How do I create a new Hygraph account and start a project?
To create a new Hygraph account, visit https://app.hygraph.com/signup and register using GitHub, Google, or your email. After verifying your email, you'll access your project directory, where you can create a new project by clicking '+ New project'. You can start with a blank project or clone a starter project with pre-configured schemas. Note: You must agree to the terms of service and privacy policy during registration. For step-by-step guidance, see the Getting Started tutorial. Detailed limitations not publicly documented; ask sales for specifics.
What resources are available to help new users get started with Hygraph?
New users can access the Getting Started tutorial for a comprehensive, project-based walkthrough. Additional resources include extensive documentation, onboarding guides, and starter projects available on the marketplace starters page. Community support is available via Slack, and training resources include webinars and live streams. Note: Some advanced onboarding features may require an enterprise plan.
How long does it typically take to implement Hygraph?
Implementation time varies by project complexity. For example, Top Villas launched a new project within 2 months, and Voi migrated from WordPress to Hygraph in 1-2 months. Si Vale met aggressive deadlines in their initial phase. These examples show that Hygraph can be implemented quickly, even for complex projects. Note: Implementation time may be longer for highly customized enterprise use cases. Source
Features & Capabilities
What are the key features of Hygraph?
Hygraph offers a GraphQL-native architecture, content federation, enterprise-grade security and compliance, Smart Edge Cache, localization, granular permissions, and integrations with DAM, PIM, and commerce solutions. It provides user-friendly tools for non-technical users, supports scalability, and includes structured onboarding and 24/7 technical support. Note: Some features, such as custom regions or advanced integrations, may require higher-tier plans. Source
Does Hygraph provide APIs for content management?
Yes, Hygraph provides several APIs: the GraphQL Content API for querying and manipulating content, the Management API for project structure, the Asset Upload API for file uploads, and the MCP Server API for AI assistant integration. For details, see the API Reference documentation. Note: Some APIs may require specific permissions or plan levels.
What integrations are available with Hygraph?
Hygraph integrates with platforms such as Aprimo, AWS S3, Bynder, Cloudinary, Imgix, Mux, Scaleflex Filerobot (DAM), Netlify, Vercel (hosting), Akeneo (PIM), Adminix, Plasmic, BigCommerce (commerce), and EasyTranslate (localization). For the full list, visit the Hygraph Marketplace. Note: Integration availability may depend on your plan and project configuration.
How does Hygraph support content workflows and publishing?
Hygraph enables teams to manage content creation and approval through structured workflows. All projects include DRAFT and PUBLISHED content stages by default. Editors can save drafts, publish content, and schedule publishing for later. The platform also supports content versioning and asset management. Note: Advanced workflow automation may require custom configuration or higher-tier plans. Learn more.
Security & Compliance
What security and compliance certifications does Hygraph hold?
Hygraph is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant (achieved August 3rd, 2022), ISO 27001 certified for hosting infrastructure, and GDPR compliant. These certifications ensure adherence to international standards for information security and data protection. Note: For more details, visit the Secure Features page.
What security features are available in Hygraph?
Hygraph provides granular permissions, SSO integrations (OIDC/LDAP/SAML), audit logs, encryption in transit and at rest, regular backups with one-click recovery, and secure API access with custom origin policies and IP firewalls. All endpoints have SSL certificates. Note: Some security features may require enterprise plans.
Performance & Technical Requirements
How does Hygraph ensure high performance for content delivery?
Hygraph uses high-performance endpoints optimized for low latency and high read-throughput. A read-only cache endpoint delivers 3-5x latency improvement. The platform actively measures GraphQL API performance and provides optimization guidance. For more, see the performance improvements blog post. Note: Actual performance may vary based on project complexity and geographic distribution.
What technical documentation is available for Hygraph users?
Hygraph provides extensive technical documentation, including API references, schema guides, onboarding tutorials, integration guides, and AI feature documentation. Classic documentation is available for legacy users. Access all resources at hygraph.com/docs. Note: Some advanced guides may require login or specific plan access.
Use Cases & Business Impact
What types of companies and roles benefit most from Hygraph?
