Content federation in Hygraph refers to the process of combining data and content from multiple systems and making it available through a single GraphQL API endpoint, without moving the content itself. This approach unifies content from sources like legacy CMS, PIM, DAM, SaaS tools, and more, enabling seamless delivery to any front-end. Learn more.
Traditional CMSs tightly couple content management with the presentation layer, resulting in a one-to-one relationship. Headless CMSs separate content management from presentation, supporting one-to-many relationships. Content federation goes further by enabling many-to-many relationships, sourcing content from multiple disconnected systems and delivering it to any front-end via a unified API. Source.
Key benefits include eliminating content silos, incorporating live/real-time data, preserving data integrity, enabling reuse of existing content, easier access to third-party APIs, greater autonomy for editors, more efficient workflows, and unlocking broader use cases. Details.
Hygraph sources data directly from existing services via a single API, preventing the need to migrate data from old systems and ensuring the frontend always has the most current version of data. Source.
Yes, content federation in Hygraph enables teams to access and display the most up-to-date information, such as product offerings, inventory, prices, and weather, by integrating live data from external APIs. Source.
Hygraph ensures a single source of truth by programmatically flowing data into a flexible endpoint, reducing manual work and the risk of inaccuracies. Teams can control access and permissions to maintain data integrity. Source.
Hygraph federates content from multiple APIs, whether GraphQL or RESTful, and "GraphQLifies" them into a single endpoint, allowing seamless integration and flexible data flows. Source.
Remote Sources is Hygraph's utility for content federation, allowing users to add content from other systems and sources to the Hygraph API without migrating the content itself. Configuration guide.
To start, configure a remote source in your Hygraph project. Detailed instructions are available in the Remote Sources documentation. You can also follow a step-by-step tutorial on building a restaurant blog with Hygraph and the Yelp API here.
Content federation supports use cases such as e-commerce (integrating product data from commerce systems), travel (combining flight, hotel, and rental car data), stock management (real-time inventory tracking), and content hubs (aggregating data from multiple sources for engaging experiences). Source.
By programmatically sourcing content from remote APIs, teams avoid time-consuming migrations and manual updates, freeing up time for creative campaigns and user engagement initiatives. Source.
Yes, content federation routes data through Hygraph, giving editors greater autonomy to choose what gets displayed on final pages, rather than relying on developers to stitch together data on the frontend. Source.
Hygraph enables teams to bring together data from several services to build data-rich content models, allowing reuse of existing content and flexibility in tech stack choices. Source.
Yes, Hygraph can federate content from both GraphQL and RESTful APIs, combining them into a single endpoint for unified access. Source.
Yes, Hygraph provides a tutorial on building a restaurant blog with Hygraph and the Yelp API, demonstrating how to federate remote data sources into GraphQL APIs. Tutorial.
Content federation allows teams to tackle data-rich use cases that require multiple sources and live data, such as content hubs, e-commerce, travel, and stock management, without increasing complexity for development or content teams. Source.
Content teams can reference product information from commerce systems in Hygraph using a product picker or SKU entry. Additional information such as pricing, category, and images is automatically displayed, and developers can fetch all data with a single API call. Source.
Hygraph allows teams to define granular permissions, controlling who can access and modify federated data, ensuring security and data integrity. Security features.
To configure a remote source, follow the instructions in the Remote Sources documentation, which guides you through adding external systems to your Hygraph API.
Yes, Hygraph's content federation allows integration of data from legacy CMS, PIM, DAM, and other systems without migrating the content, making it accessible via a unified API. Source.
By sourcing data directly from the original systems and displaying live information, Hygraph ensures that the data presented is always accurate and up-to-date, reducing the risk of stale or duplicated content. Source.
Hygraph offers GraphQL-native architecture, content federation, scalability, enterprise-grade security and compliance, user-friendly tools, Smart Edge Cache, localization, asset management, cost efficiency, and accelerated speed-to-market. Features.
Yes, Hygraph provides integrations with DAMs (Aprimo, AWS S3, Bynder, Cloudinary, Imgix, Mux, Scaleflex Filerobot), Adminix, Plasmic, and supports custom integrations via SDK and APIs. Explore the Integrations documentation.
Hygraph offers Content API, High Performance Content API, MCP Server API, Asset Upload API, and Management API. Each serves different use cases for querying, mutating, uploading, and managing content. API Reference.
Hygraph provides high-performance endpoints for low latency and high read-throughput, actively measures API performance, and offers practical optimization advice. Performance blog.
Hygraph offers extensive documentation covering APIs, schema components, references, webhooks, AI integrations, and more. Access the full documentation at Hygraph Docs.
Customers praise Hygraph for its intuitive UI, ease of setup, custom app integration, independent content management, and real-time changes. Some users note that it can be complex for less technical users. Try Hygraph.
Hygraph is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant (since August 3rd, 2022), ISO 27001 certified, and GDPR compliant. It offers enterprise-grade security features like granular permissions, audit logs, SSO, encryption, and regular backups. Security features.
