FastStore

FastStore is VTEX's official fullstack toolkit for building high-performance, headless storefronts on the VTEX platform. It is positioned as "the ultimate toolkit for building blazing-fast storefronts," built on Jamstack architecture using React, Next.js, TypeScript, and GraphQL. As of May 2026, VTEX recommends FastStore v4 for all new storefront implementations. (Source: VTEX Developers — Getting started with storefront solutions)

What it is

FastStore is one of three VTEX storefront options:

Option	Architecture	Status
FastStore (this page)	Headless Jamstack / Next.js	Recommended for all new projects (as-of 2026-05-07)
Store Framework	VTEX IO server-side rendering, block-based	Actively maintained
Legacy CMS Portal	Monolithic	No longer available to new VTEX stores

Source: VTEX Developers — Getting started with storefront solutions

FastStore separates the shopping experience from the platform's commerce services, allowing custom storefronts to integrate with VTEX's catalog, search, checkout, and other capabilities via GraphQL APIs. (Source: e-Plus Agency — VTEX FastStore Implementation, published 2024-08-07, updated 2026-07-28)

Architecture

Technology stack

TypeScript — primary language (81.3% of the GitHub monorepo, as-of 2026-08-31)
React — UI component layer
Next.js — framework (v16 as of FastStore v4, internally managed by @faststore/cli)
GraphQL — data fetching layer; only data that will be used is requested, reducing network traffic
Node.js — runtime (Node 24 as of FastStore v4)
Sass/SCSS — styling (16.3% of monorepo, as-of 2026-08-31)

Source: GitHub — vtex/faststore (as-of 2026-08-31); VTEX Developers

Monorepo packages

Package	Role
`@faststore/core`	Bundled source code — components, pages, SDK logic, server-side utilities; the VTEX-managed layer
`@faststore/api`	GraphQL API layer connecting to VTEX; defines data contracts and handles fetching/mutations
`@faststore/sdk`	Lightweight state management for analytics, cart, search, and user sessions; GA4-compatible
`@faststore/ui`	Design tokens, global styles, basic UI components (Sass-based design system)
`@faststore/cli`	CLI for initializing projects, running dev servers, building, and syncing GraphQL schemas and CMS data

Source: GitHub — vtex/faststore README; VTEX Developers

Key architectural principles

Jamstack model: pre-rendered content served from CDN, made dynamic through APIs and serverless functions. Supports SSG (static generation), SSR (server-side rendering), and dynamic content per page type.
Separation of concerns: VTEX-managed code lives in @faststore/core; store-specific customizations live in the /src folder. Introduced from v2 onwards.
Partytown: offloads third-party scripts to a web worker, away from the main thread, to reduce performance degradation. As of FastStore v4.3.0 (June 2026), migrated from @builder.io/partytown to @qwik.dev/partytown.
WebOps: VTEX's managed CI/CD platform handles the full storefront lifecycle — GitHub integration, build, quality-gate checks, Lighthouse CI, and deployment. Required for v3 and v4.

Source: VTEX Developers — Getting started with storefront solutions; GitHub — vtex/faststore AGENTS.md

VTEX IO app compatibility

FastStore does not support VTEX IO frontend apps (React-based apps that manipulate components). Backend VTEX IO apps can integrate via API Extensions. Merchants with significant VTEX IO frontend app investments face re-implementation work before migrating to FastStore. (Source: VTEX Developers — Getting started with storefront solutions)

Version history and support

Version	Framework	Status	New projects
v1	Gatsby or Next.js	No longer updated; limited support only	Not supported
v2	Next.js	No longer updated; limited support only	Upgrade to v4
v3	Next.js	Actively maintained; full support	Upgrade to v4 recommended
v4	Next.js 16	Actively maintained; full support	Recommended for all new implementations (as-of 2026-05-07)

Source: VTEX Developers — FastStore versions and support levels

Recent updates (2024–2026)

v4.4.0 — 2026-07-09

CMS-backed My Account pages for B2B Buyer Portal (Closed Beta) with localization support
Intelligent Search locale now synced with URL on client-side navigation (fixes stale locale data)
Improved cms-sync command: auto-detects CMS setup and runs appropriate flow
i18n support for B2B Buyer Portal navigation preserving active locale across redirects

Source: VTEX Developers — FastStore v4.4.0 Release Notes (2026-07-09)

v4.3.0 — 2026-06-23

Password protection flow for gated storefront access
QuickOrder file upload via VTEX Order Entry Service (OES) with AI-assisted extraction
GraphQL BFF error propagation fix: returns actual upstream HTTP status codes instead of always 500
Partytown migrated from @builder.io/partytown to @qwik.dev/partytown@^0.14.0

v4.2.0 — 2026-06-22 (performance-focused)

