What happens on each checkout
Shopify calls the app with the current cart, customer and shipping address. Each Activated rule is then tested on its own:
- Do the rule’s conditions pass, per its match type?
- If yes, the action — hide, rename or reorder — applies to the named methods.
Rules that are saved but not Activated are skipped entirely.
Match type within a rule
- All Conditions Pass — every condition must be true (AND). Adding conditions makes the rule narrower.
- Any Condition Passes — one is enough (OR). Adding conditions makes it broader.
The most common logic mistake
Adding conditions to an “Any” rule widens it. Merchants often add a second condition expecting to tighten a rule that fires too often — and it fires more often instead. If a rule is over-applying, check the match type before touching the conditions.
A rule with no conditions always fires. That’s the right setup for something unconditional, like always putting Free Shipping first.
Condition sets
A rule pulls its conditions from exactly one set — General, Product-Based, or Advanced & Custom. This is a property of the rule, which is why the picker’s contents change when you switch.
Some conditions appear in several sets (Cart total is in all three), others in only one (Product title is Product-Based only). If a condition you expect is missing, you’re in the wrong set.
Switching sets clears the conditions already on the rule, with a confirmation first.
When several rules touch the same method
Rules are independent, not sequential — there is no priority to set. Where effects overlap:
| Combination | Result |
|---|---|
| Hide + rename | Hidden. Nothing left to rename. |
| Hide + reorder | Hidden, and the rest close the gap. |
| Rename + reorder | Both apply. |
| Two hides | Hidden if either rule’s conditions pass. |
| Two renames | Avoid — build one rename rule per method. |
Hiding is destructive and wins. When a method vanishes and you can’t see why, look for a second hide rule before scrutinising the one you were working on.
When changes take effect
Activating, editing or deactivating affects every checkout started from that moment. No cache to clear, no publish step.
The exception is a checkout the customer already has open — it keeps its original options until they refresh. Reload after each change when testing, or you’ll read a stale page.
Where rules run
- Online checkout and draft order checkouts the customer opens — yes.
- Shopify POS — no.
- The cart page — no; methods aren’t chosen there.
- The admin draft order screen — no; the rule applies when the customer opens the link.
Full detail in platform support.