The short version
Start your first Shopify Flow workflow from a template that matches one job, replace its placeholder recipients and tags, and run a test before you turn it on.
Pick Create event as the test source: it simulates the trigger on real store data, and a test sends no notifications and changes nothing in your live store.
Flow is a free app on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans, and the low-stock template makes the easiest first build because once it is on, you can see whether its email arrives.
If an edit goes wrong, restore an earlier version from the workflow's version history.
What a Shopify Flow Workflow Is Made Of
Key takeaway
Shopify Flow is Shopify's automation app, in Shopify's words a platform you use "to automate tasks and processes within your store and across your apps." It is not a built-in admin section: you install the free Shopify Flow app from the Shopify App Store first, and after that it sits in your admin under Apps > Flow.
- Apps
- Flow
One naming trap before you search for help: the flows in Klaviyo are that email platform's own automations, a different product. Everything on this page is about Shopify Flow.
The Five Building Blocks
Key takeaway
Shopify's rule for the skeleton is short: a workflow "can have only 1 trigger at a time, but can have any number of conditions or actions that occur after that trigger happens." The table lists the five parts you meet in the editor and the limit each one carries.
Two of those limits shape a design before you start. A Wait step can hold a run for at most 90 days per workflow, and a Scheduled time trigger fires at most once every 10 minutes.
The five building blocks of a Flow workflow
| Block | What it does | The limit to know before you build |
|---|---|---|
| Trigger | The event that starts the workflow, such as an order being created, an inventory quantity changing, or an event sent by an app. | One trigger per workflow; any number of conditions and actions can follow it. |
| Condition | Checks data before the next step runs. AND needs every check to be true; OR needs at least one. | Text comparisons inside conditions are not case sensitive. |
| Action | Makes a change in your store, changes data inside the workflow, or does something with an external app or service. | A test run stops at the first action that would make a change. |
| Wait | Pauses the run before the next condition or action. | Up to 90 days per workflow and no more than 40 wait steps; store data is read again when the run resumes. |
| Scheduled time | A trigger that starts runs on a schedule instead of a store event. | Runs at most once every 10 minutes and brings no store data with it, so add a Get data step (and For each for a list). |
Source: Shopify Help Center (Create a workflow, Understanding conditions, Conditions, Actions, Wait and Scheduled time reference pages), read October 19, 2026.
Which Plans Have Flow
Key takeaway
Shopify's Flow overview states that Flow is a free app available on the Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Plus plans, and Shopify's Flow marketing page names the same four. Starter is the gap: no Flow page we read on October 19, 2026 (the Help Center's Flow section, Shopify's Flow marketing page, the App Store listing and Shopify's changelog feeds) names Starter as either included or excluded.
Usage limits follow your plan's API limits, and a few actions carry their own plan floor: Send HTTP request works only on Grow, Advanced and Plus, and tasks created by custom partner apps work only on Plus. If those floors could decide your plan, the two gates inside Flow are laid out plan by plan in our automation-layer comparison.
Which Template Fits the Job You're Automating?
Key takeaway
Shopify's template library holds what its workflow examples page calls "hundreds of examples", and as of October 2026 that page groups its picks into 12 categories: B2B, Buyer experience, Custom data, Customer, Error monitoring, Fulfillment, Inventory and merch, Loyalty, Orders, Payment reminder, Promotion and Risk. They are examples to start from, not the full catalogue, and Shopify notes that some templates fit more than one category.
Five common jobs make a good start. Find yours, then read the last column before you install anything.
