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Product roundup: Q1 2024

This quarter, we launched Hygraph Studio in beta along with several other new features, including the Hygraph Asset system, Regional Deployments of our Management Server, and Entry-based Cache Invalidation.
Shahan Syed

Written by Shahan Syed

Apr 16, 2024
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#TL: DR

  • We launched Hygraph Studio, the new, intuitive experience for working with your content in Hygraph.
  • We introduced regional deployments of the Management Server for a faster app experience and reduced latency for management operations.
  • We’ve redirected all newly created blank projects to run on a faster and more reliable Asset Management System.
  • We’ve introduced a new granular, entry-based Cache Invalidation model.
  • We’ve launched OAuth Support for commercetools and Commerce Layer Remote Sources.

#Hygraph Studio: Performance and efficiency at your fingertips

Our biggest update this quarter has been the launch of our new Hygraph Studio in beta. You can log into your Hygraph project and test it out.

The video below shows how to launch your existing projects in the Hygraph Studio.

Here’s a summary of everything new in the beta:

  • Revamped content form.
  • Field outlines for easier navigation.
  • Command Menu for quicker access.
  • Revised Content Table for content-rich data.
  • Revamped Schema View.
  • Lazy loading of components.

Watch the session recordings from Hygraph Studio’s virtual launch event.

Since Hygraph Studio is in beta, some of the features from the current interface (Hygraph Classic) will not be available in Studio as yet. To access these capabilities, please use Hygraph Classic, which will remain available without any changes.

Here’s a list of all the capabilities that are not available in the beta:

  • Remote Fields
  • Localizations
  • Content duplication
  • Versioning
  • Scheduled Publishing
  • Webhooks
  • Project Settings

#New Features

Regional Deployments of the Management Server

With the new distributed deployments of the Management Server, the Management API is now located in the same region as your content. This translates to faster load times, improved disaster recovery, and reduced latency for management operations across all regions.

With this major upgrade, you'll notice a solid acceleration in performance—up to 10x reduction in latency for all operations, from browsing the schema or content in the Hygraph UI to applying changes through the SDK.

You might have noticed that you are now redirected to a regional subdomain after signing in to your Hygraph project.

New regional subdomain for Hygraph webapp.png

To use your new regional endpoint for programmatic management operations:

  • Navigate to Project Settings -> API Access.
  • Copy and use the new URL under the Management API.

Replacing the new Management API endpoint.png

Read more on the Regional Deployments of our Management Server

New Asset Management System

We introduced our new Asset Management system, now available for all new, blank projects.

This has been developed with a clear focus on improving performance and availability. The changes we’ve implemented in the backend architecture have resulted in a 10x increase in asset performance.

Regarding UI, there are minor changes in Hygraph Studio and none in Hygraph Classic. The asset grid view is coming soon as we gear up for the final release.

New Hygraph Asset Management System.png

The new system offers:

  • Faster asset uploads and delivery
  • A new method to upload assets using GraphQL
  • A new URL for serving assets
  • Support for SEO-friendly URLs
  • More powerful transformations

Read more on the new Hygraph Asset Management System

Entry-based Cache Invalidation

When you make changes to content in Hygraph, stale content on the cache is invalidated. Upon the following user's request, the content is served from the origin instead and cached again.

This ensures that the content served to the user is fresh and encapsulates all changes made by the editorial team.

Last year, we enhanced our caching strategy by introducing model-and-stage-based Cache invalidation, invalidating the cache only for the model or stage in which the content changes were made.

We’ve taken things a step further with entry-based Cache Invalidation. This means that for any content changes, we only invalidate the cache for the exact entry that was changed.

In real-world scenarios, content entries rarely exist in isolation — consider relationships or multiple nested relationships.

Visit the documentation for Hygraph Classic and Hygraph Studio to learn more about all possible scenarios.

Overall, a more granular approach ensures that content is more often served from the cache than the origin, leading to a higher cache-hit ratio. As a result, downstream applications load much faster.

If you haven't already, please switch to the new endpoint by going to your project settings > API Access. Copy the URL under the high-performance content API and replace it with the existing endpoint in your front-end applications.

OAuth Support for commercetools and Commerce Layer Remote Sources

Hygraph’s Content Federation capabilities allow you to connect any external API configured as ‘Remote Sources’ in your project.

You can seamlessly connect to any API that requires no authentication or uses a static token. With the previous workflow, you could add an OAuth access token here but you’d have to update it manually upon expiry. The downside of this approach was that it could lead to API calls failing in production if not done in time.

To avoid this, we are now supporting external APIs using the OAuth authentication standard. This quarter, we launched this for the most popular eCommerce Remote Sources: commercetools and Commerce Layer, and we plan to roll out support for others soon.

New OAuth Support.png

This new feature is only available in the new Hygraph Studio. To configure OAuth, please switch to Hygraph Studio [beta\.

Once, a Remote Source has been added, you can use Hygraph Classic to add Remote Fields to individual models.

Read our complete documentation on how to set it up.

#Sneak Peek

Live Previews

With Hygraph’s current Content Preview capabilities, editors can open a preview link in a new tab or window to view how the final content will look.

We will soon release Live Previews, where editors can view the content editing form and the final preview side-by-side. Any changes made will be reflected in the preview in real time.

This will help improve editors’ productivity and help them publish content faster.

Automated backups

We will offer a range of capabilities based on your subscription plan to empower you with greater control over your backups. These include automated backups that allow you to roll back to earlier project versions if something goes wrong.

Permissions for Apps

We will introduce installation permissions for custom apps built using our App Framework. You can keep these apps private, restrict them to your organization’s users, or make them public.

We will also introduce functionality to define permissions for individual user roles within custom applications. For example, you could allow only editors to view app elements while others cannot.

Asset System Migration Tooling

The new Hygraph Asset Management System will soon be available for existing projects as well. Although low effort, some migration tasks will need action from your end. Stay tuned for detailed guidelines and steps to migrate seamlessly.

#Community Spotlight

Hygraph Live Streams

Hygraph has a weekly livestream in which our Dev Rel team showcases real-world headless CMS use cases. They explore features through live-coding, with expert guests and by learning in public.

Watch our recordings and subscribe to our YouTube channel, or keep a lookout for new upcoming streams.

Zillow Property App with Google MAP API + Next.js

Ania Kubów recently built one of her projects using Hygraph, a property app similar to Zillow. The app includes a search functionality that allows users to filter out properties and their locations on a Google Map.

Watch the tutorial and create your own in under 2 hours.

SKNCRE, a Hygraph cosmetics brand demo

skncre-og-cover.png

This quarter, we introduced our new SKNCRE starter for a fictitious cosmetics brand selling premium snail slime skin care products. This is a composable commerce demo with Hygraph, NuxtJS, and an external API for product data.

Hygraph simplifies composable commerce for you, enabling seamless integration between product information (from your PIM), the content of the website in Hygraph (or another CMS), and commerce features such as a cart, checkout, account, and payments in yet another system (a commerce engine).

Build a project with this starter.

Join our community

​​Want to stay informed about all the features and updates we launch, and test and provide feedback? Join our community through Slack to stay up-to-date on all Hygraph announcements and events. Stay involved with Hygraph and our team!

Join our Community Slack →

Blog Author

Shahan Syed

Shahan Syed

Shahan is the Product Marketing Manager at Hygraph. Living in Pakistan, he loves to spend time exploring places, pencil sketching, reading, and watching science fiction and K-dramas.

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