What Is Shopify Flow? How It Works and How to Use It 2026

What is Shopify Flow?

Shopify Flow is Shopify's own automation app.

Think of it as a way to create if/then rules for your store without building a custom app.

For example, Shopify has a Flow template that emails you a daily summary of unfulfilled orders more than two days old.

Another template checks whether the same customer placed another order within the previous 24 hours.

If they did, Flow can put the relevant fulfillment orders on hold so you have time to review or combine them.

Flow is most useful when it removes a repeatable step that would otherwise depend on someone remembering to do it.

You are not automating the whole business.

Who can use Shopify Flow?

Shopify Flow is available on Shopify's Basic, Grow, Advanced, and Plus plans.

The app itself is free.

Most Flow features are available across those plans, but a few advanced options are plan-dependent:

• The Send HTTP Request action is available on Grow, Advanced, and Plus.
• Tasks created by custom partner apps are available only on Plus.
• Flow usage limits vary with the API limits of your Shopify plan.

If you only want to tag orders or send internal notifications, you do not need Shopify Plus.

The same applies to many store-data updates and supported connectors.

How does Shopify Flow work?

Every Shopify Flow workflow starts with one trigger. After that, you can add conditions and actions:

• Trigger. The event that starts the workflow.
• Condition. A rule that decides which path the workflow should follow.
• Action. What Flow does after the trigger fires and the relevant conditions are met.

Suppose your normal orders contain only a few units, and you want someone to review unusually large orders before the team moves on.

You could build a workflow that looks for an order above your chosen quantity threshold, adds a 'for review' tag, and emails a staff member:

1. Trigger

The trigger starts the workflow.

In this example, you could use the 'Order created' trigger so Flow begins checking the order as soon as Shopify creates it.

2. Condition

The condition narrows down which orders need attention.

For example, you might check whether the order contains more than five items, or whether one line item contains more than ten units.

The exact threshold should match what is unusual for your store.

3. Action

The action is what happens after the condition is met.

Here, Flow could add a 'for review' tag and send an internal email.

Orders that do not meet the condition continue down the other path without that action.

What can you automate with Shopify Flow?

You can use Shopify Flow anywhere a repeatable store event should lead to a predictable next step.

Shopify's current workflow examples cover tasks such as:

• Order and fulfillment checks. Hold high-risk fulfillments, flag unusually large orders, or pause orders when the same customer buys again within 24 hours.
• Customer organization. Tag customers based on order history, spending, or other store data you want to use later.
• Inventory and product tasks. Send low-stock summaries, find out-of-stock products, or update tags and metafields.
• Reporting and notifications. Email a daily summary, send a Slack message, or add selected data to Google Sheets.
• Connected app workflows. Pass data to supported apps when the connector provides the trigger or action you need.

The best first workflow is usually a boring task you already repeat.

If the rule is clear and the result is predictable, it is a much better automation candidate than a decision that still needs human judgment.

Things you need to know before using Shopify Flow

Flow is beginner-friendly at the simple end, but there are a few details worth understanding before you automate anything important:

• You do not need GraphQL for basic workflows. You can use templates and common triggers without coding. The same goes for most conditions and actions. GraphQL field names become more relevant when you build advanced workflows or work with API data.
• Workflows run as soon as possible, not necessarily instantly. Shopify says there can be a delay between the trigger and the completed actions.
• Old store data is not automatically replayed. However, you can run eligible workflows manually on existing orders and draft orders. The same option is available for customers and products when the workflow uses a compatible trigger.
• Orders and draft orders are separate. A trigger or action for an order does not automatically apply to a draft order.
• Tag-heavy records have a limit to watch. Shopify warns that conditions involving tags might not work when an order, product, or customer has more than 250 tags.
• Some order data arrives later. Fields such as risk information, fulfillments, and UTM data can be populated asynchronously. If your workflow depends on one of those fields, use the most appropriate trigger and test it before activation.
• Recent run history is temporary. Shopify keeps completed workflow-run logs for 14 days, so do not treat Flow as a permanent audit log.

The practical rule is simple: start with a small workflow, test the logic, then automate something more important once you trust the setup.

How to use Shopify Flow

You have three ways to build a workflow now: use a template, build one manually, or ask Sidekick to generate one from a description.

For your first workflow, start with a template.

You can see a working trigger, condition, and action before changing anything.

Step 1: Install the Shopify Flow app

From your Shopify admin, open Apps and search for 'Flow'.

Open the Shopify Flow listing and install the app.

Once it is installed, you can access Flow from your Shopify admin.

Step 2: Choose how you want to build the workflow

When you create a workflow, you can choose the route that matches how much control you want:

• Use a template. Shopify maintains a large library of workflow templates. They cover areas such as orders, inventory, and customers. Other templates handle risk, marketing, and fulfillment.
• Build it manually. Start with a trigger, then add the conditions and actions you need.
• Use Sidekick. On desktop, you can describe the automation in plain English and let Sidekick generate the workflow for you to review.

Sidekick-generated workflows are inactive by default.

That gives you time to review and test the generated logic before you turn it on.

Step 3: Create a workflow

Let's use a real Shopify template as an example.

Suppose you gave an Instagram influencer a discount code called 'ANNA10' and want an email whenever someone uses it.

Shopify currently offers a template called 'Get notified when a specific discount code is used.'