Five common jobs and where to start
| Your job | Trigger or action to look for | Check before you turn it on |
|---|---|---|
| Email yourself when stock runs low | Trigger: Product variant inventory quantity changed | Compare the current quantity and the prior quantity, or the email repeats with every order until you restock. |
| Hold or cancel high-risk orders | Trigger: Order risk analyzed | Use Order risk analyzed rather than Order created. It reads Shopify's risk analysis only; risk results from third-party apps aren't used. |
| Tag customers when they sign up, order or cancel | Customer templates: customer and order triggers with Add customer tags | Don't use the Add customer tags action in a workflow that starts with the Customer tags added trigger: Shopify says doing so makes the workflow run forever and might get your workflows throttled. |
| Buy shipping labels automatically | Action: Purchase shipping label | One label per fulfillment order per run, and the action won't run for orders assigned to a third-party fulfillment service. |
| Hear when a workflow fails | Trigger: Workflow error occurred | The trigger runs only once per workflow version within 30 days, so repeat failures in that window send no new alert; it runs again if the workflow is edited and fails again, or fails more than 30 days later. |
Source: Shopify Help Center (Examples of workflows and the trigger and action pages named in each row), read October 19, 2026.
For risk workflows, our fraud-analysis guide walks through Flow's risk templates and the payment capture settings they depend on.
Label buying has one more boundary than the table can hold. Whether Flow can buy your shipping labels, and which orders it leaves alone, has its own answer.
If the job on your mind is suspending or removing staff accounts when someone leaves, that question is answered separately.
Template, Blank Canvas or Sidekick: Three Ways to Start
Key takeaway
All three routes end in the same editor, so the choice is only about where your first draft comes from.
- A template. Shopify describes a template as "a pre-made workflow created by Shopify that you can customize and use." It is the fastest route when the job table above has your row.
- A blank workflow. In Flow, click Create workflow, then Select a trigger, and add conditions and actions after it. Use it when no template comes close.
- Sidekick. Shopify's assistant can generate a workflow from a description, but only on a desktop device. The workflows it generates are Inactive by default, and Shopify warns that it "might omit business-specific logic in complex workflows."
Sidekick saves typing, not checking. How to word the request so the draft needs less fixing is covered on its own page; whatever it produces stays Inactive until you turn it on, and still goes through the test and the checklist below.
When a Template Needs Another App
Key takeaway
Shopify warns that "Many templates use triggers and actions that use apps." If the template you picked names an app you have not installed, that step has nothing to run. Shopify keeps a list of the apps that work with Flow, with the triggers and actions each one adds.
Some services need no extra app at all. Flow's built-in connectors add a row to a Google Sheets spreadsheet, generate text with OpenAI (using your own OpenAI API key) and send Slack messages.
One trap with app triggers: Shopify's troubleshooting guidance notes that "some triggers created by apps don't provide the required Shopify resource data." If a condition needs order or customer fields the app does not send, you might be able to fetch them with a Get data step, and you must loop over any list it returns with For each; if Get data isn't an option, ask the app developer whether they can change the trigger to provide the data.
Build Your First Workflow From a Template
Key takeaway
A template does most of the wiring. Your work is the three things it cannot know: who should hear about it, which tags you use, and which apps you run.
Pick and Open a Template
Key takeaway
- In your Shopify admin, go to Apps > Flow.
- Click Browse templates and narrow the list to the category that fits your job, for example Inventory and merch.
- Open a template to read what its trigger, conditions and actions do.
- Click Install. The template opens in the editor with the values Shopify ships, which you replace in the next step.
- Apps
- Flow
- Browse templates
Shopify Academy's short walkthrough from April 2025 shows the same route on screen, from the template library to an edited workflow.
What to Change Before You Turn It On
Key takeaway
Shopify's instruction for templates is direct: "Before you activate your workflow, edit the workflow and include the values that you want to use." Messages come first, because a template ships with someone else's idea of who should get the email:
If a workflow sends messages, then ensure that you change the recipient information, such as the email address.
Tags come next. If the workflow adds tags to customers or orders, check that they are the tags your store already uses, so the workflow writes the tags you actually filter on.
Then clear the editor's warnings. A step that needs attention carries a Review banner, and Shopify is explicit that if one "isn't resolved before attempting to activate the workflow, then the step displays as an error and the workflow won't activate."
- Apps
- Flow
Two editor rules shape how you trim a template. Deleting a step can't be undone, and branches never merge back, because "Each step can have only 1 preceding step." If two paths need the same final action, each path carries its own copy of it.
