Shopify Flow actions

How Alva actions behave

Every Alva Courses action looks up the course in your own store only, by Flow ID or URL handle, including a handle the course had before you changed its URL. When a step can't do its job, it fails with a message that says why and what to change, and Flow doesn't retry it. When Alva Courses has a temporary problem, Flow retries the step automatically for up to 36 hours.

A step that finds nothing to do succeeds and says so, such as enrolling someone who is already enrolled. If Flow delivers the same run twice, Alva Courses recognises it and doesn't repeat the work. The one exception is rare: if Alva couldn't record a finished run and Flow never got the answer, Extend access by this many days or Resend course access email can apply twice.

Messages that more than one action can show:

No course with ID or handle '…' in this store. The Course field doesn't match a course in this store. Copy the ID or handle again from Settings → Integrations → Shopify Flow.
Enter a course ID or URL handle in the Course field. Find them in Alva Courses → Settings → Integrations → Shopify Flow. The Course field is empty, or a variable in it came out empty.
This action needs a customer. Use it after a trigger or step that provides one. The workflow has no customer at this point.
This customer isn't enrolled in "…". Use Enroll customer in course first. The action needs an existing enrolment.
Alva Courses hit a temporary error. Shopify Flow will retry this action automatically. Nothing to do: Flow tries again.
Too many Alva Courses actions are running for this store at once. Shopify Flow will retry. A workflow started many runs together; Flow spreads them out.
Already processed Flow sent a run that had already finished, so nothing was done twice.

Enrolment and access actions

These actions give, take away and adjust course access. Pair them with Shopify triggers, such as a customer tag being added or an order being paid, to run memberships, cohorts and promotions without touching each student by hand.

`Enroll customer in course`

Give a customer access to an Alva course.

Field	Type	Required	Notes
Customer	Shopify customer	Required	Filled in by Flow from the trigger, or from an earlier step that provides a customer.
`Course ID or URL handle`	Text	Required	Find it in Alva Courses → Settings → Integrations → Shopify Flow.
`Access length in days`	Whole number	Optional	Leave blank to use the course's own access setting.
`Send the course access email`	Checkbox	Optional	—

Enrols the customer in the course, adding them as a member in Alva Courses if they're new; they must already be a customer in your Shopify store. Leave Access length in days blank to use the course's own access setting, or enter 1 to 36,500 days. Free courses always get unlimited access. The new enrolment fires Course enrollment created with Enrollment source set to flow.

Tick Send the course access email to email the student their link. If the email can't be sent, the enrolment still stands and the step's message says the email wasn't sent. A student whose access was revoked is never re-enrolled by automation.

Enrolled in "…". Done. The message also says whether the course access email was sent.
Already enrolled in "…". Nothing changed. If their access has run out, the message says so; use Extend or set course access to extend it.
This customer's access to "…" was revoked by a Flow action. Restore it from the customer's member page in Alva Courses. See restore access that a workflow revoked.
This customer's access to "…" was revoked after a refund; automation won't restore it. A refunded course comes back with a new purchase.
No Shopify customer with ID … in this store. The customer was deleted, or the ID came from another store.
Access length in days must be between 1 and 36,500 days. Leave the field blank to use the course's own setting.

`Revoke course access`

Remove a customer's access to an Alva course. Their progress, quiz attempts and coursework are kept.

Field	Type	Required	Notes
Customer	Shopify customer	Required	Filled in by Flow from the trigger, or from an earlier step that provides a customer.
`Course ID or URL handle`	Text	Required	Find it in Alva Courses → Settings → Integrations → Shopify Flow.

Removes the customer's access without deleting anything: completed lessons, quiz attempts and coursework are kept. Alva Courses also removes the course's progress tags from the customer if you use them, and fires Course access removed with Reason revoked by flow. To give access back, use Restore access on the student's page in Members; see restore access that a workflow revoked.

Access to "…" revoked. Progress and coursework are kept; restore access from the customer's member page in Alva Courses. Done.
This customer isn't enrolled in "…"; nothing to revoke. The step succeeds without changing anything.
Access to "…" was already revoked. The step succeeds without changing anything.

`Extend or set course access`

Change when a customer's access to an Alva course expires. Fill in exactly one of the three options.

Field	Type	Required	Notes
Customer	Shopify customer	Required	Filled in by Flow from the trigger, or from an earlier step that provides a customer.
`Course ID or URL handle`	Text	Required	Find it in Alva Courses → Settings → Integrations → Shopify Flow.
`Extend access by this many days`	Whole number	Optional	Added to the current expiry date, or to today if access has already expired.
`Set the expiry date`	Text	Optional	YYYY-MM-DD, in your store's time zone. Access ends at the end of that day.
`Give unlimited access`	Checkbox	Optional	—

Changes when the customer's access ends. Fill in exactly one option. Extend access by this many days adds 1 to 36,500 days to the current expiry date, or to today if access has already run out. Set the expiry date ends access at the end of that day in your store's time zone. Give unlimited access removes the end date.

It never gives back revoked access. It also refuses an expiry date that Alva Courses wouldn't enforce: on free courses, and on access that comes from a membership tag. Extending unlimited access leaves it unlimited.

