Skip to the content
Dorris
Book a demo
Menu
What it doesHow it worksPricingLook insideLessonsField manualHow I workLibraryGlossary

Word

GraphQL

GraphQL is one way a program asks an API a question, where the question spells out exactly which fields you want back.

Also called: graph query language

Older styles of API hand you a fixed bundle: here is the whole order, sort it out yourself. With GraphQL you write a short request saying order number, customer email, tracking number, and that is what comes back, nothing else, and fewer round trips.

Your store's API may well work this way, and your agent writes these requests for you; you do not need the syntax. What you do need to know: asking for more fields is never free, and when something comes back missing, the usual cause is that nobody asked for it.

Related words

All words

Paste this first

Something broke

I just did this: <what you clicked or typed, in a few words>
This is what I got: <paste the error here, or drag in a screenshot>

I don't know what it means. Work out what went wrong and fix it. Then tell me in one plain sentence what was wrong and what you changed, and stop.

Is this really for you?

1 of 7 Where do you sell online?
2 of 7 Would you like software built around exactly how your business works?
3 of 7 When something in your software needs changing, how do you want that to happen?
4 of 7 Have you ever written code?
5 of 7 If something breaks, what kind of help do you need?
6 of 7 Do you pay monthly for an app where you only really use one or two of its features?
7 of 7 Building your app means using an AI assistant like Claude or ChatGPT on a paid monthly plan. Are you OK with that?