Field Types

Your schema is built up of GraphQL types. If you’re familiar working with GraphQL, you should feel right at home. Hygraph supports all of the common GraphQL types you are used to, as well as some of its own.

You may also be interested in how input types work for filtering, ordering, paginating, and mutating data.

Here you will discover the core field types available when building your Hygraph schema. Since your schema is automatically generated, it is recommended you browse the API Playground to get inspect all available field type definitions.

StringAnchor

Hygraph supports a few variations of the String field type. Strings are just strings, but depending on the variation you add to your model, it will reflect how it appears to content editors.

Variant	Description
Single line text	Most used with headings, page titles, email, etc.
Multi line text	Most used with strings that require no formatting, raw text like HTML, and XML where you control the parsing.
Markdown	Markdown is most used as an alternative to Rich Text. Enables advanced techniques such as MDX.
Slug	Slug template with automatic initial value generation based off existing fields.

All 3 variations of the String type are queried in the same way, and return the strings of the field they represent:

{
  products {
    singleLineTextField
    multiLineTextField
    markdownField
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "products": [
      {
        "singleLineTextField": "Hygraph Mug",
        "multiLineTextField": "Welcome to Hygraph",
        "markdownField": "# Hello"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Rich TextAnchor

The RichText field type is an advanced String field that returns your content in 4 different formats; raw, html, markdown, and text.

The Rich Text field renders an advanced textarea with tools to add headings, links, tables, images, lists, etc.

When a Rich Text field is added to your model, it will automatically generate the following types:

type RichText {
  raw: RichTextAST!
  html: String!
  markdown String!
  text: String!
}

If Rich Text Embeds are enabled, RichText will include the field json instead of raw.

For example, we can query all of those on our RichText field type content:

{
  posts {
    content {
      raw
      html
      markdown
      text
    }
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "posts": [
      {
        "content": {
          "raw": {
            "children": [
              {
                "type": "paragraph",
                "children": [
                  {
                    "text": "GraphQL CMS"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          "html": "<p>GraphQL CMS</p>",
          "markdown": "GraphQL CMS\n",
          "text": "GraphQL CMS"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

You can also embed Assets and other models inside Rich Text as block, inline or link embeds.

You can find out how to enable Rich text embeds in our field configuration docs.

With Rich Text Embeds enabled, your API will have some new types added. The name of your field will be now a type appended by RichText, and RichTextEmbeddedTypes inside your schema.

For example, if you had the model Post and field content, the types generates would be PostContentRichText, and PostContentRichTextEmbeddedTypes respectively.

The PostContentRichText type will look like the following:

type RichText {
  json: RichTextAST!
  html: String!
  markdown String!
  text: String!
  references: [PostContentRichTextEmbeddedTypes!]!
}

The references field will be a union relation to the types you embedded, for example Asset.

You should use the references field when querying json to get the url (with any transformations, handle, or any of the Asset fields.

{
  posts {
    content {
      json
      html
      markdown
      text
      references {
        __typename
        ... on Asset {
          url
          handle
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "posts": [
      {
        "content": {
          "json": {
            "children": [
              {
                "type": "paragraph",
                "children": [
                  {
                    "text": "Hygraph Rich Text Embeds"
                  }
                ]
              },
              {
                "type": "embed",
                "nodeId": "cko2lq2u0031r0844xnvurz05",
                "children": [
                  {
                    "text": ""
                  }
                ],
                "nodeType": "Asset"
              },
              {
                "type": "paragraph",
                "children": [
                  {
                    "text": ""
                  }
                ]
              }
            ]
          },
          "html": "<p>Hygraph Rich Text Embeds</p><div data-gcms-embed-type=\"Asset\" data-gcms-embed-id=\"cko2lq2u0031r0844xnvurz05\"></div><p></p>",
          "markdown": "Hygraph Rich Text Embeds\n\n\n",
          "text": "Hygraph Rich Text Embeds\\n\\n",
          "references": [
            {
              "__typename": "Asset",
              "url": "https://media.graphassets.com/xSIoGkATQybd8S2SgA5Q",
              "handle": "xSIoGkATQybd8S2SgA5Q"
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

The html response will return gcms-embed-type and gcms-embed-id data attributes for the embedded types. A block embed is returned as div and an inline embed as span with a data-gcms-embed-inline attribute. A link embed is returned as an a-tag with a data-gcms-embed-id and data-gcms-embed-type attribute.

<div
  data-gcms-embed-type="Asset"
  data-gcms-embed-id="cko2lq2u0031r0844xnvurz05"
></div>

<span
  data-gcms-embed-type="Author"
  data-gcms-embed-id="ckwyytv5k003s0791zitq6alu"
  data-gcms-embed-inline
></span>

<a
  data-gcms-embed-id="cl0sa2kc50sb80axsu0kcaeaa"
  data-gcms-embed-type="Post"
>
  link text
</a>

Hygraph uses Slate 0.5 for RichTextAST.

