How to Export a Checkout Rule as JSON

Export a rule

In short

Use Export rule from the row action in the rules list, or Export inside the editor. You get a JSON file describing the rule, which imports into any store running the app.

Applies to

Any saved rule, active or draft
All Shopify plans

Doesn't apply to

Exporting every rule at once — export is one rule at a time

Two places to export

From the rules list — open the row actions on any rule and choose Export rule.

From the editor — open any rule and use Export, top right next to Import.

Exporting a rule from the editor — the file lands in your downloads

Both produce the same file: a small .json named after the rule, in the form hide-shopify-payments-for-specific-countries.rule.json. These are tiny — a typical rule is well under a kilobyte — so keeping a folder of them costs nothing.

What it is for

Use	Why
Move a rule between stores	Build once on a dev store, import to live
Back up before a big edit	The editor has no undo for a cleared condition set
Send to support	Far faster to diagnose than a screenshot
Template a setup you repeat	Agencies rolling the same rule across clients

Export before switching condition sets

Switching a rule’s condition set clears its conditions with no undo. If you are about to experiment, export first — re-importing is quicker than rebuilding from memory.

What travels, and what does not

The file carries the rule’s action, method type, selected methods, conditions, match type and condition set.

What it cannot carry is the meaning of store-specific references. A condition on Product in cart points at a product that exists on the store it was built on. Import it elsewhere and that product may not exist — the importer tells you what it had to skip rather than importing something subtly wrong.

See why parts were skipped.

Frequently asked

Can I export all my rules at once?

Not currently — export works one rule at a time.

Does the file contain any store data?

It describes the rule: its action, method type, methods, conditions and match type. Where a condition references products or collections, those references travel with it, which is why they may not resolve on a different store.

Can I edit the JSON by hand?

You can, but it is validated on import — anything malformed is skipped and reported rather than silently accepted.