Flow Guard: Workflow Linter, Simulator & Limits Planner
The Opportunity
Companion app for Shopify Flow that validates variables, simulates triggers, and monitors breakages after platform updates. Includes rate-limit planning and actionable error insights for automations and email flows.
"Workflows break after updates (invalid variables, schema changes), email automations won’t turn on, and merchants are unsure about GraphQL/Flow limits and debugging failed triggers (e.g., abandoned cart)."
Market Validation
Detailed Analysis
Proposed Solution
Provide a linter to validate variables against current schemas, a simulator to run sample payloads, a changelog diff highlighting deprecations, and a dashboard with failure logs and fixes. Include a rate-limit estimator for complex flows and preflight checks before enabling.
Target Audience
Merchants and partners heavily using Shopify Flow and Shopify Email automations
Competitive Landscape
Mechanic, Arigato Automation, Alloy Automation
Implementation Notes
Ingest Flow execution webhooks and logs via a private app connector; map tokens to the latest Admin GraphQL schemas. Build a validation engine to detect invalid/missing variables and metafield types (including file references). Provide replay/simulation using stored payloads. Offer a limits planner that estimates GraphQL cost/second and batches operations. Surface prescriptive fixes for common Shopify Email errors and abandoned cart triggers. Maintain update alerts when Shopify changes objects (e.g., inventory states).
Evidence from Merchants
Real quotes from Shopify community forums
"I am having an issue with the automated email upon subscribing to my newsletter."
"I’m looking for a way to automate the process of inviting customers to become members."
"I need something that looks like this: 'gid://shopify/ MediaImage/123'."
"I am using the workflow automation for abandoned products and carts but it has yet to trigger any emails."
"I am trying to turn on email automation to get a welcome email with discount code started."
Key Pain Points
Automated emails not triggering as expected
criticalMentioned by 3 merchants
Impact: Potential loss of sales due to missed customer engagement
Issues with automated email templates and workflows
highMentioned by 2 merchants
Impact: Loss of customer trust and potential revenue
Market Metrics
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