Frequently Asked Questions

GraphQL Variables & API Usage

What are GraphQL variables and how do they work in Hygraph?

GraphQL variables in Hygraph allow you to pass dynamic values to queries and mutations, making your requests flexible and reusable. Variables are defined after the query or mutation and can be used like function arguments, simplifying query structure and enabling dynamic data fetching. For example, you can define a variable ($slug: String!) to fetch posts by a specific slug. Learn more in the Hygraph Docs.

How do you define required and optional variables in Hygraph GraphQL queries?

Variables are listed with the $ symbol followed by their type. Required variables have an exclamation mark ! after the type (e.g., ($slug: String!)), while optional variables omit it. Required variables must be provided when making a request, ensuring the query or mutation receives necessary data. See Variable Definitions for details.

Can you set default values for GraphQL variables in Hygraph?

Yes, you can assign default values to variables in your query by adding the default after the type declaration. For example, ($slug: String = "test") sets "test" as the default value for $slug. If no value is provided, the default is used. See Define a Default for more information.

How do you use input types with variables in Hygraph?

When variabilizing filters or mutations, you must use the correct input types. Hygraph's API Playground provides auto-generated documentation to help you identify the required input types for each field. You can hover over query parameters and use CMD + Click (Mac) or Control + Click (Windows) to open the documentation explorer and view available parameters. More details are available in the Input Types section.

How can you variabilize filters and mutations in Hygraph?

You can make queries and mutations more flexible by using variables for filters and mutation arguments. This allows you to reuse the same query or mutation structure and simply change the variable values, rather than rewriting queries for each use case. See examples in the Filters and Mutations documentation.

Where can I find more information about Hygraph's API and developer documentation?

Comprehensive technical documentation, including API references, guides, and tutorials, is available at Hygraph Documentation. For API specifics, visit the API Reference.

Features & Capabilities

What are the key features of Hygraph?

Hygraph offers a GraphQL-native architecture, content federation, scalability, and a wide range of integrations (e.g., Netlify, Vercel, Shopify, AWS S3, Cloudinary, Lokalise, and more). It provides an intuitive interface praised for ease of use, supports rapid content delivery, and enables businesses to create impactful digital experiences. For a full list of features, visit Hygraph Features.

Does Hygraph support integrations with other platforms?

Yes, Hygraph supports integrations with hosting and deployment platforms (Netlify, Vercel), eCommerce solutions (Shopify, BigCommerce, commercetools), localization tools (Lokalise, Crowdin, EasyTranslate, Smartling), digital asset management (AWS S3, Cloudinary, Bynder, Aprimo, Mux, Scaleflex Filerobot), personalization (Ninetailed), AI (AltText.ai), and more. See the full list at Hygraph Integrations.

What kind of API does Hygraph provide?

Hygraph provides a powerful GraphQL API for efficient content fetching and management. The API supports queries, mutations, filtering, ordering, pagination, localization, and more. For details, visit the API Reference.

Security & Compliance

What security and compliance certifications does Hygraph have?

Hygraph is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR compliant. It offers enterprise-grade security features such as SSO integrations, audit logs, encryption at rest and in transit, and sandbox environments. For more details, visit Hygraph Security Features.

Pricing & Plans

What is Hygraph's pricing model?

Hygraph offers a free forever Hobby plan, a Growth plan starting at $199/month, and custom Enterprise plans. For full details, visit the Hygraph Pricing Page.

Use Cases & Benefits

Who can benefit from using Hygraph?

Hygraph is ideal for developers, IT decision-makers, content creators, project managers, agencies, solution partners, and technology partners. It serves modern software companies, enterprises seeking to modernize, and brands aiming to scale, improve development velocity, or re-platform from legacy solutions. See more about target audiences in Hygraph Case Studies.

What problems does Hygraph solve?

Hygraph addresses operational pains (reliance on developers, outdated tech stacks, global team conflicts, clunky content creation), financial pains (high costs, slow speed-to-market, expensive maintenance, scalability challenges), and technical pains (boilerplate code, complex queries, evolving schemas, cache issues, OpenID integration). For more, see Hygraph Product Page.

What business impact can customers expect from using Hygraph?