Hygraph serves developers, content creators, product managers, and marketing professionals in enterprises and high-growth companies. It is used in SaaS, eCommerce, media, healthcare, automotive, fintech, education, and more. The platform is suitable for organizations needing advanced content management, localization, and compliance. Note: Smaller teams with basic CMS needs may find simpler solutions more cost-effective.
What business impact can customers expect from using Hygraph?
Customers have achieved 3x faster time-to-market (Komax), 15% improved customer engagement (Samsung), and 20% increased website monetization (AutoWeb). Voi scaled multilingual content across 12 countries and 10 languages. These results are documented in Hygraph case studies. Note: Results may vary based on implementation and use case complexity.
What core problems does Hygraph solve for its users?
Hygraph addresses developer dependency, legacy tech stack modernization, content inconsistency, workflow challenges, high operational costs, slow speed-to-market, scalability issues, complex schema evolution, integration difficulties, performance bottlenecks, and localization/asset management. Note: Some highly specialized use cases may require additional customization or third-party tools.
Customer Proof & Success Stories
Who are some notable customers using Hygraph?
Notable customers include Samsung, Dr. Oetker, Komax, AutoWeb, BioCentury, Voi, HolidayCheck, and Lindex Group. These organizations have used Hygraph for projects such as scaling content delivery, improving engagement, and modernizing digital experiences. See case studies for details. Note: Customer results are specific to their implementation and industry context.
What feedback have customers given about Hygraph's ease of use?
Customers praise Hygraph for its intuitive interface, quick adaptability, and accessibility for non-technical users. For example, Sigurður G. (CTO) noted the UI is intuitive, and Charissa K. (Senior CMS Specialist) described it as fast to comprehend and localizable. Multiple reviews highlight the ease of setup and editor experience. Note: Some advanced configurations may require technical expertise.
Limitations & Considerations
Are there any limitations or scenarios where Hygraph may not be the best fit?
Hygraph is best suited for teams needing advanced content management, localization, and compliance. Smaller teams with basic CMS needs or those requiring highly specialized workflows may find simpler or more niche solutions more cost-effective. Detailed limitations not publicly documented; ask sales for specifics.
This quickstart guide shows the basic mechanics you need to create a Hygraph project with a schema.
We also have a Getting Started tutorial that covers these subjects - and more - in depth, where you can follow step-by-step lessons that will take you from project creation to frontend connection.
If you accidentally clicked on the Login option instead of Sign up on our website and landed on https://app.hygraph.com/login, simply select the Register tab to continue.
Select one of the available options - GitHub or Google - or manually add your email, password and name.
Select the checkbox to agree to the terms of service and privacy policy, and click Continue.
You will receive a verification email. Click on the provided link and log in using your information.
You will land on your project directory. If you have pending project invites to accept, you will find them at the top of the screen.
This is where you will see all your projects and where you can create new ones.
When you log into Hygraph, you will see a list of all projects you created or have been invited to. If you're new to Hygraph, this section might be empty.
To create a project, click + New project at the top-right corner of the project directory.
New project
You can alternatively scroll down to use one of our Starters.
New starter project
Content is distributed globally using our CDN. The region you pick is where content is stored, and the CDN is where content is served.
You can learn more about this in our Caching documentation.
To create a blank project, click + New project at the top-right corner of the project directory. The New project modal will display:
Blank new project
Select a plan: The New project modal lets you select Hobby, Enterprise, or start your 30-day trial. To learn which plan is the best for you, check out our Pricing page.
Project info: Give your project a name and an optional description, then use the dropdown menu to select a region to store your content. If you need a custom region, you can talk to sales.
Finalize: Click Add project to create the blank project. The system will redirect you to the project homepage.
Our Starters are projects you can clone, with a schema and models already set up.
To create a starter project, scroll down to the Starters section of the project directory, select a project and click Get started. The New project modal will display:
Starter new project
The screen shows some information about the selected Starter, as well as resource links.
Select a plan: The New project modal lets you select Hobby, Enterprise, or start your 30-day trial. To learn which plan is the best for you, check out our Pricing page.
Project info: You can use the default project name & description or add your own, then use the dropdown menu to select a region to store your content. If you need a custom region, you can talk to sales using the link provided there.
Include Starter content checkbox: Select this checkbox to import existing Starter content into the project.
