Set up one exact route and prove your first drop

What this does

Complete first-run setup with one supported Shopify or Etsy route, submit one representative artwork, and follow it to the exact provider or storefront result.

Before you begin

• Have either one Shopify store and its authorization or one Etsy shop and its OAuth authorization. Either storefront can complete first-run setup.
• For an Etsy-only digital route, configure a supported external storage service. For an Etsy physical route, use the exact Etsy-connected Gelato store or Printify shop. Printful is not an Etsy publication route.
• Prepare one TIF, TIFF, PNG, JPG, or JPEG and keep the original master outside ArtDrop. One upload request is limited to 3 GiB total and 200 files. Each artwork file is limited to 2 GiB. Storage services and providers can enforce lower limits.

Steps

1. 01

   Open Setup and choose the exact route

   Use the guided Storefront, Storage, Printers, Social, and Copy sections. Choose Shopify or Etsy for the first storefront and authorize the exact destination. Organic social posting is not available in the current customer setup.

2. 02

   Connect the artwork service you intend to use

   Choose Backblaze B2, Cloudflare R2, Dropbox, or Google Drive during setup. An Etsy-only digital first-run path also requires one of these supported external storage services. Save the requested account values and verify one artwork.

3. 03

   Connect a compatible provider for physical products

   For Shopify physical products, connect the exact compatible provider destination. For Etsy physical products, connect the exact Gelato store or Printify shop already linked to that Etsy shop. Printful creates a provider-only product and is not an Etsy publication route.

4. 04

   Configure copy and one representative template

   Choose optional generation or seller-written copy, then enable one provider template with the intended variants, placement, and prices. The signed-in Copy settings show the available method and any usage limits or billing before generation. Mac requires a personal Anthropic key. Inspect every copy field after the controlled drop.

5. 05

   Admit one artwork

   Open Drop Zone, confirm the Dropping to badge, then drag, choose, or paste one artwork. A transient or retry-safe unsaved browser upload failure can receive up to three total attempts with the same upload token. The Live Log names each target and stage after admission.

6. 06

   Inspect the authoritative result

   Open the external records named for the route. Compatible Gelato and Printify routes can produce provider and storefront records. Printful ends with a provider-only product. Etsy digital downloads publish directly through Etsy. Verify the listing, preview, and buyer download in the exact Etsy shop.

Expected result

The Live Log names the artwork, target, and state. Published is route-specific, not universal proof of a live listing. Printify uses an accepted publish request without storefront readback, and legacy routes can prove less. Verify the storefront unless the route guide names stronger readback. Printful remains provider-only. A browser-visible failure is not a complete durable record, so preserve its lines and verify external state before retrying only that target.

Good to know

• A provider product is not always a storefront listing. The Printful route is provider-only.
• A create response does not prove fulfillment readiness, print quality, or every variant connection. Inspect the external records and order a sample.
• Web demo drops use the real route with a watermark and can create external records. The demo is not available in the Mac app.
• One upload request is limited to 3 GiB total and 200 files. Each artwork file is limited to 2 GiB. The resolved storage, provider, and storefront can set lower limits.
• Batch copy and routing sheets can be CSV or XLSX. JSON sidecars and CSV or XLSX sheets are each limited to 2 MiB at upload.
• A Web account has 3 demo upload requests containing artwork. The direct checkout advertises $39 per month for Web and $399 once for Mac, and uses those amounts when no Stripe Price ID is configured. When a Price ID is configured, the external Stripe Price object controls the amount, so confirm the final charge in Checkout. A Mac purchase does not include Hosted Web. The stated 14-day money-back policy is not enforced by the backend.
• TikTok Shop is not available to ArtDrop customers. It was submitted for app review July 24, 2026 and remains pending. Data Security and Privacy passed, with zero open items. Approval alone will not make the feature live. Organic posting to Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, and Pinterest is not available in the current customer setup. Do not rely on the Social controls to start or stop posts. Pinterest is not currently available through ArtDrop. ArtDrop does not currently create Product Pins, publish Pinterest catalogs, create a Pinterest storefront, or save Pins to boards.
• The Web demo uses a 3-drop counter. After a request saves at least one artwork file, the route rechecks demo mode and, if it is still active, attempts one increment. A failed counter update does not fail the accepted upload response, so the counter is not a hard maximum. Web demo requests use the real route with a watermark. The demo is not available in the Mac app.
• Browser upload uses at most three total attempts and retries only transient or contract-proven unsaved outcomes. Explicit cancel, permanent failures, and ambiguous persisted outcomes are not blindly replayed.

Troubleshooting

• Wrong target on the Dropping to badge? Correct the store or fan-out selection before admitting another image.
• A general stage failed? Read the named Live Log error, correct that stage, and reconcile the provider or storefront before another create.
• A pending storefront-sync poll timed out? Inspect both external services, then use Retry Sync only on that Needs Attention item. Dismiss only removes the pending item from ArtDrop.
• A Printful storefront listing is missing? That is the documented provider-only result. Do not bypass the Shopify-connected-store guard.
• Storage route was unexpected? The UI directly tests B2 and the Shopify connection, not R2, Dropbox, Google Drive, or Shopify Files storage. Save the required credentials, verify one controlled file, and remove or revoke unused higher-priority credentials.
• A provider product exists but no storefront listing appears? Check the route boundary before retrying. Printful is provider-only. Gelato V2 performs its connection readback only during creation; if every intended variant is not proven then, ArtDrop leaves the Shopify product unpublished and does not later recheck it after manual Connect or Bulk Connect.

How to undo or clean up

Stop future use by disabling the template or disconnecting the route. Remove a test product, listing, or stored file separately in every external service that owns a created record.