Creating workflows manually or from a template

To use Shopify Flow, create a workflow. You can create a new workflow manually or by using a pre-made template.

Tip

To see more videos, visit our YouTube channel.

Considerations for creating a workflow

Before you create a workflow, review the following considerations:

• Workflows run as soon as possible. However, there might be a delay between when a trigger starts a workflow and when its actions complete. There is no defined length of time that it takes a workflow to complete.
• Orders and draft orders are treated separately by Flow. Actions and triggers that affect orders don't affect draft orders, and actions and triggers that affect draft orders don't affect orders. If a draft order is converted into an order, then your workflows that affect orders apply.
• Workflows that contain conditions that involve tags might not work if there are more than 250 tags associated with the order, product, or customer.
• All workflows must start with a trigger from Shopify Flow or from an app.
• Some fields in the GraphQL Admin API are populated asynchronously, particularly on orders. Because these fields might not be populated by the time your workflow runs, data might be unavailable to Shopify Flow and cause unexpected results, such as fulfillments, UTM parameters, or risk levels. Before you activate a workflow, test it to verify that the data is what you expect.

When possible, use a trigger that starts workflows when a condition is fulfilled other than the creation of an order. For example, to create a workflow that takes actions based on an order's risk level, use the Order risk analyzed trigger instead of Order created.

Create a new workflow

Shopify Flow uses a freeform canvas where you can create a workflow. These steps outline how to create a simple workflow, adding one trigger, one condition, and one action. You can create more complex workflows by adding additional conditions and actions, or by using advanced triggers and actions.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Apps > Flow.

2. Click Create workflow.

3. Click Select a trigger, and then select the trigger that starts the workflow.

4. Click + to create a new step. Click Condition, and then define the condition that must be met before any actions can be run.

5. Click + > Action on the True option to select the action to be taken when the condition evaluates as true.

6. Optional: To add steps to your workflow when the condition evaluates as false, click + on the False option. You can add additional conditions or actions.

7. Optional: To include a workflow note with any additional details or instructions about the workflow, click More actions > Add note.

8. Click New Workflow and enter a title for your workflow.

9. To activate your workflow, click Turn on workflow.

Tip

If one of the conditions in your workflow gets disconnected from an action, then you don't need to recreate it entirely. Click the + icon next to the Then on the condition, and then drag to the blue dot on the disconnected action to reconnect the two steps with an arrow.

Create a workflow by using a template

A template is a pre-made workflow created by Shopify that you can customize and use.

Note

Many templates use triggers and actions that use apps. To use an app trigger or action, the connector must be installed.

Templates use triggers, conditions, and actions with placeholder data filled in. Before you activate your workflow, edit the workflow and include the values that you want to use, for example:

• If a workflow adds tags to customers or orders, then verify that those tags are the tags that you want to use.
• If a workflow sends messages, then ensure that you change the recipient information, such as the email address.
• If a workflow uses an app that you don't want to install, then you might be able to substitute a similar function, such as replacing an action that sends a message on Slack with an action that sends an email.
• If a workflow includes an About this workflow note, then you can review the pre-existing content and update the note to suit your needs.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Apps > Flow.

2. Click Create workflow.

3. Click Browse templates, and then select a template.

4. Review the template to verify that it meets your needs. You can customize the workflow after you install it.

5. Click Install.

6. Edit the template as needed.

7. Optional: Click the name of the workflow, and then edit the title.

8. Optional: Test your workflow based on a test trigger event.

9. To activate your workflow, click Turn on workflow.

Refer to the examples page for examples of available workflow templates.

Generate a workflow with Sidekick

You can use Sidekick to create a workflow in Shopify Flow based on a description of the workflow that you want. You can describe your workflow idea in plain language, for example: I want to create a workflow that tags orders with fewer than 3 line items as "small". or Help me make a workflow that sends a 'Welcome to the Gold Tier!' email when a customer's lifetime spend exceeds $1000., and Sidekick can generate the workflow elements for you to review and modify as needed.

Before generating a workflow using Sidekick, review the following considerations:

• You must be using a desktop device to generate workflows using Sidekick.
• Workflows generated by Sidekick are Inactive by default. You must manually turn on the workflow generated by Sidekick to use it.
• Workflows generated by Sidekick are automatically tagged with sidekick. Learn more about organizing workflows with tags.
• You should thoroughly review and test the generated workflow to ensure that it's functional and complete. Sidekick might omit business-specific logic in complex workflows that you need to refine before using the workflow. Learn more about testing workflows.

Steps:

1. From your Shopify admin, go to Apps > Flow.

2. Click to open Sidekick.

3. In plain language, describe the type of automated workflow that you want.

4. Hit Enter or click to submit your message. Based on your message, Sidekick creates the workflow and gives an overview of how the workflow operates.

5. Click the button towards the end of Sidekick's response to open the created workflow.

6. Review and test the workflow to confirm that it functions as expected.

7. Optional: If updates to the workflow are required, then you can edit the workflow manually or continue your conversation with Sidekick to have it update the workflow for you. When changes are made by Sidekick, click Apply changes or Discard changes to keep or reject the modifications to your workflow.

8. To activate your workflow, click Turn on workflow.