> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.violet.io/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.violet.io/prism/merchants/configuration/shipping-and-your-platform.md).

# How Violet shipping works with the merchant's platform

Violet's shipping configuration does not replace the merchant's own shipping settings. It sits on top of them.

The merchant's commerce platform keeps calculating its own rates exactly as it does today. Every time a shopper checks out, Violet requests shipping rates from the merchant's platform. Whatever the platform returns is passed through to your channel by default, including rates from carriers connected there. What shoppers ultimately see is your channel's presentation of what gets passed through.

Violet's shipping settings act as filters and supplements on that pass-through:

1. **Exclusion settings** remove platform rates from the pass-through: the two toggles in [Choosing which shipping rates are passed through](/prism/merchants/configuration/choosing-shipping-rates.md), plus any rule-based [shipping exclusions](/prism/merchants/merchant-configurations.md#shipping-exclusions) configured for the merchant.
2. **Fallback methods** are methods you define in Violet, added alongside whatever remains. See [Fallback shipping methods](/prism/merchants/configuration/fallback-shipping-methods.md).
3. With **use fallback methods only when no other rates exist** turned on, fallback methods are passed through only when no platform rates remain after exclusions. See [When fallback methods are used](/prism/merchants/configuration/when-fallback-methods-apply.md).

These settings can hide rates the platform returns, or add methods the platform does not have, but they never change the platform's own configuration. With both toggles off, no rule-based shipping exclusions configured, and no fallback methods defined, your channel receives exactly what the merchant's platform returned.

{% hint style="info" %}
Because these settings gate what is passed through rather than what is displayed, the shopper-facing result also depends on how your channel presents shipping options at checkout.
{% endhint %}

## The settings at a glance

| Setting                          | What it controls                                                                                     | Guide                                                                                                         |
| -------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `exclude_external_methods`       | Replaces platform rates with fallback methods, when at least one fallback method applies to the cart | [Choosing which shipping rates are passed through](/prism/merchants/configuration/choosing-shipping-rates.md) |
| `exclude_external_free_shipping` | Stops the platform's free rates, for merchants with at least one fallback method defined             | [Choosing which shipping rates are passed through](/prism/merchants/configuration/choosing-shipping-rates.md) |
| Fallback methods                 | Methods defined in Violet, per merchant                                                              | [Fallback shipping methods](/prism/merchants/configuration/fallback-shipping-methods.md)                      |
| `use_fallback_methods_on_empty`  | Holds fallback methods in reserve                                                                    | [When fallback methods are used](/prism/merchants/configuration/when-fallback-methods-apply.md)               |

Endpoint definitions and field tables for all of these live in [Merchant Configuration Resources](/prism/merchants/merchant-configuration-resources.md).


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