Release notes

We are excited to announce the release of Catalyst v1.2, which brings a significant performance boost for Vercel-hosted Catalyst storefronts, a new Next.js version, and other improvements.

Next.js 15.5

Catalyst v1.2 has been updated to Next.js 15.5. This upgrade brings the latest advancements from the Next.js framework, including improved TypeScript tooling, and stable Node.js middleware. Developers can now leverage the newest features and performance optimizations offered by Next.js 15.5 directly within Catalyst.

Performance Improvements with Runtime Cache

We have implemented Vercel Runtime Cache to significantly boost application performance, particularly for the with-routes middleware. Previously, caching for this middleware required an extra KV dependency in order to optimize the performance. Now, using Runtime Cache, we have removed the need for any 3rd-party dependencies when hosting on Vercel, and response time is greatly improved, especially TTFB.

Here's an example of a performance test showing a <100ms TTFB when using Runtime Cache

https://www.webpagetest.org/result/250823\_YiDcD5\_51T/

The same storefront achieves these TTFB results even internationally, in Sydney:

https://www.webpagetest.org/result/250823\_YiDc8D\_67P/

This gives the best of both worlds for Catalyst users—freedom to use any URLs they like for their products, even URLs that live directly on the root—with no requirement to prefix them with something like /p/ as you would need with typical Next.js apps. With this Runtime Cache release, there is now no performance penalty for this benefit nor any additional complexity when hosting on Vercel.

For other hosting environments such as Docker deployments, we still recommend using a cache adapter, and we have kept our Upstash adapter around as a nice, compatible option. You may also choose to implement a direct Redis adapter, which is now possible with support for Node.js middleware in Next 15.5. We may provide one natively in a future release.

As the adapter for Vercel KV is no longer needed, it has been removed. After upgrading to this release, you can remove Vercel KV or Upstash from your Vercel project, unless you’re using them for other purposes outside of this middleware.

Preconnect to checkout origin

Catalyst will now return a rel=”preconnect” link tag on the cart page, to help the browser pre-connect to the checkout origin. This will make redirecting to checkout a little faster. We are exploring additional options to improve the performance of the checkout redirect in future releases.

Makeswift Runtime Upgraded to 0.25.0 to enable Share Links

The Makeswift Runtime has been bumped to 0.25.0 in order to unlock compatibility with Next.js 15.5, which provides auto-generated types for routes and pages. Runtime 0.25.0 also enables Makeswift's new Share Links feature which allows users to share previews of their website's different versions with team members or stakeholders via a shareable link for collaboration and feedback.

Site theme text bug fixed

Fixed a small bug where some CSS variables were incorrectly named causing changes to the site theme to not properly update colors in UI components.

Getting Started

We have published new tags for the Core, Makeswift, and B2B versions of Catalyst. Target these tags to pull the latest code:

@bigcommerce/catalyst-core@1.2.0

@bigcommerce/catalyst-makeswift@1.2.0

@bigcommerce/catalyst-b2b-buyer-portal@1.2.0

And as always, you can pull the latest stable release with these tags:

@bigcommerce/catalyst-core@latest

@bigcommerce/catalyst-makeswift@latest

@bigcommerce/catalyst-b2b-buyer-portal@latest

🚀 Catalyst Migration Documentation Has Moved

We’ve relocated our Catalyst Documentation from catalyst.dev/docs to the developer center.

👉 You can now find all migrated documentation here:
developer.bigcommerce.com/docs/storefront/catalyst

✅ Automatic redirects are in place, so your old bookmarks and links will continue to work.
✅ The docs have also been updated to match the Developer Center format, giving you a more consistent experience with the rest of BigCommerce documentation.

1. Checkout & API Improvements

• DEVDOCS-6341 | Checkout - Enhanced Checkout URL

  • Apps or AI agents can use the Checkout URL format to create a new cart, add products, and direct a shopper to your BigCommerce storefront’s checkout.

• Mark order_taxes.tax_rate_id as deprecated, document sales_tax_id

  • To support a wider range of use cases, the order_taxes.tax_rate_id (int) is now deprecated and will be removed in the near future. Please update to use the order_taxes.sales_tax_id (string) field.

