controls how your store looks.

Your products, orders, customers and other store data are completely separate and are not affected by anything Mack does, including restores.

Restore is included in the Detective and Pro plans. Pick a date in the Rollback tab and click Restore. Mack then:

1. Finds the saved version of each file from that date
2. Checks your live theme and skips any file that already matches
3. Sends the files that changed back to Shopify, one at a time

You'll see the progress as it goes. It usually takes a few minutes, depending on how many files changed.

No. Restore is on the Detective and Pro plans. On Free, Mack still checks your theme every week and shows you what changed and which app most likely did it, but it doesn't keep backups you can restore.

Restorable backups start from the day you join a paid plan, so upgrading after something breaks can't undo it. The best time to protect your theme is before you need to. Both paid plans start with a 7-day free trial.

Yes. You can restore up to 3 times a day on Detective and Pro.

Each restore is separate. If you restore to one date, then decide you wanted a different date, just pick the new date and restore again. Your theme becomes that version.

The limit resets at midnight in your store's timezone. It's there to prevent accidents and protect your store from too many changes in a row.

There's no undo button, but you can restore to a different date.

For example, if you restored to last week but realise you wanted yesterday's version, go back to the Rollback tab and restore to yesterday instead.

That's why Mack asks you to confirm before every restore.

Files added after your restore date are not deleted.

For example, if you restore to the 1st of the month and an app added a new file on the 5th, that file stays in your theme.

Mack puts existing files back to how they were, but doesn't remove files that didn't exist on the restore date.

Mack checks your store automatically between 1 AM and 6 AM in your store's timezone: every night on Detective and Pro, and once a week on Free.

We chose these hours because:

• It's usually your store's quietest time
• Checking won't affect your customers
• Problems are found before your busy daytime hours

You can also run a scan yourself any time from your dashboard.

After each check, Mack works out an overall risk level:

Things that raise the risk: lots of files changed, new scripts added, CSS conflicts, slow page loads or poor performance scores.

The limit resets at midnight in your store's timezone. Mack's automatic checks don't count towards it.

Most store owners only need a scan or two, after installing or removing an app.

A CSS conflict happens when an app adds styling code that accidentally affects other parts of your store.

The problem: some apps add CSS with general names like .button or .card. That changes every button or card on your store, not just the app's own.

Signs you might see:

• Buttons look different after installing an app
• Text colours or fonts change unexpectedly
• Layout or spacing shifts
• Things overlapping or disappearing

Mack spots these risky CSS patterns and shows you which app most likely added them.

Leftover code is code from apps you've uninstalled. Many apps don't clean up after themselves when you remove them.

Why it's a problem:

• It slows your store down by loading code that does nothing
• It can cause strange behaviour or errors
• It can clash with new apps you install
• It clutters your theme files

Mack finds leftover code by comparing the scripts in your theme with the apps you have installed now. If it finds code from an app you no longer have, it flags it.

Mack keeps a list of apps that are known to clash with each other, built from:

• The Shopify Community forums
• Reddit's r/shopify
• Reports from store owners

Examples of apps that can clash:

• Page builders: PageFly and GemPages (both change a lot of theme code)
• Review apps: Loox and Judge.me (duplicate widgets, layout problems)
• Subscription apps: ReCharge and Bold (can break checkout)

If you have two apps installed that are known to clash, Mack warns you.

Mack puts every app in a category and gives it a starting risk level based on what kind of app it is, not on whether it's a good or bad app.

Yes. Use the 🔎 Investigate App button at the top of your dashboard.

Type in any app's name and Mack searches Reddit and Google to show you:

• What other store owners are saying
• Common complaints or problems
• An overall feeling score
• A risk assessment

That way you can decide before adding a new app to your store.

See the pricing page for the full comparison.

Yes. Detective and Pro both start with a 7-day free trial, with every feature of that plan. Cancel before the trial ends and you won't be charged.

Or start on the Free plan, which has no time limit, and upgrade whenever you're ready.

Click 💳 Subscription at the top of your MacSleuth dashboard. It opens Shopify's plan page, where you can upgrade, downgrade or cancel.

Billing goes through Shopify, on your normal Shopify bill.

MacSleuth stores:

• Theme file versions: copies of your theme files for backup and restore
• Scan results: what Mack found during each check
• Script snapshots: which scripts your apps are adding
• Basic store details: your shop address and timezone, for scheduling

MacSleuth does not access or store your customers, orders, products or payment information.

Older data is cleaned up automatically. The latest copy of each theme file is always kept, so you never lose your most recent backup.

If you uninstall MacSleuth:

• Your theme is not affected. MacSleuth doesn't add code to your theme.
• Your saved backups and scan history are deleted 48 hours later, when Shopify asks us to remove your store's data
• You won't be able to restore from those backups any more

If you reinstall later, Mack starts fresh with new backups.