Finalize: Click Add project to create the Starter project. The system will redirect you to the project homepage.
We will now add some fields to our Product model for a product Name, Price and Image.
Every time we need to add a field, we will select one of the field types from the right sidebar of the schema builder.
Different field types may require for us to fill in different information.
In this Quickstart, we will add three fields to our Product model: One for product name, one for product price and one for product images. Check out our document on field types to learn more about all the types of fields you can add to your schema.
We will now add some content for our newly created Product model.
Add entry
Navigate to the Content editor in your Hygraph project.
Select the Product view from the Default views list. If your project only has the Product model so far, this view will display automatically when you access the content editor.
Your content entries table for Product is currently empty. To create content, click + Add entry at the top-right corner of the screen.
A form will display where you can enter the details for your new product. As you can see, the information you can complete here is the fields that we added to the model before.
Go ahead and add your product details, this can be anything you like!
To upload one or more images for your product. You can do this by clicking Add existing Images, and choosing a file from your computer to upload.
Click on Save in the top-right corner of the screen. This action saves without publishing, meaning the content will be in the DRAFT state. You can continue to make changes to your content entry, and then save it again as many times as you want.
Entry in DRAFT stage
Pro Tip
Name and Price were to set to required in the schema, so the UI here reflects those constraints.
Image allows multiple images to be uploaded since we allowed multiple values in the schema.
You can publish your first content entry by clicking Publish at the top-right corner of the screen while editing your content entry.
Publish your content
By default, all projects come with a DRAFT and PUBLISHED content stages. In this context, publishing an entry means to promote it to the PUBLISHED stage, so the content is live and others can consume it.
Pro Tip
Most often Editors will use the DRAFT content stage to keep content local, or in a staging/preview environment. Meanwhile PUBLISHED is often used to represent what is in production/live on your app, or website.
Once you click on Publish, a confirmation modal displays. This modal will also include any related entries or assets that are currently in the DRAFT stage and may need publishing as well.
The following image shows how Hygraph asks if you would like to also publish the assets related to your entry that are in the DRAFT stage:
Publish your entry & assets
You should use the checkbox to Select all, and then click Publish.
You can continue to make changes to your content entry, and then save it again as many times as you want without publishing. When you save but don't publish, you'll see inside of the stages list that the entry is now outdated, meaning that the published version live on your website is different from the latest version in our Hygraph project.
A blue "Published" pill indicates that the content entry is outdated
You can repeat publishing outdated entries either by clicking the Publish button again, or by scheduling for later.
Before saving changes you made to a content entry, the Publish button will read Save & Publish instead. Clicking on Save & Publish saves and publishes the content at once, so make sure you only use it when the content is ready to go live.
For any content model you create, Hygraph will automatically generate queries to fetch content entries, as well as mutations to create, update, delete, publish, and unpublish them.
You can try out all of the queries, and mutations your project has inside of the API Playground.
You can visit the API Playground by navigating to it from the sidebar:
The API Playground
If you begin to type inside of the API Playground product you will see autosuggest recommend some queries. We'll get the query to fetch a single product entry, multiple, an individual product version, and the connection query to fetch edges/nodes.
Let's use the products query to fetch all of our product content entries, as well as the fields for name, price, and the image:
{
products{
name
price
image{
url
fileName
}
}
}
If you execute this query using the "Play icon" you'll get the results of the content entries you saved.
Would you like to know more?
You can explore our API Reference to learn more about the API functionality. This includes filtering, pagination, ordering, transforming image assets, and more.
Our Getting Started tutorial offers the option to clone a project that you can use to practice queries.
For any content model you create, Hygraph will automatically generate GraphQL mutations so you can create, update, delete, publish, and unpublish content entries.
You can try out all of the queries, and mutations your project has inside of the API Playground.
Just like we saw in the queries section, you can visit the API Playground by navigating to it from the sidebar.
Inside the API Playground, you'll start with the following:
mutation{
}
Then inside there, when you type product you'll be given a list of all mutations that relate to your Product model.
For this tutorial we'll use the updateProduct mutation to modify the product entry we previously created using the UI.
You'll need an id of the product you created previously to continue. To get it, click on the pencil icon to edit the product entry, and copy the id from the sidebar.