Open that template and review its three parts:

• Trigger. The workflow starts when an order is created.
• Condition. Flow checks whether the order used the discount code you specified.
• Action. Flow sends the notification you configured.

Install the template, then replace the placeholder discount code with 'ANNA10'.

Next, check the email action and make sure the message goes to the right person:

You can add more conditions if they genuinely help.

For example, you could limit the notification to orders above $100 instead of receiving an email for every use of the code:

Do not add conditions just because Flow lets you.

Every extra branch adds logic that can be misconfigured later.

Step 4: Test the workflow before turning it on

This is one of the biggest improvements to Flow since the original version of this guide: you can now test a workflow before activating it.

You can test with a recorded store event, create a simulated event from real store data, or let Sidekick generate test events.

Flow shows which logic path the test event follows, but the test does not run live actions such as changing an order or sending a notification.

For the 'ANNA10' example, test both sides of the condition: one order that uses the code and one that does not.

That tells you much more than testing only the path you expect to pass.

Step 5: Turn it on and check the first runs

Once the workflow behaves as expected, turn it on.

After it starts running, use Flow's Recent runs section to check what happened and which path each run followed.

Shopify stores completed run logs for 14 days, so investigate errors while the details are still available.

What are Shopify Flow connectors?

Shopify Flow connectors let a workflow use supported third-party services.

A connector can provide a trigger that sends data into Flow, or an action that lets Flow tell another service what to do.

For example, Flow can add a row to Google Sheets or send a Slack message.

App developers can also build Flow triggers and actions into their Shopify apps.

Keep one limitation in mind: the app needs a built-in Flow connector to use its connector features.

Installing any random Shopify app doesn't automatically make it available in Flow.

Which apps does Shopify Flow work with?

The connector list changes over time, so check Shopify's current directory before you build a workflow around one app.

At the time of our latest check, Shopify's official Flow connector directory included services and apps such as:

• AfterShip
• Yotpo
• Loox
• Gorgias
• Klaviyo
• Stamped
• Omnisend
• Asana
• Trello
• MESA

For the current list and the exact triggers or actions each connector supports, check Shopify's Flow connector directory.

Shopify Flow example using a third-party app

Suppose you want to send a handwritten note after a customer's second order using Scribeless:

Scribeless is still listed in Shopify's Flow connector directory, with an action for adding a new recipient to an existing campaign.

The workflow can follow this logic:

1. Use 'Order created' as the trigger.
2. Add a condition that checks whether the customer's order count equals 2.
3. On the matching path, add the Scribeless 'Add new recipient' action.
4. Complete the campaign and recipient fields required by the connector.
5. Test the Flow logic before activation, then follow Scribeless's own testing process for the final campaign output.

Shopify handles the store event and customer data, then the connector passes the right information to the outside service.

Benefits and limitations of Shopify Flow

If you already run your store on Shopify, Flow is usually the first automation tool we would check for repeatable Shopify tasks.

You are already paying for the platform, and the Flow app itself does not add another subscription.

Its strongest points are:

• It is built around Shopify data. You can automate store data such as orders, customers, and products without moving everything into another platform first. Flow also works with inventory, fulfillment, tags, and metafields.
• You can start without code. Templates cover many common jobs, while Sidekick can give you a first workflow from a plain-English description.
• Testing is safer than it used to be. You can check the workflow path before activation without letting the test change live store data.
• It can grow with you. More advanced workflows can use schedules, loops, and data lookups when you need them. You can also add connectors, HTTP requests, or Admin API actions.

But Flow is not the right tool for every automation:

• It is Shopify-specific. If most of your workflow lives outside Shopify, a broader automation platform may make more sense.
• Some advanced actions depend on your plan. Send HTTP Request is not available on Basic, and custom partner-app tasks are limited to Plus.
• Complex workflows can get technical. Once you start working with GraphQL fields or Liquid variables, the setup gets more technical. API calls and asynchronous order data add another layer.
• Connector coverage is not universal. A third-party app needs a supported connector for its Flow-specific triggers or actions.

For a small or medium Shopify store, that is still a useful trade-off.

Start with the native automation you already have, then add another tool only when Flow cannot cover the job.

How do users rate Shopify Flow?

At our latest check, Shopify Flow had a 4.7-star rating in the Shopify App Store from more than 14,000 reviews.

That is a strong overall score, but recent reviews aren't uniformly positive.

Merchants often praise Flow for quick automations such as tagging and metafields.

Notifications and other repetitive tasks also come up often.

Recent critical reviews mention occasional glitches, template friction, and limits when a developer wants more granular control.

That split matches how we would frame Flow: it is very useful for Shopify-native automation, but it does not replace a custom app or a broader automation stack when your workflow becomes highly specialized.

FAQs about Shopify Flow

Here are three quick answers to common Shopify Flow questions:

Final thoughts

Shopify Flow is worth learning if repetitive Shopify admin is starting to pile up.

Start with one boring task that happens often, such as tagging an order type or tracking a campaign code.

Flagging unusual orders or sending a fulfillment summary are two other good candidates.

Build that workflow, test both the expected path and the path that should fail, then watch its first few runs.

If Flow handles the job, you have removed a recurring task without adding another automation subscription.

If it cannot reach the app or system you need, that is the point to look at a broader automation tool or a custom integration.

For more help, Shopify now has extensive Flow documentation, and the Shopify Community is useful when you run into a workflow-specific problem.

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