PLP Core Web Vitals improvements: ProductListingPage injects preload link for first product card image; ProductGrid sets fetchPriority: 'high' on first row (up to 4 images)
CLS reduction: ProductGallery converted from React.lazy dynamic import to static import (SSR)
useScreenResize uses isomorphic useLayoutEffect (resolves SSR hydration mismatch)
PLP refetch optimization: first-page refetch anchored to per-mount page-load timestamp, eliminating unnecessary client-side refetch after SSR hydration

Source: GitHub — vtex/faststore releases v4.2.0

v4.1.0 (FastStore v4 launch) — 2026-05-07

Next.js upgraded to v16, now internally managed by @faststore/cli
Node.js runtime updated to Node 24
GraphQL becomes an explicit project dependency
Native localization (Closed Beta): multi-locale content management, multi-locale catalog, multiple currencies via trade policies/sales channels, default locale fallback

Source: VTEX Developers — FastStore v4 Release Notes (2026-05-07)

Notable 2025 updates

UTM Tracking (June 2025): FastStore now captures UTM and UTMi parameters across the customer journey (entry → search → checkout); session and segmentation cookies forwarded in search requests. Opt-in. (Source: VTEX Developers — Release Notes 2025-06-05)
B2B FastStore announced (September 2024, VTEX Vision Fall 2024): dedicated B2B fast composable storefront solution announced. (Source: VTEX Press — Vision Fall 2024)

Performance

FastStore targets high Core Web Vitals and Lighthouse scores as an explicit design goal.

VTEX officially states: "With FastStore and by following recommended practices, you can achieve outstanding performance on your store website (90+ on Google PageSpeed Insights)." (as-of 2026-08-31) (Source: VTEX Developers — Getting started with Lighthouse)
e-Plus (certified VTEX partner, updated 2026-07-28) states benchmark targets for their FastStore implementations: LCP 1.2s, INP 85ms, CLS 0.02, overall PageSpeed ~95/100. They note these are benchmarks, not guarantees, and results depend on content, integrations, and implementation decisions. (as-of 2026-07-28) (Source: e-Plus Agency — VTEX FastStore Implementation)
FastStore WebOps CI/CD includes Lighthouse CI quality gates — performance regressions in bundle size, Lighthouse scores, or Core Web Vitals block merges by design. (Source: GitHub — vtex/faststore AGENTS.md)

Feature availability and gaps

Feature	FastStore	Store Framework
Performance-first headless Jamstack	✅	❌
VTEX IO frontend apps	❌	✅
B2B Buyer Portal	🔒 Closed Beta (as-of 2026-07-09)	✅ GA
Cross-border / multi-language	🔒 Closed Beta (as-of 2026-05-07)	✅
Abandoned Cart	Limited — requires custom implementation	✅
Master Data integration	Limited — requires custom implementation	✅

Source: VTEX Developers — Getting started with storefront solutions; FastStore v4.4.0 Release Notes

Adoption and ecosystem

FastStore is VTEX-only; it cannot be used with other commerce platforms. By contrast, Shopify Hydrogen is Shopify-only. They address the same architectural need (headless composable storefront) but for different platform ecosystems. (Source: Laioutr.com — Native Shop System Frontends Compared)
No public data exists on the total number of FastStore deployments or what percentage of the VTEX client base is currently live on FastStore. (Verified absence — developers.vtex.com, GitHub, agency sources checked 2026-08-31.)
Implementation expertise is not yet widely distributed: "Known Online" describes itself as "one of the few agencies in Latin America certified in VTEX FastStore." (as-of 2026-08-31) (Source: Known Online blog)
The VTEX platform (which FastStore builds on) commands strong market share in Latin America — Mexico, Colombia, Argentina — and targets enterprises with annual revenues typically above $50M. (Source: MatrixBCG.com — VTEX customer demographics)
GitHub (as-of 2026-08-31): 215 stars, 79 forks, 88 watchers, 5,578 commits, 31 open issues, 43 open PRs. Community is relatively small; the developer community appears concentrated in VTEX's private partner Slack/portal rather than public forums. (Source: GitHub — vtex/faststore)

Contradictions

Key terms

Term	Meaning
Jamstack	Architecture: JavaScript + APIs + pre-rendered Markup; FastStore's deployment model
WebOps	VTEX's managed CI/CD and deployment platform for FastStore projects
`@faststore/core`	The VTEX-managed source code layer; store customizations live separately in `/src`
`@faststore/cli`	CLI tool that manages FastStore dependencies (including Next.js version) and build commands
VTEX IO	VTEX's older server-side rendering platform; FastStore IO frontend apps are not compatible
Partytown	Library that offloads third-party scripts to a web worker; used by FastStore for performance
B2B Buyer Portal	B2B-specific FastStore functionality; in Closed Beta as of July 2026
WebOps	VTEX's managed CI/CD + quality gate platform for FastStore; handles build, deploy, Lighthouse gates

Next frontier

Concepts referenced in this page that don't yet have vault pages: Jamstack, WebOps