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Notify customers on WhatsApp when their Shopify order ships. The workflow is triggered by a Shopify webhook (or manual test), fetches order details, and sends an approved template message — required for outbound WhatsApp outside the 24-hour session window.

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What you’ll build

Outcome: Customers receive a branded WhatsApp message with order number and tracking context when fulfillment completes.

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Prerequisites

  • project_contributor access
  • Shopify Admin API token with read_orders scope
  • WhatsApp Business connection (WABA, phone number ID, access token)
  • At least one APPROVED WhatsApp template (e.g. order_shipped with {{1}} = order name, {{2}} = tracking URL)
  • Customer phone numbers stored on Shopify orders (E.164 format, e.g. +14155551234)
  • Inbound webhook subscription for your project
Use send_template_message for proactive shipping updates. send_message only works within 24 hours of the customer’s last inbound message unless you are replying in an open session.

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Connectors to install

AdapterPurpose
shopifyFetch order and customer details
whatsappSend template message

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Setup WhatsApp template

1

List templates

Run a test workflow with mcp_call → list_message_templates and note an APPROVED template name and language code (e.g. en_US).
2

Match parameters

Align template placeholders with tool_args — typically order ID, tracking link, or customer name.

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Build the workflow

1

Create workflow

Name it shopify-order-shipped-whatsapp in Workflow Studio.
2

Validate webhook input

Require order_id from the Shopify webhook payload via a lua_script step.
3

Fetch order

mcp_call → get_shopify_order with the order ID.
4

Extract phone

lua_script reads customer phone from the Shopify response. Fail clearly if missing.
5

Send template

mcp_call → send_template_message with template name and body parameters.
6

Wire Shopify webhook

In Shopify Admin → Settings → Notifications → Webhooks, create a webhook for Order fulfillment pointing at your AgentRuntime inbound URL.

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Validate input

{
  "id": "validate",
  "type": "lua_script",
  "name": "Require order_id",
  "script": "local id = input.order_id or input.id\nif not id then error('order_id required') end\nreturn { order_id = tostring(id) }",
  "timeout_s": 10
}
Map Shopify’s payload in your subscription so order_id reaches workflow input (field names vary by webhook version — test with a sample POST).

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Fetch order

{
  "id": "get-order",
  "type": "mcp_call",
  "name": "Get Shopify order",
  "tool_name": "get_shopify_order",
  "tool_args": {
    "order_id": "{{steps.validate.result.order_id}}"
  },
  "depends_on": ["validate"],
  "timeout_s": 30,
  "retry_count": 2
}

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Extract customer phone

{
  "id": "extract-phone",
  "type": "lua_script",
  "name": "Get E.164 phone",
  "script": "local order = steps['get-order'].result\nlocal phone = order.phone or (order.customer and order.customer.phone)\nif not phone or phone == '' then error('no phone on order') end\nreturn { phone = phone, order_name = order.name or order.id }",
  "depends_on": ["get-order"],
  "timeout_s": 10
}

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Send WhatsApp template

{
  "id": "notify-customer",
  "type": "mcp_call",
  "name": "WhatsApp shipping update",
  "tool_name": "send_template_message",
  "tool_args": {
    "to": "{{steps.extract-phone.result.phone}}",
    "template_name": "order_shipped",
    "language_code": "en_US",
    "body_parameters": [
      "{{steps.extract-phone.result.order_name}}",
      "https://your-store.com/pages/tracking"
    ]
  },
  "depends_on": ["extract-phone"],
  "timeout_s": 30
}
Adjust body_parameters to match your template’s placeholder count and order.

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Full workflow graph (copy-paste)

Bind your shopify and whatsapp MCP instances on each mcp_call step. Replace template_name, language_code, and body_parameters to match your approved WhatsApp template. 
{
  "tenant_id": "your-workspace-slug",
  "workflow_id": "550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440030",
  "params": {},
  "steps": [
    {
      "id": "validate",
      "type": "lua_script",
      "name": "Require order_id",
      "script": "local id = input.order_id or input.id\nif not id then error('order_id required') end\nreturn { order_id = tostring(id) }",
      "timeout_s": 10
    },
    {
      "id": "get-order",
      "type": "mcp_call",
      "name": "Get Shopify order",
      "tool_name": "get_shopify_order",
      "tool_args": {
        "order_id": "{{steps.validate.result.order_id}}"
      },
      "depends_on": ["validate"],
      "timeout_s": 30,
      "retry_count": 2
    },
    {
      "id": "extract-phone",
      "type": "lua_script",
      "name": "Get E.164 phone",
      "script": "local order = steps['get-order'].result\nlocal phone = order.phone or (order.customer and order.customer.phone)\nif not phone or phone == '' then error('no phone on order') end\nreturn { phone = phone, order_name = order.name or order.id }",
      "depends_on": ["get-order"],
      "timeout_s": 10
    },
    {
      "id": "notify-customer",
      "type": "mcp_call",
      "name": "WhatsApp shipping update",
      "tool_name": "send_template_message",
      "tool_args": {
        "to": "{{steps.extract-phone.result.phone}}",
        "template_name": "order_shipped",
        "language_code": "en_US",
        "body_parameters": [
          "{{steps.extract-phone.result.order_name}}",
          "https://your-store.com/pages/tracking"
        ]
      },
      "depends_on": ["extract-phone"],
      "timeout_s": 30
    }
  ]
}

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Test without Shopify

Start a manual run with input: 
{
  "order_id": "5678901234"
}
Use a test order in dev mode and a WhatsApp test recipient number registered in Meta.

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Variations

  • Add human_task approval before send for high-value orders.
  • Write a row to Postgres after send for an audit log.
  • Use list_shopify_fulfillments for tracking numbers in template parameters.