Access to "…" now ends at …. Done. The new end is shown in UTC.
Fill in exactly one option: Extend access by this many days, Set the expiry date, or Give unlimited access. None or more than one was filled in.
Set the expiry date as YYYY-MM-DD, such as 2026-12-31 (got '…'). Type the date in exactly that format, or make sure the variable you used produces it.
Changing the expiry date wouldn't restore access, so nothing was changed. The student's access was revoked; the message starts with the reason.
This customer's access to "…" comes from a membership tag, which never expires. Remove the tag to end access instead.
"…" is a free course, and free courses have no access limit, so there's no expiry date to set. Nothing was changed.
Access to "…" is already unlimited; nothing to extend. The step succeeds without changing anything.

Email actions

These actions send Alva Courses' own emails, using your templates and sending domain. Use them to resend a lost course link, or to send a certificate on your schedule instead of the moment a course is completed.

`Resend course access email`

Email a customer the link to an Alva course they're enrolled in.

Field	Type	Required	Notes
Customer	Shopify customer	Required	Filled in by Flow from the trigger, or from an earlier step that provides a customer.
`Course ID or URL handle`	Text	Required	Find it in Alva Courses → Settings → Integrations → Shopify Flow.

Emails the customer the link to a course they're enrolled in, using your course access email template. To protect students from a workflow that loops, Alva Courses sends it at most 3 times per customer per course in any hour. Further runs wait, and Flow retries them once the hour allows.

Course access email for "…" sent. Done.
The course access email for "…" was already sent 3 times to this customer in the last hour. Shopify Flow will retry later. The step waits and retries by itself.
Course emails are turned off for this store. Turn them on in Alva Courses → Settings → Emails, then run the workflow again.
This customer has no email address in Alva Courses, so no email was sent.
The course access email couldn't be sent. Check that the course access email template is turned on in Alva Courses and the customer's email address is valid.

`Send course certificate`

Email a customer their certificate for an Alva course they've completed. Does nothing if it was already sent.

Field	Type	Required	Notes
Customer	Shopify customer	Required	Filled in by Flow from the trigger, or from an earlier step that provides a customer.
`Course ID or URL handle`	Text	Required	Find it in Alva Courses → Settings → Integrations → Shopify Flow.

Emails the customer their certificate for a course they've completed. If the certificate was already sent, automatically or by an earlier run, the step succeeds without sending it again. A certificate sent by this action fires Course certificate issued. Students whose access was revoked don't get one.

Certificate for "…" sent. Done.
Already sent on …. The step succeeds; nothing is sent twice.
This customer hasn't completed "…" yet, so no certificate was sent.
Certificates are turned off for "…". Turn them on in the course settings in Alva Courses.
"…" requires a passing evaluation before a certificate is issued, and this customer doesn't have one yet.
Certificate emails are turned off for this store. Turn them on in Alva Courses → Certificates, then run the workflow again.
No certificate design is set up for this store. Set one up in Alva Courses → Certificates, then run the workflow again.
This customer has no valid email address in Alva Courses, so no certificate was sent.

Progress actions

These actions read or clear a student's progress. Get course progress is the building block for nudges and reports; Reset course progress is for retakes and recertification, and it can't be undone.

`Reset course progress`

Reset a customer's progress in an Alva course. This permanently deletes their completed lessons, quiz attempts and coursework evaluations.

Field	Type	Required	Notes
Customer	Shopify customer	Required	Filled in by Flow from the trigger, or from an earlier step that provides a customer.
`Course ID or URL handle`	Text	Required	Find it in Alva Courses → Settings → Integrations → Shopify Flow.
`I understand this permanently deletes progress`	Checkbox	Required	Must be ticked, or the action does nothing and reports an error.

The student starts the course again from the beginning. Their access, purchase, enrolment, reflection notes and comments are kept. The step does nothing unless I understand this permanently deletes progress is ticked. Each reset shows in the Progress resets card on the student's member page, made by store staff.

Because the reset clears the completion, finishing the course again fires Course completed again and sends a new certificate if the course awards one. Each lesson completed again fires Course lesson completed with Repeat completion set to true.

Progress in "…" reset. Completed lessons, quiz attempts and evaluations were deleted; access is unchanged. Done.
Tick “I understand this permanently deletes progress” in this step to reset progress. Nothing was changed.

`Get course progress`

Look up a customer's progress in an Alva course, to use in later steps.

Field	Type	Required	Notes
Customer	Shopify customer	Required	Filled in by Flow from the trigger, or from an earlier step that provides a customer.
`Course ID or URL handle`	Text	Required	Find it in Alva Courses → Settings → Integrations → Shopify Flow.

It returns these values, which later steps in the same workflow can use:

Value	Type	Meaning
`enrolled`	True or false	Whether the customer is enrolled and not revoked
`percentComplete`	Number	Percent of live lessons completed
`completed`	True or false	Whether the course is complete
`lessonsCompleted`	Whole number	Lessons completed
`accessExpiresAt`	Text	Access expiry, ISO 8601, empty when unlimited

Looks up the customer's progress without changing anything, so a later condition can branch on it: for example, wait 7 days after enrolment, then email students whose percentComplete is below 10. See nudge students who haven't started a course.

A customer who isn't enrolled returns enrolled false and zeros, and so does a customer Alva Courses doesn't know yet. A student whose access was revoked returns enrolled false with the progress they had. percentComplete and lessonsCompleted count only lessons that are live in the course, not drafts.

Enrolled; 40% of "…" complete. Done; the values are ready for later steps.
Access revoked; 40% of "…" complete. Done; enrolled is false.
Not enrolled in "…". Done; enrolled is false and the numbers are 0.

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Last updated 2026-10-01