Is it possible to programmatically enable/disable checkout validation rules like some apps do?

Technical Q&A

Topic summary

A developer is building a checkout validation function for a Shopify app and wants to programmatically enable/disable validation rules without manual intervention in Shopify Admin.

Current Setup:

  • Uses a metafield to control validation on/off state
  • Requires manual activation of checkout rules in Admin after deployment

Key Questions:

  1. Does an official Shopify Admin API or GraphQL mutation exist for programmatically managing checkout validation rules?
  2. How do apps like Simple Address Validator automatically toggle validation rules—through private APIs or workarounds?

Status: The question remains unanswered, with the developer seeking technical guidance on automation approaches or API capabilities.

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

Hi Shopify community,

I’m building a checkout validation function for my Shopify app. I’ve created a metafield that my function reads to decide whether to enforce validation (on/off) for a shop.

The problem is that, currently, after deploying the function, I have to manually add and activate the corresponding checkout rule in Shopify Admin for each shop. I want to avoid this manual step.

I noticed that the app Simple Address Validator seems to automatically turn on and off the checkout validation rules from the app itself. I’m curious how this is possible.

My questions:

  1. Is there any official Shopify Admin API or GraphQL mutation that allows apps to programmatically enable or disable checkout validation rules for a shop?

  2. If not, how might apps like Simple Address Validator achieve this behavior? Are they using hidden/private APIs, or is it done through some kind of workaround?

Any guidance or insights would be greatly appreciated.