Worked Example: A Low-Stock Email That Doesn't Repeat
Key takeaway
The low-stock template runs on the Product variant inventory quantity changed trigger and emails you when a variant's inventory becomes low. It makes a good first workflow because you can see the result: an email arrives, or it does not.
The trap is in the condition. Shopify's examples page warns: "If you check only the current inventory amount, then your reorder email is sent each time the product is ordered until the product is restocked."
The same page shows why the prior check matters, using 5 as the reorder point: "There are 7 T-shirts in your store and Jose orders 2 T-shirts. The inventory is now 5, so a reorder email is sent. Later, Karim orders 1 T-shirt. The inventory is now 4, but no reorder email is sent."
The template in the library, shown below as it looked in October 2026, pairs a current quantity less than or equal to 20 with a prior quantity greater than 20, so only the change that first brings stock to 20 or below sends the email.
The examples page's own setup sentence for 5 tells you to set the prior quantity "to less than 5", the opposite way round from the template and from that page's T-shirt numbers, so copy the operators from the template, replace only the number in both conditions with your own reorder point, and change the recipient before you turn the workflow on.
- Apps
- Flow
- Browse templates
The template also has a few neighbours in the library. How the low-stock template works, and which related templates sit beside it, has its own answer.
Conditions: AND, OR and the Traps in Tags and Order Data
Key takeaway
A condition decides whether the steps after it run. In Shopify's definition, AND means "all variables must be true" and OR means "at least 1 variable must be true" for the condition as a whole to pass.
Text is forgiving inside a condition. Shopify's conditions reference says: "Comparisons using string values aren't case sensitive."
Tags carry a size limit of their own. Shopify warns that workflows with tag conditions "might not work if there are more than 250 tags associated with the order, product, or customer."
The Add order tags action page says "Tags are case sensitive." The Add customer tags action page says "Tags are not case sensitive." We read both on October 19, 2026.
Until the two pages agree, type each tag exactly the same way everywhere it appears: in the action that adds it, in any condition that checks it and in the segments that use it. Then the result does not depend on which page is right.
Orders and draft orders are separate to Flow. Shopify states that they "are treated separately", so a workflow built for orders does not act on a draft order.
Order data also has a timing catch. Some order fields are filled in after the order is created, with fulfillments, UTM details and risk among them, so a workflow that fires the moment an order exists can find them not yet populated. Shopify's advice:
When possible, use a trigger that starts workflows when a condition is fulfilled other than the creation of an order.
For risk, that means Order risk analyzed rather than Order created. If you would rather watch the editor before building, Shopify Academy's fifteen-minute session from May 2025 builds a custom workflow from a blank canvas, conditions included.
How Do You Test a Shopify Flow Workflow Before It Runs?
Key takeaway
Flow has a proper test mode, and Shopify recommends using it: "Before you activate a workflow, consider testing the workflow with test event data to confirm that the workflow functions as expected." What makes a test safe is what it refuses to do:
A workflow test doesn't take actions such as sending notifications, updating orders or products, or making any changes to your live store data.
A test run stops at the first action that tries to make a change, which Shopify says it does "to prevent unintended changes." Everything before that point, from the trigger data to your conditions and any Liquid, runs on real data, so you see which path the workflow would take.
Record, Create or Generate: Where the Test Event Comes From
Key takeaway
A test needs an event to run on. Shopify lists "3 ways to get trigger event data", depending on whether you want to use real or simulated store data:
Three sources of test events
| Test event source | What it uses | What changes in your store |
|---|---|---|
| Record events | Turns on a test mode that watches for live events on your store. You can also perform a live action yourself in another tab, such as placing a real order to test the Order created trigger. | The test run changes nothing, but the action you take to trigger it is real: an order you place is a real order. |
| Create event | A simulated event built from real data already in your store. | Nothing. Shopify says it triggers the workflow without actually making any changes to your store. |
| Generate events (Sidekick) | Sidekick builds test events from data your store already holds. | No new store activity is needed to get the event. |
Source: Shopify Help Center (Test a workflow) and the Shopify Changelog, read October 19, 2026.