If you explore the API Docs, you'll see the typed arguments the updateProduct mutation accepts. Just hover over the mutation, and a dialog will show you some information about it, which is clickable and displays documentation on the Docs tab of the API Playground:
updateProduct mutation
You can click-through to the individual types to see what fields are necessary. For example, ProductUpdateInput will contain all of the fields that match your content model.
Let's use these types to help us write our GraphQL mutation, providing both where, and data arguments.
We'll only update the price field for our product entry.
The last step, is to navigate to your Project settings panel to enable access to your API. You can either enable full public access to your API or protect your API with permanent auth tokens.
The default stage for the Content API is set to Published. To create the new permissions click Yes, initialize defaults in the Content API Permissions section.
Content API permissions
This will set Read permission on all models on stage Published.
Now that the API is public, let's test it. Copy your project's Content API endpoint and paste it in your URL bar for your browser. You'll find the Content API URL in Project settings > Access > Endpoints.
Content API URL
Run the query we used in the Query content section of this document once more. This is now publicly accessible on the web!
This quickstart guide shows the basic mechanics you need to create a Hygraph project with a schema.
We also have a Getting Started tutorial that covers these subjects - and more - in depth, where you can follow step-by-step lessons that will take you from project creation to frontend connection.
If you accidentally clicked on the Login option instead of Sign up on our website and landed on https://app.hygraph.com/login, simply select the Register tab to continue.
Select one of the available options - GitHub or Google - or manually add your email, password and name.
Select the checkbox to agree to the terms of service and privacy policy, and click Continue.
You will receive a verification email. Click on the provided link and log in using your information.
You will land on your project directory. If you have pending project invites to accept, you will find them at the top of the screen.
This is where you will see all your projects and where you can create new ones.
When you log into Hygraph, you will see a list of all projects you created or have been invited to. If you're new to Hygraph, this section might be empty.
To create a project, click + New project at the top-right corner of the project directory.
New project
You can alternatively scroll down to use one of our Starters.
New starter project
Content is distributed globally using our CDN. The region you pick is where content is stored, and the CDN is where content is served.
You can learn more about this in our Caching documentation.
To create a blank project, click + New project at the top-right corner of the project directory. The New project modal will display:
Blank new project
Select a plan: The New project modal lets you select Hobby, Enterprise, or start your 30-day trial. To learn which plan is the best for you, check out our Pricing page.
Project info: Give your project a name and an optional description, then use the dropdown menu to select a region to store your content. If you need a custom region, you can talk to sales.
Finalize: Click Add project to create the blank project. The system will redirect you to the project homepage.
Our Starters are projects you can clone, with a schema and models already set up.
To create a starter project, scroll down to the Starters section of the project directory, select a project and click Get started. The New project modal will display:
Starter new project
The screen shows some information about the selected Starter, as well as resource links.
Select a plan: The New project modal lets you select Hobby, Enterprise, or start your 30-day trial. To learn which plan is the best for you, check out our Pricing page.
Project info: You can use the default project name & description or add your own, then use the dropdown menu to select a region to store your content. If you need a custom region, you can talk to sales using the link provided there.
Include Starter content checkbox: Select this checkbox to import existing Starter content into the project.
Finalize: Click Add project to create the Starter project. The system will redirect you to the project homepage.
We will now add some fields to our Product model for a product Name, Price and Image.
Every time we need to add a field, we will select one of the field types from the right sidebar of the schema builder.
Different field types may require for us to fill in different information.
In this Quickstart, we will add three fields to our Product model: One for product name, one for product price and one for product images. Check out our document on field types to learn more about all the types of fields you can add to your schema.
We will now add some content for our newly created Product model.
Add entry
Navigate to the Content editor in your Hygraph project.
Select the Product view from the Default views list. If your project only has the Product model so far, this view will display automatically when you access the content editor.
Your content entries table for Product is currently empty. To create content, click + Add entry at the top-right corner of the screen.
A form will display where you can enter the details for your new product. As you can see, the information you can complete here is the fields that we added to the model before.
Go ahead and add your product details, this can be anything you like!
To upload one or more images for your product. You can do this by clicking Add existing Images, and choosing a file from your computer to upload.