2. B2B Features & Theme Location

• B2B Features

  • DEVDOCS-6241 - Content Refresh - "Address" (S2S)

  • DEVDOCS-6245 - S2S Payments content refresh

  • DEVDOCS-6250 - Content Refresh - "Users" (S2S)

  • DEVDOCS-6253 - Content Refresh - "Orders" (Storefront)

  • As part of our ongoing content refresh for B2B Edition developer documentation, we've fully refreshed the documentation. This includes:

    • New, thorough descriptive copy

    • Request body examples with relevant fields

    • Inclusion of previously-missing fields for all endpoints

• Theme location

  • DEVDOCS-6395 - Create article to host B2B Edition theme location information

    • Added missing theme file name to the B2B element found in /templates/pages/order-confirmation.html

⠀3. Control Panel GraphQL Update

• DEVDOCS-6410 - Remove password connected mutations

  • To enhance security, we've removed the ability to create a control panel user account with password via GraphQL. Users can still be added to an account using the non-password linked mutation.

⠀4. Billing and Channels

• DEVDOCS-6442 - proration update for UB

  • We've adjusted the way cancellation is managed for unified billing so that cancellations post-trial and pre-billing cycle will be prorated instead of preventing cancellation.

• DEVDOCS-6463 - add microsoft to channels docs with type marketing

  • Updated channel docs to include the microsoft platform with type marketing

• Style Guide

  • Restore indentation and quote rules to match BC Sass Style Guide #2554

  • Update code standards based on updated linter expectancies #2548

• Security: Patch security vulnerabilities #2548

Promotions

• Promotions now support multiple statuses via the Promotions API, including Draft, Active, and Inactive.

• We now have support for bulk coupon code generation via the Promotions API

For more information, check out the Promotions API documentation.

Translations

• We’ve added new filtering and retrieval options to our Translations queries and mutations through GraphQL.

  • Groups of translations are available via resourceId for Brands, Categories, and Locations. See our Localization Guide for more information.

  • Products are filterable in multi-language stores via product name, description, and search keywords. See Faceted Search for more information

B2B Edition

• Content Refresh! As part of our ongoing content refresh for B2B Edition developer documentation, we've fully refreshed the Server-to-Server Quotes documentation. This includes

  • New, thorough descriptive copy

  • Explanation of legacy information fields

  • Inclusion of previously-missing fields for all endpoints

Attention: We’ve temporarily rolled back the Page Widgets API endpoints while we investigate an issue affecting a subset of stores. Stores that were using these endpoints prior to July 22 should remain unaffected and can continue using them as usual.

We’ll share more updates as soon as they’re available.

Catalyst 1.0 – Production-Ready. Developer-First.

Catalyst 1.0 is officially released, offering a production-ready, developer-focused platform with enhanced performance and a suite of new features. Read more about it in our Developer Community Resource Hub: Catalyst 1.0 is LIVE

• Visual Building with Makeswift: Integrate drag-and-drop page editing for diverse users.

• VIBES Design System: Introduce Soul VIBE, a native ecommerce UI framework with themeable components and an "Electric" default theme.

• Enhanced Theming: Utilize Tailwind CSS with HSL-based CSS variables for flexible and easily customizable themes.

• Performance with Partial Prerendering (PPR): Leverage Next.js for hybrid-rendered pages, optimizing speed while maintaining real-time data.

• New Core Features: Support wishlists, multi-language storefronts, and a robust functional test suite.

Design System & BigDesign Updates

• BigDesign Landing Page

  Consolidated and refreshed all information about BigDesign resources into a new landing page, improving navigation and preparing for future documentation updates.

B2B Documentation

• Content Refresh

  • Storefront Catalog

    Refreshed Storefront Catalog documentation, adding new examples, detailed field/parameter descriptions, and cross-references to other API systems.

  • Storefront Quotes

    Refreshed Storefront Quotes documentation, adding new examples, detailed field/parameter descriptions, and cross-references to other API systems.

  • Server-to-Server Channel

    Refreshed Server-to-Server Channels documentation, adding new examples, detailed field/parameter descriptions, and cross-references to other API systems.

  • Server-to-Server Orders

    Refreshed Server-to-Server Orders documentation, adding new examples, detailed field/parameter descriptions, and cross-references to other API systems.

• Catalyst with B2B Edition

  Updated documentation for creating a Catalyst channel with B2B Buyer Portal, running both apps locally, and customizing the buyer portal.

