Geo Simulator

The Geo Simulator lets you test your redirect setup by simulating visits from any country — no VPN or proxy required. It runs entirely in your browser via a cookie, so it persists across page loads until you reset it.

Prerequisites

The theme app embed must be enabled before the simulator will work. See Activating Theme Embed if you haven’t done this yet.

Activating the Simulator

Append ?xgeo-sim=1 to any storefront URL and load the page:

https://your-store.myshopify.com/?xgeo-sim=1

A simulator panel will appear on your storefront. You only need the query parameter on the first load — the panel stays open until you close or disable it.

Using the Panel

The panel lets you:

Select a country — choose any country from the dropdown to simulate a visit from that location
Select a continent — simulate a visit from an entire continent region
View current geo — see what country/continent the simulator is currently set to
Reset — clear the simulation and return to your real detected location
Disable — close the panel and stop the simulation

After selecting a country, reload the page to trigger your redirect rules as if you were visiting from that location.

Deactivating the Simulator

To deactivate before the cookie expires, use any of these methods:

Click Disable in the simulator panel
Append ?xgeo-sim=0 to any storefront URL

How It Works

The simulation is stored in a browser cookie. When active, the app reads the simulated country instead of making a real geolocation lookup. This means:

The simulation persists across page navigations on the same store and expires automatically after 24 hours
It only affects your browser session — real visitors are unaffected
Clicking Reset clears the simulated country; clicking Disable ends the simulation entirely

Use Cases

Verify that widgets and auto-redirects fire correctly for a specific country before going live
Test geo targeting rules (country/continent inclusion and exclusion)
Check display settings — frequency, page targeting, delay — work as expected
Confirm that Shopify Markets redirects land on the correct market URL

Activating Theme Embed — required before the simulator works
Geo Targeting Rules — configure which countries trigger your rules
Custom Widget Redirects — test widget display
Custom Auto Redirects — test silent redirects