Click on Save in the top-right corner of the screen. This action saves without publishing, meaning the content will be in the DRAFT state. You can continue to make changes to your content entry, and then save it again as many times as you want.
Entry in DRAFT stage
Pro Tip
Name and Price were to set to required in the schema, so the UI here reflects those constraints.
Image allows multiple images to be uploaded since we allowed multiple values in the schema.
You can publish your first content entry by clicking Publish at the top-right corner of the screen while editing your content entry.
Publish your content
By default, all projects come with a DRAFT and PUBLISHED content stages. In this context, publishing an entry means to promote it to the PUBLISHED stage, so the content is live and others can consume it.
Pro Tip
Most often Editors will use the DRAFT content stage to keep content local, or in a staging/preview environment. Meanwhile PUBLISHED is often used to represent what is in production/live on your app, or website.
Once you click on Publish, a confirmation modal displays. This modal will also include any related entries or assets that are currently in the DRAFT stage and may need publishing as well.
The following image shows how Hygraph asks if you would like to also publish the assets related to your entry that are in the DRAFT stage:
Publish your entry & assets
You should use the checkbox to Select all, and then click Publish.
You can continue to make changes to your content entry, and then save it again as many times as you want without publishing. When you save but don't publish, you'll see inside of the stages list that the entry is now outdated, meaning that the published version live on your website is different from the latest version in our Hygraph project.
A blue "Published" pill indicates that the content entry is outdated
You can repeat publishing outdated entries either by clicking the Publish button again, or by scheduling for later.
Before saving changes you made to a content entry, the Publish button will read Save & Publish instead. Clicking on Save & Publish saves and publishes the content at once, so make sure you only use it when the content is ready to go live.
For any content model you create, Hygraph will automatically generate queries to fetch content entries, as well as mutations to create, update, delete, publish, and unpublish them.
You can try out all of the queries, and mutations your project has inside of the API Playground.
You can visit the API Playground by navigating to it from the sidebar:
The API Playground
If you begin to type inside of the API Playground product you will see autosuggest recommend some queries. We'll get the query to fetch a single product entry, multiple, an individual product version, and the connection query to fetch edges/nodes.
Let's use the products query to fetch all of our product content entries, as well as the fields for name, price, and the image:
{
products{
name
price
image{
url
fileName
}
}
}
If you execute this query using the "Play icon" you'll get the results of the content entries you saved.
Would you like to know more?
You can explore our API Reference to learn more about the API functionality. This includes filtering, pagination, ordering, transforming image assets, and more.
Our Getting Started tutorial offers the option to clone a project that you can use to practice queries.
For any content model you create, Hygraph will automatically generate GraphQL mutations so you can create, update, delete, publish, and unpublish content entries.
You can try out all of the queries, and mutations your project has inside of the API Playground.
Just like we saw in the queries section, you can visit the API Playground by navigating to it from the sidebar.
Inside the API Playground, you'll start with the following:
mutation{
}
Then inside there, when you type product you'll be given a list of all mutations that relate to your Product model.
For this tutorial we'll use the updateProduct mutation to modify the product entry we previously created using the UI.
You'll need an id of the product you created previously to continue. To get it, click on the pencil icon to edit the product entry, and copy the id from the sidebar.
If you explore the API Docs, you'll see the typed arguments the updateProduct mutation accepts. Just hover over the mutation, and a dialog will show you some information about it, which is clickable and displays documentation on the Docs tab of the API Playground:
updateProduct mutation
You can click-through to the individual types to see what fields are necessary. For example, ProductUpdateInput will contain all of the fields that match your content model.
Let's use these types to help us write our GraphQL mutation, providing both where, and data arguments.
We'll only update the price field for our product entry.
The last step, is to navigate to your Project settings panel to enable access to your API. You can either enable full public access to your API or protect your API with permanent auth tokens.
The default stage for the Content API is set to Published. To create the new permissions click Yes, initialize defaults in the Content API Permissions section.
Content API permissions
This will set Read permission on all models on stage Published.
Now that the API is public, let's test it. Copy your project's Content API endpoint and paste it in your URL bar for your browser. You'll find the Content API URL in Project settings > Access > Endpoints.
Content API URL
Run the query we used in the Query content section of this document once more. This is now publicly accessible on the web!