If you are programmatically creating content entries with Rich Text, you should use the @graphcms/html-to-slate-ast package.

IntegerAnchor

Integers are whole numbers, and are often used to reference price in cents, stock quantities etc..

For example, here we have products with a Int field for price:

{
  products {
    price
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "products": [
      {
        "price": 1000
      }
    ]
  }
}

FloatAnchor

Floats are floating point numbers, and often represent fractional values. They are often used to describe values with precision, such as distance, weight, volume, etc.

For example, here we have products with a Float field for rating:

{
  products {
    rating
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "products": [
      {
        "rating": 4.5
      }
    ]
  }
}

BooleanAnchor

Booleans default to null in Hygraph, and can be true or false. You may opt to use a Boolean for specifying if a product is on sale, is part of a bundle, or a post accepts comments.

For example, here we have posts with a Boolean field for acceptsComments:

{
  products {
    acceptsComments
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "products": [
      {
        "acceptsComments": true
      },
      {
        "acceptsComments": false
      },
      {
        "acceptsComments": null
      }
    ]
  }
}

DateAnchor

The Date field type adheres to ISO 8601 standard. This means, October 7, 1989 is represented as 1989-10-07.

For example, here we have events with a Date for start:

{
  events {
    start
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "events": [
      {
        "start": "1989-10-07"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Date and TimeAnchor

Similar to the date field type, the DateTime field type adheres to ISO 8601 standard.

For example, here we have events with a DateTime for start:

{
  events {
    start
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "events": [
      {
        "start": "1989-10-07T09:30:00+00:00"
      }
    ]
  }
}

JSONAnchor

Hygraph has native field support for JSON (JavaScript Object Notation). This field is often used for storing large amounts of data from other systems.

For example, here we have products with a JSON field for metadata:

{
  products {
    metadata
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "products": [
      {
        "metadata": {
          "values": [10, 20, 30],
          "analyticsId": "ifuhue398"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

AssetAnchor

Assets are connected to models through a reference field. Assets can be any file type, not just images.

The Asset model comes its own default asset fields.

For example, here we have posts with a the Asset field for coverImage, querying those asset fields:

{
  posts {
    coverImage {
      url
      handle
      fileName
      height
      width
      size
      mimeType
    }
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "posts": [
      {
        "coverImage": {
          "url": "https://media.graphassets.com/bh4xr7efSZyBh4iVeGQq",
          "handle": "bh4xr7efSZyBh4iVeGQq",
          "fileName": "Examples - Swag Store.png",
          "height": 720,
          "width": 1280,
          "size": 116893,
          "mimeType": "image/png"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "ebooks": [
      {
        "file": {
          "url": "https://media.graphassets.com/pJOCAOncQO6K7azJbagS",
          "handle": "pJOCAOncQO6K7azJbagS",
          "fileName": "Hygraph eBook - Navigating Towards Tomorrow-s Content with a Headless CMS.pdf",
          "height": null,
          "width": null,
          "size": 2345835,
          "mimeType": "application/pdf"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

Learn more about Assets.

ColorAnchor

The Color field is made up of HEX, RGBA and css color values.

type Color {
  hex: Hex!
  rgba: RGBA!
  css: String!
}

Field	Type	Description
`hex`	`Hex!`	Returns a String in the format of `#ffffff`
`rgba`	`RGBA!`	`r`, `g`, `b`, values as `RGBAHue!`, and `a` as `RGBATransparency!`
`css`	`String!`	Returns in the format of `rgb(255, 255, 255)`

For example, here is posts with a Color field for backgroundColor, in all formats:

{
  posts {
    backgroundColor {
      hex
      rgba {
        r
        g
        b
        a
      }
      css
    }
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "posts": [
      {
        "backgroundColor": {
          "hex": "#ffffff",
          "rgba": {
            "r": 255,
            "g": 255,
            "b": 255,
            "a": 1
          },
          "css": "rgb(255,255,255)"
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

LocationAnchor

The Location field type returns latitude, longitude, and distance Float values.

type Location {
  latitude: Float!
  longitude: Float!
  distance(from: LocationInput!): Float!
}

Field	Type	Description
`latitude`	`Float!`	Geographic coordinate (north-south position on Earth)
`longitude`	`Float!`	Geographic coordinate (east-west position on Earth)
`distance`	`LocationInput!`	Distance in meters `from` the given `latitude`/`longitude`

To query the distance field, you must provide latitude and longitude values for the from argument.

For example, here we have all shop locations, with distance from the provided latitude/longitude:

{
  shops {
    location {
      latitude
      longitude
      distance(
        from: { latitude: 50.58153970000001, longitude: 8.665300199999999 }
      )
    }
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "shops": [
      {
        "location": {
          "latitude": 48.7…,
          "longitude": -122.5…,
          "longitude": 8.66…
        }
      }
    ]
  }
}

EnumerationsAnchor

Enumerations, or enum for short, are predefined list of values. They are defined inside your GraphQL schema, and can be referenced by any of your content models.