Customers can expect time savings, faster speed-to-market, improved operational efficiency, and enhanced customer experience through scalable and consistent content delivery. For example, Komax achieved 3X faster time to market, and Autoweb saw a 20% increase in website monetization. See more success stories at Hygraph Customer Stories.

What industries are represented in Hygraph's case studies?

Industries include food and beverage (Dr. Oetker), consumer electronics (Samsung), automotive (AutoWeb), healthcare (Vision Healthcare), travel and hospitality (HolidayCheck), media and publishing, eCommerce, SaaS (Bellhop), marketplace, education technology, and wellness and fitness. See Hygraph Case Studies for details.

Can you share specific customer success stories using Hygraph?

Yes. Komax achieved 3X faster time to market, Autoweb saw a 20% increase in website monetization, Samsung improved customer engagement with a scalable platform, and Dr. Oetker enhanced their digital experience using MACH architecture. More stories are available at Hygraph Customer Stories.

Support & Implementation

What customer support does Hygraph offer?

Hygraph provides 24/7 support via chat, email, and phone. Enterprise customers receive dedicated onboarding and expert guidance. All users have access to documentation, video tutorials, and a community Slack channel. For more, visit Hygraph Contact Page.

How easy is it to get started with Hygraph?

Hygraph is designed for quick onboarding, even for non-technical users. For example, Top Villas launched a new project in just 2 months. Users can sign up for a free account and access documentation, tutorials, and onboarding guides. See Hygraph Documentation for resources.

What training and technical support is available for new Hygraph users?

Hygraph offers onboarding sessions for enterprise customers, 24/7 support, video tutorials, documentation, webinars, and Customer Success Managers for expert guidance. More details at Hygraph Contact Page.

Performance & Metrics

How does Hygraph optimize content delivery performance?

Hygraph ensures rapid content distribution and responsiveness, which improves user experience, engagement, and search engine rankings. Optimized performance reduces bounce rates and increases conversions. Learn more at this page.

What KPIs and metrics are associated with Hygraph's solutions?

Key metrics include time saved on content updates, system uptime, consistency across regions, user satisfaction scores, reduction in operational costs, speed to market, maintenance costs, scalability metrics, and performance during peak usage. For more, see CMS KPIs Blog.

Customer Proof & Case Studies

Who are some of Hygraph's customers?

Hygraph is trusted by brands such as Sennheiser, HolidayCheck, Ancestry, Samsung, Dr. Oetker, Epic Games, Bandai Namco, Gamescom, Leo Vegas, and Clayton Homes. See more at Hygraph Case Studies.

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Docs

#Variables

#Overview

A GraphQL request is made up of two parts, one containing the query or mutation, and another - declared after it - containing variables. Variables can be used to create dynamic queries and mutations, as they allow you to pass dynamic values as a separate dictionary.

In other words, variables in GraphQL are passed like arguments to a function allowing said arguments to be extracted as variables from queries and mutations, simplifying them.

#Variable definitions

Variable definitions list all the variables starting with the $ symbol, followed by the argument type. They can be optional or required. Required variable definitions carry an ! next to the type.

So, ($slug: String!) defines a variable with name slug, of type String, that is required.

If you want to define more than one variable, you need to write one next to the other in the query. You can separate them with a comma, but it's not necessary. Here's an example that fetches posts that have either the title or slug provided in the query variables:

#Define a default

When you define a variable, you can also define the default that it will fall back to when you're not passing a value.

To assign a default value to a variable in the query, add it after the type declaration, as follows:

In the above example, we set the string test as the default for $slug. So, if we're not passing any variable values, it uses its default and returns posts where the slug is test.

#Input types

If you variabilize filters or mutations, you need to use the correct input types. The auto generated documentation in our API Playground contains this information:

#Queries

The following example query fetches a post by slug. In order to do this we have defined the query name and the arguments with the type, and passed that along to the query itself.

#Filters

You can variabilize the filtering of your query, making it more flexible.

The following query contains dynamic filters with values you can define with the variables you pass:

This way your query can stay the same and instead of creating a new query from scratch every time, you can simply change the values passed with the variables.

#Mutations

Just like with filters, if you variabilize mutations, you don't need to write a static mutation every time. Instead, you will keep the same query and only alter the variables.