Liquid Data Types

Understanding Liquid Types

Liquid is dynamically typed. You do not declare types, but knowing how Shopify represents data prevents subtle bugs — especially when comparing values in {% if %} tags or passing data to JavaScript.

• String — text in single or double quotes: "Hello" or 'World'
• Number — integers and decimals: 42, 3.14. Money is stored as integers in cents (1899 = $18.99)
• Boolean — true or false (lowercase only in Liquid comparisons)
• Nil — represents empty/missing values; falsy in conditionals
• Array — ordered lists: product.images, cart.items, collection.products
• Object (Drop) — Shopify wrappers: product, collection, shop — expose properties and methods

Truthy and Falsy Values

In {% if %} tags, nil and false are falsy. Empty strings, zero, and empty arrays are truthy in Liquid (unlike JavaScript). Always compare explicitly when checking for empty collections.

{% if product == nil %}
  <p>Product not found — check the handle or publish status.</p>
{% endif %}

{% if collection.products.size > 0 %}
  <p>Showing {{ collection.products.size }} of {{ collection.all_products_count }} products</p>
{% else %}
  <p>No products in this collection yet.</p>
{% endif %}