For a first workflow, Create event is the low-risk choice, because nothing in your store moves. Use Record events when you need a brand-new event, and remember that an order you place to trigger it is a real order in your admin.
- Apps
- Flow
What a Test Run Won't Show You
Key takeaway
- No history. "The workflow's Recent runs list doesn't include test workflow runs." Note what the test showed before you close it.
- No outside calls. Actions that connect to external services, such as Send HTTP request, show a configuration preview and a Can't simulate this action message instead of real returned data.
- Some actions do run. Steps that only change data inside the workflow, such as Run code, Count and Sum, run in a test and display their output; actions that change something outside it, such as Add order tags or Send Internal Email, do not.
- No timing. "There is no defined length of time that it takes a workflow to complete," so a passing test says nothing about how soon a live run will finish.
Actions That Touch Orders, Money and Customers
Key takeaway
Most templates only tag, notify or log. A handful of actions change money, orders or customer records, and those decide how expensive a wrong condition is. The table lists what each one does and what to settle before you turn the workflow on.
Actions to check twice
| Action | What it does | Before you turn it on |
|---|---|---|
| Cancel order | Cancels the order that triggered the workflow and voids the authorization. Optional boxes refund the amount paid, including product, duties and shipping, and notify the customer. | Decide on the refund and notification boxes deliberately. Shopify's Cancel high-risk orders template recommends manually checking orders after cancellation. |
| Capture payment | Captures payment on the order. | Set up manual payment capture in your admin first. Depending on the trigger that starts the workflow, the action might not take effect, so confirm it with your trigger. |
| Mark order as paid | Marks the order as paid. | It does not capture payment. |
| Send internal email | Emails the address you type into the step. | Variables can't set the recipient, so it suits staff alerts, not emails to each customer. |
| Send marketing email (Shopify Messaging) | Emails customers. | It doesn't email customers who haven't agreed to receive marketing, and the run permanently fails if it tries. |
| Add order tags / Add customer tags | Adds tags to the order or the customer. | Type tags in one consistent case, and make sure the trigger cannot fire again on the tag the action adds. |
| Delete product / Delete customer | Delete product removes a product with all its variants and media; Delete customer deletes the customer. | Narrow the conditions and run a Create event test first. |
| Send HTTP request | Sends a request to an outside service. | Available on Grow, Advanced and Plus only, and not simulated in a test run. |
Source: Shopify Help Center (Flow action reference pages and Troubleshooting workflows), read October 19, 2026.
Scale brings its own warning. When you activate a workflow, Flow may warn that your store has more than 10 active workflows using the same trigger, and Shopify suggests combining them.
Shopify's troubleshooting page gives the classic example of a workflow that keeps restarting itself: one that "uses the Customer tags added trigger and includes the Add customer tags action." Each tag it adds is a fresh trigger event. Shopify's note on that trigger is direct: don't combine the two, because doing so causes the workflow to run forever.
Pre-Launch Checklist for Any Flow Workflow
Key takeaway
Each section above ends in a check. Here they are in the order you meet them, saved in this browser so you can run the same list for every new workflow.
Launch a Shopify Flow workflow safelyTick each step as you finish it. Progress is saved in this browser, so you can reuse the list for the next workflow.
Launch a Shopify Flow workflow safely
Tick each step as you finish it. Progress is saved in this browser, so you can reuse the list for the next workflow.
Check that your plan has Flow and any gated action the workflow uses, and that every app the template calls is installed.
Before you tick this off
- My store is on a plan Shopify names for Flow: Basic, Grow, Advanced or Plus
- Any Send HTTP request step sits on Grow, Advanced or Plus
- Every app-based trigger and action has its app installed
Change the template's recipient addresses and tags to your own before you activate it.
Before you tick this off
- Every email step goes to the right person
- Every tag matches the spelling and case my store uses
Resolve each step marked Review, because an unresolved one stops the workflow from activating.
