Wc Shipping Providers

WooCommerce fulfillment shipping providers

This is the provider registry for WooCommerce's Order Fulfillments feature. It is not a shipping-rate method and does not implement label purchasing or carrier API calls.

Feature status

In WooCommerce 11.0.0, feature ID fulfillments is disabled by default and its feature UI is hidden. Classes existing on disk does not mean fulfillment UI/routes are active.

use Automattic\WooCommerce\Utilities\FeaturesUtil;

if ( ! FeaturesUtil::feature_is_enabled( 'fulfillments' ) ) {
    return;
}

Do not force-enable the feature from an extension. Guard integration and provide graceful no-op behavior when it is off or the provider base class is unavailable.

Provider contract

The base class requires:

get_key(): string
get_name(): string
get_icon(): string
get_tracking_url(string $tracking_number): string

Optional methods:

get_shipping_from_countries(): array
get_shipping_to_countries(): array
can_ship_from/can_ship_to/can_ship_from_to
try_parse_tracking_number(number, from, to): ?array

An empty country list makes the base can_ship_* methods return false. Override with real ISO alpha-2 coverage when country matching matters.

Provider class

namespace MyPlugin\Fulfillment;

use Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\Features\Fulfillments\Providers\AbstractShippingProvider;

final class ExampleCarrier extends AbstractShippingProvider {
    public function get_key(): string {
        return 'myplugin-example-carrier';
    }

    public function get_name(): string {
        return 'Example Carrier';
    }

    public function get_icon(): string {
        return plugins_url( 'assets/example-carrier.png', MYPLUGIN_FILE );
    }

    public function get_tracking_url( string $tracking_number ): string {
        return 'https://tracking.example/parcel/' . rawurlencode( $tracking_number );
    }

    public function get_shipping_from_countries(): array {
        return array( 'HU', 'AT', 'SK' );
    }

    public function get_shipping_to_countries(): array {
        return array( 'HU', 'AT', 'SK', 'DE', 'CZ' );
    }

    public function try_parse_tracking_number(
        string $tracking_number,
        string $shipping_from,
        string $shipping_to
    ): ?array {
        $tracking_number = strtoupper( trim( $tracking_number ) );

        if ( ! preg_match( '/^EX[A-Z0-9]{10}$/', $tracking_number ) ) {
            return null;
        }

        return array(
            'url'             => $this->get_tracking_url( $tracking_number ),
            'ambiguity_score' => $this->can_ship_from_to( $shipping_from, $shipping_to ) ? 95 : 70,
        );
    }
}

Keep get_key() globally unique and stable; stored fulfillment records and API responses use it as identity. Prefix a custom key. Names are display labels and can change; keys must not.

Registration

The filter is woocommerce_fulfillment_shipping_providers:

use Automattic\WooCommerce\Admin\Features\Fulfillments\Providers\AbstractShippingProvider;
use Automattic\WooCommerce\Utilities\FeaturesUtil;

add_action( 'woocommerce_init', static function (): void {
    if (
        ! FeaturesUtil::feature_is_enabled( 'fulfillments' ) ||
        ! class_exists( AbstractShippingProvider::class )
    ) {
        return;
    }

    add_filter( 'woocommerce_fulfillment_shipping_providers', static function ( array $providers ): array {
        $providers[] = MyPlugin\Fulfillment\ExampleCarrier::class;
        return $providers;
    }, 30 );
} );

Filter entries can be provider instances or subclass class strings. Class strings are resolved through WooCommerce's DI container. Invalid entries are silently skipped.

Resolution re-keys providers by get_key(). If two entries return the same key, the later resolved provider overwrites the earlier one. Treat a collision as a compatibility bug; never intentionally replace a core/third-party provider by copying its key.

Tracking parser

try_parse_tracking_number() returns null for no match or:

array(
    'url'             => 'https://...',
    'ambiguity_score' => 95,
)

WooCommerce collects matching providers and picks the highest numeric ambiguity score. Use narrow patterns and country context. Broad numeric regexes with high scores steal tracking numbers from other carriers.

Recommended confidence approach:

• 95-100: carrier-specific prefix plus valid check digit/length.
• 80-94: strong format, minor ambiguity.
• 60-79: generic fallback that should lose to a precise provider.
• null: unsupported format.

The scale is convention in current built-ins, not a formally versioned public enum. Test overlap against WooCommerce's bundled providers.

URL and icon safety

• Encode the tracking number as a path/query component; never concatenate raw request text.
• Return HTTPS tracking URLs.
• Do not accept a caller-provided base URL.
• Return an absolute icon URL to a small, non-sensitive asset.
• get_tracking_url( '__PLACEHOLDER__' ) is used to build the v4 provider response template, so the method must remain deterministic for placeholder input.

REST representation

When the feature/routes are active, GET /wc/v4/fulfillments/providers returns each provider as:

{
  "label": "Example Carrier",
  "icon": "https://.../example-carrier.png",
  "value": "myplugin-example-carrier",
  "url": "https://tracking.example/parcel/__PLACEHOLDER__"
}

The response filter is woocommerce_rest_prepare_fulfillments_providers. It is for response shaping, not provider registration. Register through the fulfillment provider filter so admin parsing and REST use the same source.

Stability boundary

The provider base class lives under Admin\Features\Fulfillments, and the feature is still operationally gated. Guard class and feature availability, test each supported WooCommerce minor, and avoid importing internal manager/utility classes for business logic.

Critical rules

• Do not confuse providers with WC_Shipping_Method rate calculation.
• Do not force-enable fulfillments.
• Use a stable prefixed provider key and avoid collisions.
• Return null for uncertain formats and use conservative scores.
• Encode tracking values and never log full sensitive payloads.
• Test provider list REST output, manual selection, auto-detection, and overlapping formats.

Cross-references

• wc-shipping-method for checkout rates.
• wc-rest-api-v4 for fulfillment endpoints and feature gating.
• wc-order-lifecycle-and-items for order fulfillment side effects.

References

• Provider contract: src/Admin/Features/Fulfillments/Providers/AbstractShippingProvider.php.
• Registry resolution: src/Admin/Features/Fulfillments/FulfillmentUtils.php.
• Best-score parser: src/Admin/Features/Fulfillments/FulfillmentsManager.php.
• Verified source paths:
  • wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/src/Internal/RestApi/Routes/V4/Fulfillments/Controller.php
  • wp-content/plugins/woocommerce/src/Internal/Features/FeaturesController.php