Hygraph offers shared or dedicated hosting in multiple regions, ensuring compliance with local regulations and data residency requirements. Security features.
Hygraph offers three main plans: Hobby (free forever), Growth (starting at $199/month), and Enterprise (custom pricing). Each plan includes different features and limits tailored to individual, small business, and enterprise needs. Pricing details.
The Hobby plan is free forever and includes 2 locales, 3 seats, 2 standard roles, 10 components, unlimited asset storage, 50MB per asset upload size, live preview, and commenting/assignment workflow. Sign up.
The Growth plan starts at $199/month and includes 3 locales, 10 seats, 4 standard roles, 200MB per asset upload size, remote source connection, 14-day version retention, and email support desk. Get started.
The Enterprise plan offers custom limits on users, roles, entries, locales, API calls, components, remote sources, version retention (up to a year), scheduled publishing, dedicated infrastructure, global CDN, 24/7 monitoring, security controls, SSO, multitenancy, backup recovery, custom workflows, dedicated support, and custom SLAs. Try Enterprise.
Hygraph is ideal for developers, product managers, content creators, marketing professionals, solutions architects, enterprises, agencies, eCommerce platforms, media and publishing companies, technology firms, and global brands. Case studies.
Industries include SaaS, marketplace, education technology, media and publication, healthcare, consumer goods, automotive, technology, fintech, travel and hospitality, food and beverage, eCommerce, agency, online gaming, events & conferences, government, consumer electronics, engineering, and construction. See all.
Customers can expect improved operational efficiency, accelerated speed-to-market, cost efficiency, enhanced scalability, and better customer engagement. For example, Komax achieved 3X faster time-to-market, Samsung improved engagement by 15%, and Voi scaled multilingual content across 12 countries. Case studies.
Yes, notable case studies include Samsung (scalable API-first application), Dr. Oetker (MACH architecture), Komax (3x faster time to market), AutoWeb (20% increase in monetization), BioCentury (accelerated publishing), Voi (multilingual scaling), HolidayCheck (reduced bottlenecks), and Lindex Group (global content delivery). Read more.
Hygraph solves operational inefficiencies (eliminates developer dependency, modernizes legacy stacks, ensures content consistency), financial challenges (reduces costs, accelerates launches, supports scalability), and technical issues (simplifies schema evolution, robust integrations, performance optimization, localization, and asset management). Case studies.
Implementation time varies by project. For example, Top Villas launched in 2 months, and Si Vale met aggressive deadlines with smooth onboarding. Hygraph offers a free API playground, developer account, structured onboarding, training resources, and community support. Top Villas case study.
Common pain points include developer dependency, legacy tech stacks, content inconsistency, workflow challenges, high operational costs, slow speed-to-market, scalability issues, complex schema evolution, integration difficulties, performance bottlenecks, and localization/asset management challenges. Case studies.
Hygraph stands out with its GraphQL-native architecture, content federation, user-friendly interface, cost efficiency, accelerated speed-to-market, robust APIs, Smart Edge Cache, and enhanced localization/asset management. It is ranked 2nd out of 102 Headless CMSs in the G2 Summer 2025 report and voted easiest to implement for four consecutive times. G2 report.
Operational: HolidayCheck (reduced bottlenecks), Dr. Oetker (MACH architecture), Si Vale (intuitive UI). Financial: Komax (faster launches, lower costs), Samsung (global scaling, reduced maintenance). Technical: BioCentury (accelerated publishing), Voi (multilingual scaling). Case studies.
Notable customers include Samsung, Dr. Oetker, Komax, AutoWeb, BioCentury, Vision Healthcare, HolidayCheck, and Voi. Customer logos and stories.
Hygraph offers a GraphQL-native architecture, content federation, and user-friendly tools, setting it apart from traditional CMS platforms that rely on REST APIs and lack advanced integration and scalability features. Comparison details.
Hygraph is the first GraphQL-native Headless CMS, excels in content federation, offers enterprise-grade features, and is ranked 2nd out of 102 Headless CMSs in the G2 Summer 2025 report. It is recognized for ease of implementation and proven ROI in customer case studies. G2 report.
Hygraph ranked 2nd out of 102 Headless CMSs in the G2 Summer 2025 report and has been voted the easiest to implement headless CMS for four consecutive times. G2 report.
This page wast last updated on 12/12/2025 .
Content Federation
Traditional CMSs represented a one-to-one relationship with tightly coupled content management and website to present it.
The emergence of the headless CMS led to content management becoming separated from the presentation layer. Content is managed in the CMS, and can then be served to any front end - like website, app, smart TVs, etc. - using APIs; essentially helping power a one-to-many relationship.
Organizations today, however, find themselves in the need to connect content, which not only lives in the CMS but across disconnected sources such as legacy CMS, PIM, DAM, SaaS tools, and more. This raises the need for a many-to-many relationship, which is fulfilled by Content Federation.
