Send your first test event

# Send your first test event

Canonical: https://docs.flowrelay.app/getting-started/first-event/
Markdown: https://docs.flowrelay.app/getting-started/first-event.md

Use this guide to prove the setup once with synthetic data before you send real business events.

## Steps
Complete these in order.
1. Open Shopify Admin, open FlowRelay, and create a test endpoint for the sender or system you control.
2. Choose the event type Shopify Flow should receive. Use Generic for the first proof when no specific type is required.
3. Choose HMAC-SHA256 when the sender can sign requests; otherwise use static-header auth and store the generated value privately.
4. In Shopify Flow, create a safe workflow with the matching FlowRelay trigger and a harmless test action.
5. Send one synthetic JSON event from the sender, using non-customer values that are safe to store in a test receipt.
6. Open Event history in FlowRelay, open the receipt, and confirm Delivered only means FlowRelay handed the trigger to Shopify Flow.

## Before you start
Use a Shopify store where FlowRelay is installed, a sender you control, and a Shopify Flow workflow that is safe to run. Send synthetic values for the first event, not real customer or merchant data.


## Success check
The first successful proof ends with a FlowRelay receipt that shows the event was accepted and Delivered. That means FlowRelay received, authenticated, validated, normalized, and handed the trigger to Shopify Flow.


## If it does not deliver
Use the receipt outcome to pick the next owner instead of retrying blindly.


- Outcome: Authentication failed; Likely owner: Sender and endpoint setup; Next action: Fix the signing or static header setup, then ask the sender to send a fresh synthetic event.
- Outcome: Required field or mapping failed; Likely owner: Sender payload or endpoint mapping; Next action: Fix the JSON path or sender payload. Use a sender resend because FlowRelay rejected the event before a successful handoff.
- Outcome: No matching Shopify Flow workflow; Likely owner: Shopify Flow setup; Next action: Enable the matching FlowRelay trigger, then preview replay if the accepted event is still retained.
- Outcome: Handoff failed; Likely owner: FlowRelay to Shopify Flow boundary; Next action: Read the error code, confirm replay availability, and share diagnostics if support or a partner needs evidence.

## Handoff Boundary
Delivered means FlowRelay handed the trigger to Shopify Flow. It does not mean downstream Shopify Flow branches, app calls, fulfillment changes, emails, or later systems completed.

## Related
- [Create an endpoint](https://docs.flowrelay.app/setup/endpoints.md)
- [Authenticate requests](https://docs.flowrelay.app/setup/authentication.md)
- [Read receipts](https://docs.flowrelay.app/operate/receipts.md)

## Safety Boundary
Do not include raw payloads, endpoint secrets, auth headers, HMAC values, Shopify tokens, Shopify sessions, database URLs, customer data, merchant incidents, or copied private logs in public examples.