FulfillmentOrders not created automatically for test Orders created via the API

Retired Boards Appdev Graphql Basics And Troubleshooting

Topic summary

A developer is building a Fulfillment Service app and encountering an issue where FulfillmentOrders are not automatically created when test Orders are generated via the Admin REST API (version 2022-07).

Current Situation:

  • Successfully creating Orders with transactions programmatically
  • Orders appear correctly but have empty fulfillment_orders arrays
  • Cannot test via online store/bogus gateway due to disabled checkouts
  • Following official Shopify documentation for test order management

Troubleshooting Steps Suggested:

  • Test the same app on different development stores to see if the issue persists
  • Try installing a fresh version of the app (new app via Partner Dashboard or as a private app)
  • If both workarounds fail, Shopify support offered to investigate deeper

Status: Issue remains unresolved; awaiting results from suggested troubleshooting steps. A similar incident was referenced in community forums regarding REST Fulfillment API deprecation.

Summarized with AI on November 24. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

I am working on a Fulfillment Service app for a client. I need to test the process of creating Orders (and FulfillmentOrders), and managing fulfillment requests on a development store before I release my work to production.

I was told by a Shopify staffer that the correct way to test Orders is via the API, so I have been following the documentation for managing test orders. It’s worth mentioning that I am unable to test using the online store/bogus gateway because I do not have checkouts enabled. I am able to successfully create the Order and execute a fake Transaction programmatically via the Admin REST API (version 2022-07). However, none of the test Orders I have created have associated fulfillment orders, which are supposed to be created automatically when an Order is created, according to the documentation. For example,

After successfully creating an order via a POST request with this body:

{
    "order": {
        "email": "test@test.com",
        "financial_status": "pending",
        "line_items": [
            {
                "title": "Test #1",
                "price": 1,
                "grams": "1300",
                "quantity": 1,
                "fulfillment_service": {my_service},
                "fulfillment_status": null,
                "tax_lines": [
                    {
                        "price": 1.0,
                        "rate": 0.06,
                        "title": "State tax"
                    }
                ]
            }
        ],
        "transactions": [
            {
                "kind": "authorization",
                "status": "success",
                "amount": 1
            }
        ]
    }
}

I receive this response (with some values obscured):