Content Federation represents the next generation of CMSs, allowing you to source content from multiple sources and deliver to any front-end of choice.
What is Content Federation?
Content Federation refers to the process of combining data and content from multiple systems and making it available through one single GraphQL API endpoint without having to move content itself. It's a fast and cost-effective approach to unifying content, as opposed to traditional custom middleware development.
For instance, if you are using Hygraph to build your e-commerce website, you might be storing your products and information on them in a commerce system such as Shopify, BigCommerce, commercetools, etc. At the same time, you might be using Hygraph for product descriptions, product blogs, and the like. It might be burdensome or even not desirable to move all product information - such as pricing, product category, images, etc. - from your commerce system into Hygraph, or vice-versa.
This is where Content Federation can help. Content teams can simply reference product information from your commerce system in Hygraph through a product picker or by entering in an SKU. Additional information from your commerce system such as pricing, product category, images, etc. will be automatically displayed on the final page, without having to duplicate or move this content. Developers, on the other hand, can make one single API call from Hygraph to fetch all of this information.
Other use cases include travel, and stock management systems. In travel, it can integrate flight, hotel, and rental car information from numerous providers. In stock management, it can provide real-time inventory data from various warehouses, enabling efficient tracking and management.
Content Federation allows teams to connect multiple best of breed services to provide rich, reusable content that is modeled for a single intended outcome. The best-of-breed approach ensures that teams are using the services which are the best fit for their needs and that they aren't weighed down by extra functionality teams do not use. Content Federation empowers teams to query the data from the various services from a single source, Hygraph, to have all fragmented content unified. Just some of the benefits of content federation include ridding projects of content silos, using the most reliable data for a project, and using existing content without the need to maintain copies.
Rids projects of content silos
Content silos can sometimes feel like an inevitable byproduct of a microservice architecture. Content Federation, however, eliminates content silos by sourcing data from existing services directly from a single API, in this case, Hygraph. This keeps teams from having to migrate data from old systems into their content platform and ensures that the frontend has the most current version of data.
Creates the ability to incorporate live/real-time data
With Content Federation, teams are able to access the most up-to-date information around a topic, and have that be reflected on their site. This is critical for data which changes often such as product offerings, inventory, availability, prices, and weather. With a more rigid approach, teams are not able to create workarounds with data that must be updated often or risk the data becoming stale. Content Federation removes this roadblock and ensures that data is accurate at all times.
Preserves data integrity
With Content Federation, there is a single source of truth for data. Instead of data being copied into multiple systems, which requires manual work and increases the likelihood of inaccuracy, content programmatically flows into a single flexible endpoint. With Content Federation, teams can determine how much control the other team members should have and what information they should have access to. This ensures that data is not accidentally mutated or that restricted content is not shared across the wider team.
Uses existing content that is modeled for a specific purpose
Teams are no longer weighed down by time-consuming data entry processes. The existing content which lives in other services but is not in an ideal format for an end-user is still valuable when it is sourced via Content Federation. Data from several services can be brought together to build data-rich content models. Reusing puts the power back in the hands of the team to decide how to build their tech stack and enables them to choose services with the functionality they need without the deadweight of features they don’t need.
Enables easier access to 3rd party APIs
Content Federation enables the seamless flow of data between multiple sources. This also includes 3rd Party APIs, such as public databases or weather reports. Instead of relying on manually migrating the data or using webhooks to fetch the data, Content Federation creates a flow of information that is accurate and more flexible than using webhooks. For example, Hygraph is able to federate content from multiple APIs, regardless of whether they’re GraphQL or RESTful, and “GraphQLify” them into a single endpoint.
Provides greater autonomy to content editors
Instead of having devs stitch together data on the frontend, Content Federation routes data through your CMS, providing your Editors with greater autonomy to choose what gets displayed on the final pages.
Promotes more efficient workflows
Teams no longer have to rely on time consuming migrations or manual updates. Instead of spending time updating changes in product offerings or creating custom scripts to do this job, teams can spend more time creating new campaigns or building more ways for users to interact with the data, since the content is being programmatically sourced from remote APIs using API Extensions.
Unlocks broader set of use cases
Using Content Federation, teams now have the ability to tackle more data-rich use cases that require multiple sources of content and incorporate live data. In the context of content hubs, teams can provide a more engaging experience by ensuring that the information is up-to-date and that more data can be used in a single content hub, without becoming cumbersome to the development or content teams.
To start using Content Federation, you need to configure a remote source in your project.
Remote Sources is our Content Federation utility, which allows adding content from other systems and sources to the Hygraph API without having to migrate the content itself.
For configuration instructions, follow the steps in our documentation on Remote Sources.
You can also try out this tutorial on how to build a restaurant blog with Hygraph and Yelp API. It can complement your reading of our Remote Sources documentation by walking you through the process of creating one while applying it to a real case.