---
title: "Send events to Shopify Flow - Workflow Suite"
description: "The Send to Shopify Flow action starts the Shopify Flow workflows that use the trigger Workflow Suite event, with an event name and data of your choice."
canonical: "https://docs.workflow-suite.app/send-events-to-shopify-flow"
---

# Send events to Shopify Flow

The action **Send to Shopify Flow** hands an event from a workflow to Shopify Flow. Every Flow workflow that uses the trigger **Workflow Suite event** and is turned on starts with the event name and the data you send. Use it when part of your automation lives in Flow, or when a Flow action does exactly what you need.

The other direction, a Flow workflow starting a Workflow Suite workflow, is [Start a workflow from Shopify Flow](https://docs.workflow-suite.app/start-a-workflow-from-shopify-flow.md).

## What you need

- Shopify Flow installed on your store. It is free.
- In Flow, a workflow with the trigger **Workflow Suite event** that is turned on (step 2).

## 1. Add the step in Workflow Suite

1. Press **+** and search for `flow`. The action **Send to Shopify Flow** is in the Shopify view of the step picker, in the group **Shopify Flow**.
2. Fill in the fields:

| Field | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Event name** (required) | Your name for this event, for example `catalog-summary`. In Flow, a condition on Event name picks the events a Flow workflow is for |
| **Data (JSON)** | A JSON object. Flow gets every key as an entry of **Data fields** and the whole object as **Data JSON**. Every value can use variables |
| **Resource ID** | Optional: the Shopify id the event is about, for example an order |

```liquid
{ "active": {{ steps.counts.output.active.count }}, "draft": {{ steps.counts.output.draft.count }} }
```

The trigger of the workflow can be anything: a Shopify event, a change trigger, a schedule, an incoming webhook or **Run now**.

![The workflow Send the catalog summary to Shopify Flow in Workflow Suite: On a schedule, Count the catalog and Send to Shopify Flow, with the step's side panel showing Event name catalog-summary and Data (JSON) built from the counts](https://cdn-dev.eu.codecreationlabs.cloud/crm-tool/uploads/SjJ78gKLnLlocopCui3Cs62dJbGZ7F1n/989dc896b8995136.png)
*A daily workflow that counts the catalog and sends the numbers to Flow as the event catalog-summary.*

## 2. Build the Flow workflow

1. In Shopify Flow, create a workflow. Select a trigger, open **Workflow Suite** and pick **Workflow Suite event**.
2. Add a condition on **Event name**, for example Event name is equal to `catalog-summary`. Without it, the Flow workflow starts for every event you send.
3. Add the Flow actions you need. The event's values are Flow variables:

| Variable | What it holds |
| --- | --- |
| `eventName` | The event name |
| `resourceId` | The Resource ID, or empty |
| `runId` | The id of the Workflow Suite run that sent it |
| `data.json` | The whole data object as JSON text |
| `data.fields` | A list with one entry per key: `key` and `value` (objects and lists as JSON text) |

For example, Flow's **Log output** action with this message writes the whole event into the Flow run log:

```liquid
Workflow Suite sent {{ eventName }} from run {{ runId }}: {{ data.json }}
```

4. Turn the Flow workflow on.

![Shopify Flow's Select trigger panel opened on the app Workflow Suite, with the trigger Workflow Suite event and its description](https://cdn-dev.eu.codecreationlabs.cloud/crm-tool/uploads/SjJ78gKLnLlocopCui3Cs62dJbGZ7F1n/db36f365067767be.png)
*In Shopify Flow, the trigger is under the app Workflow Suite.*

![Shopify Flow's Add a variable window for the trigger Workflow Suite event: eventName, resourceId and runId as text, and data, each with its description](https://cdn-dev.eu.codecreationlabs.cloud/crm-tool/uploads/SjJ78gKLnLlocopCui3Cs62dJbGZ7F1n/7fd2574a0403b5b9.png)
*The values of the event are Flow variables, each with a description.*

![The Shopify Flow workflow Log the catalog summary from Workflow Suite: the trigger Workflow Suite event, a condition Event name is equal to catalog-summary, and a Log output step whose message uses eventName, runId and data.json](https://cdn-dev.eu.codecreationlabs.cloud/crm-tool/uploads/SjJ78gKLnLlocopCui3Cs62dJbGZ7F1n/df61cd3de623b39d.png)
*A Flow workflow that only reacts to catalog-summary and writes the event into its run log.*

## What happens when it runs

- The step finishes as soon as Flow has accepted the event. Flow runs its workflows on its own; you find them under **Recent runs** in Flow.
- The step returns `sent`, `eventName` and `bytes` (the size Flow received).
- When no turned-on Flow workflow uses the trigger Workflow Suite event, Flow has told us so and the step sends nothing. It succeeds with `sent: false` and says why.
- In a test or a preview nothing is sent: the step shows what it would send.
- Flow accepts at most 50,000 bytes per event. A larger event fails the step with its size; nothing is cut.

![Run 45 in Workflow Suite: Count the catalog and Send to Shopify Flow succeeded, and the step output says sent true, eventName catalog-summary and bytes 223](https://cdn-dev.eu.codecreationlabs.cloud/crm-tool/uploads/SjJ78gKLnLlocopCui3Cs62dJbGZ7F1n/d8153e65a52c0809.png)
*The run in Workflow Suite: the step sent the event to Flow.*

![The Shopify Flow run started by that event: the condition event name is equal to catalog-summary was true, and Log output logged Workflow Suite sent catalog-summary from run 45 with the counts 35 active, 62 draft and 19 sold out](https://cdn-dev.eu.codecreationlabs.cloud/crm-tool/uploads/SjJ78gKLnLlocopCui3Cs62dJbGZ7F1n/ad1cd7dd19c9cbf1.png)
*The Flow run that event started: the condition matched and Log output wrote the numbers from Workflow Suite.*

## Loops between Workflow Suite and Flow

If the Flow workflow starts a Workflow Suite workflow again (with **Run a Workflow Suite workflow**), set **Resource ID** on both sides. Loop protection then stops a workflow that runs more than 10 times in 60 seconds for the same resource. See [Loop protection](https://docs.workflow-suite.app/loop-protection.md).

## Personal data

What you put into Data goes to Shopify Flow and is kept in Flow's run history. Only send what the Flow workflow needs.

## Related

- [Start a workflow from Shopify Flow](https://docs.workflow-suite.app/start-a-workflow-from-shopify-flow.md)
- [Ready-made Shopify actions](https://docs.workflow-suite.app/shopify-actions.md)
- [Variables and the variable picker](https://docs.workflow-suite.app/variables.md)