# Plain Remix app, not Shopify. Is the Hydrogen SDK usable or what are my options?

Asked by Beatrice Hall on 2026-07-02. Tags: remix, sdk, ssr.

Saw that the Croct Hydrogen SDK docs mention Remix, which got my hopes up. My app
is plain Remix, no Shopify anywhere.

Does the Hydrogen SDK work outside a Shopify storefront? And if not, how are
people integrating Croct in Remix loaders today? i would prefer server-side so
the content is in the first render.

## 1 answer

### Answer from Tomasz Nowicki (2026-07-02)

The Hydrogen SDK is built specifically for Shopify Hydrogen (on React Router 7
or Remix) and assumes the storefront context, Shopify analytics events, customer
accounts, the consent API, all of it. It mentions Remix because Hydrogen is
built on Remix, not because it targets general Remix apps. So no, it is not the
fit for your case.

Two practical paths today:

1. Server-side: call the HTTP Content API from your loaders. It is
   `POST https://api.croct.io/external/web/content` with an `X-Api-Key` header
   and a body like `{slotId, version, context: {page: {url}}}`. Content lands
   in the loader data, so it is in the first render with no flash of default
   content. This is what I would do.

2. Client-side: use `@croct/plug-react` inside your route components. Simpler
   wiring, but content resolves after hydration, so you accept a brief default
   state before the personalized content appears.

I run option 1 in production on a non-Shopify Remix app and it has been
uneventful, which is the best compliment I can give infrastructure.

#### Reply from Beatrice Hall (2026-07-03)

that settles it, loader plus Content API it is. Thanks for the clear
breakdown.