Checkout, Channel, Tax, and API Documentation

• Unified Billing Examples

  Clarified guidance in Unified Billing documentation regarding protections around checkout links.

• Checkouts API

  Added documentation for channel-specific checkout settings endpoints, previously undocumented.

• Tax Providers

  Added a new section with best practices for building resilient Tax Provider API integrations.

New References

• Storefront Scripts

  Fetching Storefront Scripts is now supported via the GraphQL API. We’ve added a guide page for the retrieval and usage of those scripts!

• Catalog Migration

  Created new opinionated docs about catalog migration and updated the menu to include it. This extends our getting started guide with best practices and a process overview.

Catalyst Documentation Updates

• Multi-Storefront Setup Guide

  This guide walks you through setting up a Catalyst application that utilizes multiple storefronts to customize the shopping experience based on a chosen locale including: language translations, products, and pricing features.

• New Wishlists Documentation

  This implementation enables customers to save products to one or more wishlists directly from the Product Detail Page (PDP), manage those wishlists under their account, and optionally share them publicly.

API Reference & Content Updates (Docs)

• Update authentication.yaml (#956)
  Fixed an error in the API path for S2S Authentication in B2B Edition APIs, correcting the server path.

• Fix URL paths in "Quote" (S2S) (#955)
  Fixed relative URL paths on the "Quote" overview page so that links now direct to the correct endpoint sections.

• Correct limits of total custom widget templates (#950, #949)
  Updated documentation to clarify widget template limits: now specifying 1000 per channel and 5000 across all channels.

• Content Refresh - SF Super Admin (#936)
  Restructured documentation for readability, included known error messages for GET requests, and added descriptive content for endpoints.

Customer Tax Properties

• We've added Customer Tax Properties and updated some functionality of tax properties generally. This update allows the inclusion of customer data, enhancing your ability to pull fully custom tax quotes directly from providers.

• We've also updated some guidance surrounding Tax providers

B2B Edition Docs

• As part of our ongoing documentation refresh, the following pages have been updated

  • Server-to-Server

    • Sales Staff

    • Quotes

  • Storefront Store Settings

  • Best Practices

  • Non-Catalyst Channel Setup

Other Updates

• Customer Metafields - Thanks to feedback provided by one of our community members, we've improved our documentation of Customer Metafields!

• Best Practices - We've added guidance surrounding the use of cursor pagination as a more efficient approach to data retrieval.

• Pricing Update - You can now use `customer_id` to run pricing requests, and `customer_group_id` is no longer a required field.

Admin GraphQL Updates

• New Guide: Translations Admin GraphQL API (Beta) - A new guide is now available to help merchants localize their Catalyst storefronts more efficiently. This API enables a consistent and seamless shopping experience across multiple languages.

  

• Limitation - Introduced a limit to the number of locales you can configure in the Locales Configuration settings.

Webhooks Update

• Expanded Webhook Tools - We added additional third-party webhook tools to the Tools list for greater flexibility and integration support.

Enhancement

• Channels API Update - We updated the Channels V3 schema to reflect the deprecation of the is_enabled field.

Data Events Update

• Using Data Events in the GraphQL Storefront API - A new article has been published to guide you through enabling native analytics for headless storefronts via the GraphQL Storefront API.

Storefront Update

• Choosing the right storefront for your business - Discover a new resource to help you evaluate and select the storefront solution that best fits your business needs.

Catalyst Update

• Building Catalyst-compatible apps - A new article is now available, outlining best practices and guidance for developing apps that are compatible with Catalyst.

Enhancements & Improvements

• Login with a JWT - We've clarified that you can authenticate a logged-in customer using either the Customer Login API or the loginWithCustomerLoginJWT mutation for secure access.

• Login mutation error handling - Added a possible error message that may be returned when requesting a customerAccessToken using login mutations from the browser, improving transparency for developers.

• B2B Edition for Stencil - We've significantly revised the article to reflect its focus on the legacy Stencil storefront. It now includes detailed descriptions of different storefront experiences and various customization examples.

• Webhook Events -

  • Added webhook platform limitations.

  • Cleaned up duplicate content by removing a redundant callback article.

  • Standardized table formatting across Events, Channel events, and Inventory and locations events sections for improved readability.