Before you tick this off
- No step shows a Review banner or an error
Make sure the trigger fires after the data your conditions read exists, and that the workflow targets orders or draft orders as intended.
Before you tick this off
- Risk workflows use Order risk analyzed, not Order created
- I know whether this workflow should act on orders or on draft orders
Test the workflow on a created, recorded or generated event and confirm it takes the path you expect.
Before you tick this off
- I ran at least one test with Create event, Record events or Generate events
- The test stopped at the action I expected
For steps that call outside services, check the configuration preview the test shows instead of real results.
Before you tick this off
- Every outside-service step shows the configuration I intended
Make sure no action re-triggers the same workflow, and merge workflows if Flow warns about too many on one trigger.
Before you tick this off
- No tag action feeds its own tag trigger
- I acted on any warning about more than 10 active workflows on this trigger
Activate the workflow, then check its first runs and set up an alert for failures.
Before you tick this off
- I checked the first real runs in the workflow's run list
- A Workflow error occurred workflow is on, and I know repeat failures in one version within 30 days send no new alert
After It's On: Runs, Rollback, Off Switch
Key takeaway
Turning a workflow on is not the last decision. Three tools matter after launch: the run log, the version history and the off switch.
Where to See What the Workflow Did
Key takeaway
Shopify keeps workflow runs for 14 days after a run has completed. To find the runs that touched one record, open an order, draft order, customer, product, variant or collection and choose More actions > Search Flow runs.
You can't cancel a run that has already completed, but turning a workflow off cancels every run still in progress. A failed run can be retried by hand once it is no longer running or waiting, if the workflow is active and still uses the trigger the original run used, and the retry fetches fresh data for any Get data step. Finding a failed run and retrying one or a whole batch is covered step by step in our troubleshooting guide.
Rolling Back With Version History
Key takeaway
Each workflow keeps a log of what changed and who changed it. Shopify's version-history page says every workflow records "a complete version history, storing a log of edits, activations, deactivations, and exports of the workflow", and that this event data is retained for only 1 year. It adds that some historical workflow event data "is available only from April 2026 onwards."
Restoring is the rollback. Read its one consequence before you click:
When you restore a version of a workflow, it discards your current workflow draft and becomes a new version in the version history.
The restored version "opens in the editor as a draft", so you can correct it before saving. You can also ask Sidekick to do the restore; it creates a draft from the earlier version for you to review and activate.
- Apps
- Flow
Turning a Workflow Off Versus Deleting It
Key takeaway
Turning a workflow off moves it to Inactive, and Shopify says it "can be turned back on at any time to resume operations." Only an inactive workflow can be deleted, and deleted workflows can't be recovered.
Workflows with a Wait step need extra care. Deactivating or deleting the workflow stops runs that are still waiting, and if you edit an active workflow, a waiting run resumes on the updated version, not the one it started on.
An Inactive workflow can't be run manually. Once it is active, and if it starts from a matching trigger (Order created, Order deleted or Order paid for orders; Draft order created or deleted; Customer created, deleted, enabled or disabled; Product created), the Run Flow automation option in your admin lets it act on a record whose triggering event has already happened.
Shopify says turning a workflow off "also stops new workflow runs from starting," and the pages we read on October 19, 2026 (the Help Center's Flow section, Shopify's Flow marketing page, the App Store listing, Shopify's developer docs for Flow and the changelog feeds) do not say whether events that occur while it is off are processed once you turn the workflow back on.
If a missed event matters and the workflow starts from one of the matching triggers above, run it manually on that record after you turn it back on.
The Bottom Line
Key takeaway
Flow rewards small, checked workflows more than ambitious ones. The template does the wiring; your job is to make it yours and prove it before it touches a live order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Front-end developer specializing in Shopify since 2017. Experienced in building custom Liquid themes, optimizing storefront performance, and integrating third-party apps. Directs the editorial process behind Ecom Store Pro: sets its topics and the rules every AI-written page must pass before publication.
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