---
description: Learn how to use Rules simulator in the dashboard and with the API.
title: Use Rules simulator
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/rules/simulator/how-to/og.png?v=1f45bc97fef8d9e8
---

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> Documentation Index  
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://developers.cloudflare.com/rules/llms.txt  
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Use Rules simulator

Last updated Oct 30, 2026|Copy as Markdown| [View as Markdown](https://developers.cloudflare.com/rules/simulator/how-to/index.md)| [Agent setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/)

## Use Rules simulator in the dashboard

### 1. Configure one or more Cloudflare products

1. Log in to the [Cloudflare dashboard ↗︎](https://dash.cloudflare.com), and select your account.
2. Set configuration settings at the account level, or select a domain and configure settings for one or more Cloudflare products.

### 2. Build a simulation

1. In the Cloudflare dashboard, go to the **Simulator** page. [Go to **Rules simulator** ↗](https://dash.cloudflare.com/?to=/:account/rules/simulator)
2. Enter a URL to simulate. The URL must include a hostname that belongs to your account.
3. Select an HTTP method. If you select *POST*, *PUT*, or *PATCH*, you should enter a value in **Request Body**.
4. (Optional) Define any custom request properties to simulate the conditions of a specific HTTP/S request. You can customize the following request properties:
   - **Protocol** (HTTP protocol version)
   - **User Agent and Request Headers**
   - **Cookies**
   - **Geolocation** (request source [country](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ruleset-engine/rules-language/fields/reference/ip.src.country/), [region](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ruleset-engine/rules-language/fields/reference/ip.src.region/), and [city](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ruleset-engine/rules-language/fields/reference/ip.src.city/))
   - [**Bot Score**](https://developers.cloudflare.com/bots/concepts/bot-score/)
   - **Request Body** (for `POST`, `PUT`, and `PATCH` requests)
   - **Skip Challenge** (skips a Cloudflare-issued [challenge](https://developers.cloudflare.com/cloudflare-challenges/), if any, allowing the simulation to continue)
5. Select **Run simulation**.

### 3. Assess results

The **Simulation results** page shows all evaluated and executed configurations from different Cloudflare products, in evaluation order. Any inactive rules are not evaluated.

1. Analyze the different [steps](#steps-in-simulation-results) with evaluated and executed configurations for the current simulation. Simulation results include matches for all active rules and configurations, whether configured at the account level or for a specific domain or subdomain.

   To show all configurations, including the ones that did not match the request, select *All configurations* in the **Results shown** dropdown.
2. (Optional) Update your Cloudflare configuration (at the account or at the domain/subdomain level) and run a new simulation to check the impact of your changes.

### 4. (Optional) Save the simulation configuration

To run a simulation later with the same configuration:

1. Copy the JSON shown in the dashboard with the current simulation configuration.
2. When creating a new simulation, paste it in the JSON box to define all the settings of the new simulation.

## Use Rules simulator via API

Use the [Request Trace](https://developers.cloudflare.com/api/resources/request_tracers/subresources/traces/methods/create/) operation to perform a simulation using the Cloudflare API.

---

## Steps in simulation results

- Execution of one or more rules of Cloudflare products built on the [Ruleset Engine](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ruleset-engine/). Refer to the Ruleset Engine's [Phases list](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ruleset-engine/reference/phases-list/) for a list of such products.
- [Page Rules](https://developers.cloudflare.com/rules/page-rules/): Execution of one or more rules.
- [Workers](https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/): Execution of one or more scripts.

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