{
    "order": {
        "id": {order_id},
        "admin_graphql_api_id": "gid://shopify/Order/{order_id}",
        "app_id": {app_id},
        "browser_ip": null,
        "buyer_accepts_marketing": false,
        "cancel_reason": null,
        "cancelled_at": null,
        "cart_token": null,
        "checkout_id": null,
        "checkout_token": null,
        "closed_at": null,
        "confirmed": true,
        "contact_email": null,
        "created_at": "2022-12-27T13:03:13-05:00",
        "currency": "USD",
        "current_subtotal_price": "1.00",
        "current_subtotal_price_set": {
            "shop_money": {
                "amount": "1.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            },
            "presentment_money": {
                "amount": "1.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            }
        },
        "current_total_discounts": "0.00",
        "current_total_discounts_set": {
            "shop_money": {
                "amount": "0.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            },
            "presentment_money": {
                "amount": "0.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            }
        },
        "current_total_duties_set": null,
        "current_total_price": "2.00",
        "current_total_price_set": {
            "shop_money": {
                "amount": "2.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            },
            "presentment_money": {
                "amount": "2.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            }
        },
        "current_total_tax": "1.00",
        "current_total_tax_set": {
            "shop_money": {
                "amount": "1.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            },
            "presentment_money": {
                "amount": "1.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            }
        },
        "customer_locale": null,
        "device_id": null,
        "discount_codes": [],
        "email": "",
        "estimated_taxes": false,
        "financial_status": "pending",
        "fulfillment_status": null,
        "gateway": "",
        "landing_site": null,
        "landing_site_ref": null,
        "location_id": null,
        "name": "#1079",
        "note": null,
        "note_attributes": [],
        "number": 79,
        "order_number": 1079,
        "order_status_url": {order_status_url},
        "original_total_duties_set": null,
        "payment_gateway_names": [
            ""
        ],
        "phone": null,
        "presentment_currency": "USD",
        "processed_at": "2022-12-27T13:03:13-05:00",
        "processing_method": "",
        "reference": null,
        "referring_site": null,
        "source_identifier": null,
        "source_name": "8827961345",
        "source_url": null,
        "subtotal_price": "1.00",
        "subtotal_price_set": {
            "shop_money": {
                "amount": "1.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            },
            "presentment_money": {
                "amount": "1.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            }
        },
        "tags": "",
        "tax_lines": [
            {
                "price": "1.00",
                "rate": 0.06,
                "title": "State tax",
                "price_set": {
                    "shop_money": {
                        "amount": "1.00",
                        "currency_code": "USD"
                    },
                    "presentment_money": {
                        "amount": "1.00",
                        "currency_code": "USD"
                    }
                },
                "channel_liable": null
            }
        ],
        "taxes_included": false,
        "test": false,
        "token": {token},
        "total_discounts": "0.00",
        "total_discounts_set": {
            "shop_money": {
                "amount": "0.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            },
            "presentment_money": {
                "amount": "0.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            }
        },
        "total_line_items_price": "1.00",
        "total_line_items_price_set": {
            "shop_money": {
                "amount": "1.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            },
            "presentment_money": {
                "amount": "1.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            }
        },
        "total_outstanding": "1.00",
        "total_price": "1.00",
        "total_price_set": {
            "shop_money": {
                "amount": "1.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            },
            "presentment_money": {
                "amount": "1.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            }
        },
        "total_price_usd": "1.00",
        "total_shipping_price_set": {
            "shop_money": {
                "amount": "0.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            },
            "presentment_money": {
                "amount": "0.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            }
        },
        "total_tax": "0.00",
        "total_tax_set": {
            "shop_money": {
                "amount": "0.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            },
            "presentment_money": {
                "amount": "0.00",
                "currency_code": "USD"
            }
        },
        "total_tip_received": "0.00",
        "total_weight": 0,
        "updated_at": "2022-12-27T13:03:13-05:00",
        "user_id": null,
        "discount_applications": [],
        "fulfillments": [],
        "line_items": [
            {
                "id":{line_item_id},
                "admin_graphql_api_id": "gid://shopify/LineItem/{line_item_id}",
                "fulfillable_quantity": 1,
                "fulfillment_service": {my_service},
                "fulfillment_status": null,
                "gift_card": false,
                "grams": 1300,
                "name": "Test #1",
                "price": "1.00",
                "price_set": {
                    "shop_money": {
                        "amount": "1.00",
                        "currency_code": "USD"
                    },
                    "presentment_money": {
                        "amount": "1.00",
                        "currency_code": "USD"
                    }
                },
                "product_exists": false,
                "product_id": null,
                "properties": [],
                "quantity": 1,
                "requires_shipping": true,
                "sku": null,
                "taxable": true,
                "title": "Test #1",
                "total_discount": "0.00",
                "total_discount_set": {
                    "shop_money": {
                        "amount": "0.00",
                        "currency_code": "USD"
                    },
                    "presentment_money": {
                        "amount": "0.00",
                        "currency_code": "USD"
                    }
                },
                "variant_id": null,
                "variant_inventory_management": null,
                "variant_title": null,
                "vendor": null,
                "tax_lines": [
                    {
                        "channel_liable": null,
                        "price": "1.00",
                        "price_set": {
                            "shop_money": {
                                "amount": "1.00",
                                "currency_code": "USD"
                            },
                            "presentment_money": {
                                "amount": "1.00",
                                "currency_code": "USD"
                            }
                        },
                        "rate": 0.06,
                        "title": "State tax"
                    }
                ],
                "duties": [],
                "discount_allocations": []
            }
        ],
        "payment_terms": null,
        "refunds": [],
        "shipping_lines": []
    }
}

To get the fulfillment orders, I access this endpoint:

GET https://{shop_domain}/admin/api/2022-07/orders/{order_id}/fulfillment_orders.json

And I get this response:

{
    "fulfillment_orders": []
}

Does anyone have any idea as to what I might be doing wrong? I have come across several similar posts that have either gone completely unanswered or recommend changing the development store’s settings to fulfill orders automatically, which I tried to no avail.

1 Like
2

Hey @efertsch - thanks for getting in touch. This is definitely odd. I have encountered something similar to this before. Can you try testing the same app on other stores and see if the empty array for “fulfillment_orders” persists? If it doesn’t, the best workaround at the moment is to try and install another version of your app on the store (just create a new one via the partner dashboard or as a private app through the shop’s admin if you did so that way.

There’s a bit more information on a similar incident here at this link. If the error persists after you try both of those workarounds, just reply back here and I’d be happy to do a deeper dive into this with you.

1 Like