---
description: Catch invalid rule configurations before publishing them by using automatic dashboard validation or the Rulesets API dry-run option.
title: Validate Rulesets changes before deployment
image: https://developers.cloudflare.com/changelog/post/2026-09-17-rulesets-dry-run-validation/og.png?v=0999cbc57360ee1b
---

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September 17, 2026

## Validate Rulesets changes before deployment

[Rules](https://developers.cloudflare.com/rules/)

Copy as Markdown| [View as Markdown](https://developers.cloudflare.com/changelog/post/2026-09-17-rulesets-dry-run-validation/index.md)| [Agent setup](https://developers.cloudflare.com/agent-setup/)

Cloudflare Rules now validates ruleset changes before deployment, helping you catch invalid expressions, action parameters, permission issues, unavailable features, and quota limits without publishing the configuration.

The Cloudflare dashboard performs this validation automatically when you create or update rules from **Security** > **Security rules** or **Rules** > **Overview**.

Supported Rulesets API mutation endpoints now also accept the `dry_run=true` query parameter. A dry run performs the same authorization and server-side validation checks as the requested change, but does not persist or publish it. Successful operations that normally return a `200` response return `result: null`. Operations that normally return `204` continue to do so.

#### API example

Add `dry_run=true` to a Rulesets API request to validate it without creating the ruleset:

```bash
curl --request POST \
  "https://api.cloudflare.com/client/v4/zones/$ZONE_ID/rulesets?dry_run=true" \
  --header "Authorization: Bearer $CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN" \
  --header "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data '{
    "name": "Custom firewall rules",
    "kind": "zone",
    "phase": "http_request_firewall_custom",
    "rules": [
      {
        "action": "block",
        "expression": "ip.src.country eq \"GB\"",
        "description": "Block requests from the United Kingdom",
        "enabled": true
      }
    ]
  }'
```

For more information, refer to [Validate rule changes before deployment](https://developers.cloudflare.com/ruleset-engine/rulesets-api/dry-run/).

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