Gift Card line_item_id becomes read-only in REST Admin API 2027-01

What changed

In REST Admin API version 2027-01 and later, the line_item_id property on the Gift Card resource is read-only. Apps can no longer add, replace or clear a gift card's line-item association through Gift Card create or update requests.

Shopify still accepts create and update requests that include line_item_id, but it ignores the value. The gift card keeps its existing line-item association, so the request does not return an error for this property.

Gift Card responses still include existing line-item and order associations. Earlier API versions keep their current behaviour.

The 2027-01 Gift Card reference marks line_item_id as deprecated. It describes the property as the ID of the line item that initiated the creation of the gift card, if an order created it, and says passing it only records the line item on the gift card and no longer creates a fulfilment.

Who is affected

This change affects your app only if all three of the following are true:

• It uses the REST Admin API Gift Card resource.

• It includes line_item_id when it creates or updates gift cards.

• You plan to upgrade it to API version 2027-01 or later.

If your app only reads line_item_id from Gift Card responses, or stays on an API version earlier than 2027-01, this change does not affect you.

What to do

Do this before you move production traffic to REST Admin API version 2027-01 or later.

• Find the REST Gift Card create and update calls in your app that send line_item_id.

• Remove line_item_id from those request payloads.

• If your app needs the existing association, keep reading line_item_id from Gift Card responses.

There is no replacement API for adding, replacing or clearing a gift card's line-item association from outside Shopify. If your app relied on setting it, that capability is not available after the change.

{"gift_card":{"initial_value":"100.00","line_item_id":241253183}}

{"gift_card":{"initial_value":"100.00"}}

To confirm the change, send a create or update request without line_item_id. Then read the same gift card and check that its line_item_id value has not changed.

Deadline and versions

Shopify has not announced a calendar deadline for this change. It breaks an app only when that app moves to REST Admin API version 2027-01 or later. October 30, 2026 is the date the change was announced, not a deadline.

The versioning page lists 2027-01 as a release candidate, released January 1, 2027 and accessible until January 16, 2028 15:00 UTC. It also says release candidates may include backwards-incompatible changes and are not recommended for production.

Earlier versions keep their current behaviour until Shopify stops supporting them. The versioning page gives these accessible-until dates for the versions that are still supported:

• 2026-01: January 16, 2027 15:00 UTC

• 2026-04: April 16, 2027 15:00 UTC

• 2026-07: July 16, 2027 15:00 UTC

• 2026-10: October 16, 2027 15:00 UTC

If your app targets a version that is no longer accessible, Shopify falls forward and responds using the oldest accessible stable version. That could move your app onto 2027-01 behaviour without a deliberate upgrade, so plan to remove line_item_id from your requests before the version you use reaches its accessible-until date.