For example, here is are products with its commodity type:

{
  products {
    commodity
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "products": [
      {
        "commodity": "Digital"
      }
    ]
  }
}

ReferenceAnchor

References, often referred as relations, are a powerful field type that allows you to connect one or more models together, and even reference multiple models as a single field type with GraphQL Union Types.

For example, here we have an example of querying all products, with categories they belong to.

{
  products {
    name
    category {
      name
    }
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "products": [
      {
        "name": "ACME Hammer",
        "category": [
          {
            "name": "ACME Products"
          },
          {
            "name": "Shop Tools"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "name": "ACME Shovel",
        "category": [
          {
            "name": "ACME Products"
          },
          {
            "name": "Garden Tools"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

One-way referencesAnchor

One-way references - also called unidirectional relations - only exist in one direction. This type of reference is most useful when there is no need to know where a model is being referenced from, such as a model that is used many times. One-way references only show up on the model for which the reference is configured, and can only be queried from that side as well. This also means that for one-way references, no reverse field is configured on the referenced model. With one-way references, the content editor UI is kept clean by not showing irrelevant relations where they are not needed.

One-way references come in two forms:

To OneAnchor

For example, a category that can have only one product.

To manyAnchor

For example, a category that can have multiple products.

Two-way referencesAnchor

Two-way references - alternatively known as bidirectional relations - exist in two directions. This type of reference is useful for use cases where both sides of the reference are relevant, and need to be edited or queryable. Two-way references are configured and show up on both the referencing and referenced models, and can be queried from either side.

Two-way references come in four forms:

One to oneAnchor

For example, a category can only have one product, and one product can only have one category.

One to manyAnchor

For example, a category can have multiple products, but a product cannot belong to multiple categories.

Many to oneAnchor

For example, a category has one product, but a product can belong to multiple categories.

Many to manyAnchor

For example, a category can have many products, and products can belong to many categories.

UnionAnchor

GraphQL Union Types are great for referencing different models as a single field.

For example, here we have a typical GraphQL query for fetching blocks on a page.

This field is configured to be either of type Hero, Grid, and/or Gallery:

{
  pages {
    blocks {
      __typename
      ... on Hero {
        title
        ctaLink
      }
      ... on Grid {
        title
        subtitle {
          markdown
        }
      }
      ... on Gallery {
        photos {
          url
          handle
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Please note that unions are always two-way references.

Remote FieldsAnchor

Remote fields connect specific remote data to an entry of that model. Remote fields are always related to a single remote source, and a single custom type. RESTful remote fields are configured with a path to a specific endpoint in the remote source, such as user details from Github, or price & availability from Shopify. GraphQL remote fields allow to select the entrypoint to the schema (query).

GraphQL Remote FieldAnchor

The GraphQL remote field requies a GraphQL Remote Source to be configured on your project. You can find out how to create a Remote Source here.

The Field allows you to make a request (HTTP GET or POST) to a remote GraphQL API and to specify the query entrypoint.

Learn more about adding a remote field to your model

Existing field variable in non-string argumentsAnchor

In order to support existing field variables in non-string arguments, the {{!cast=<type>}} syntax can be used to indicate that the resulting data should be forwarded as is.

Please note that there is no post processing done on the data after filling in the existing field variable.

Let's say our remote GraphQL API accepts an int argument, which we want to get filled in from an int field called n that already exists on the model we are creating the remote field on.

When specifying the template, we can add the handlebars comment {{!cast=<type}} to specify what type the value resulting from our template is, so the API will forward the raw data value to the remote API.

In this example we use {{!cast=int}} to forward the raw int value.

query example {
  assets(first: "{{doc.n}}{{!cast=int}}") {
    ...EntryPoint
  }
}

The resulting query shows what will be sent when we execute the remote field, which is raw 1.

query example {
  assets(last: 1) {
    ...EntryPoint
  }
}

The resulting query matches what the remote API expects.

If we did not use the casting handlebars comment, the remote fields query template would look like this:

query example {
  assets(first: "{{doc.n}}") {
    ...EntryPoint
  }
}

When the remote field gets executed, the template gets filled in with the current document's n value. The resulting query would look like this:

query example {
  assets(last: "1") {
    ...EntryPoint
  }
}

We mentioned before that our remote API accepts an int for the last argument, but our API now sends it as a string. Therefore, we would wrongly pass "1" instead of the desired 1.

REST Remote FieldAnchor

In order to use a REST remote field, a REST Remote Source has to be present on the project. You can find out how to create a Remote Source here.

The REST remote field allows to specify the API path to which a request (GET or POST) should be sent to.