GraphQL is the query language you use to communicate with Shopify’s API.
It lets you request exactly the data your app needs in a single request.
You don’t fetch entire objects and throw most of the response away.
You ask for specific fields, get a predictable shape back, and move on.
If you want to build custom Shopify apps or automate store management, this guide shows you how Shopify’s GraphQL API actually works in practice.
You’ll learn where GraphQL fits in the Admin API, how queries and mutations differ, and how rate limits behave.
The focus isn’t theory.
It’s writing GraphQL the same way real Shopify apps do.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
- What the Shopify API is
- What Is GraphQL
- How to Get Started with GraphQL in Shopify
- Making GraphQL Requests in Your Code
- Queries vs Mutations
- Understanding Shopify GraphQL Rate Limits
- Common Shopify GraphQL Use Cases
Let’s dive in!
What the Shopify API is (and where GraphQL fits)
At a basic level, an API is a bridge that lets different systems talk to each other.
In Shopify, APIs allow you to interact with store data programmatically.
You can read data like products, collections, and carts, write data such as updating products or inventory, and react to events like orders being created or updated.
Instead of manually clicking around in the admin, APIs let your code do the work for you.
To better understand how the Shopify API works, let’s quickly break down how Shopify itself is structured:
- Storefront (Frontend) → Where customers browse products
- Admin Area (Backend) → Where store owners manage products, orders, and settings
- Shopify Database → Stores all the data (products, collections, customers, orders, etc.)
If you want to extend Shopify’s functionality (e.g., auto-generate invoices or sync inventory across multiple stores), you can’t modify Shopify’s backend code directly. Instead, you need to create external apps that interact with the store’s database through the API.
This is where GraphQL comes in.
GraphQL Overview
When you work with Shopify APIs, GraphQL is the query language you use to make those API requests.
It defines how you ask Shopify for data and how you tell Shopify to change data.
GraphQL also allows us to:
- Request only the data we need (unlike REST, which often returns unnecessary data)
- Reduce the number of API requests (since we can retrieve multiple fields in a single query)
- Write flexible and efficient queries that scale well
There are two main types of GraphQL operations: Queries and Mutations.
Queries (Fetching Data)
Queries are used to retrieve data from the Shopify database.
They don’t modify anything; they just read information.
Example: Get the IDs of the 5 most recent orders
query GetMostRecentOrders {
orders(first: 5, sortKey: CREATED_AT, reverse: true) {
edges {
node {
id
createdAt
}
}
}
}
Mutations (Modifying Data)
Mutations allow us to create, update, or delete data.
Example: Change the title of a product
mutation UpdateProductTitle {
productUpdate(input: {
id: "gid://shopify/Product/123456789",
title: "New Product Title"
}) {
product {
id
title
}
userErrors {
field
message
}
}
}
Shopify uses GraphQL because it lets you request exactly what you need. No extra fields.
No wasted bandwidth. No chaining multiple requests just to build one response.
How to Get Started with GraphQL in Shopify
The fastest way to start writing GraphQL queries is by using the Shopify GraphiQL App.
Step 1: Install the GraphiQL App
Select the latest API version and App permissions you want to simulate.
Step 2: Explore the API Schema
The GraphQL Explorer inside GraphiQL helps you discover available fields and objects.
Step 3: Run Your First Query and inspect the response
Example Response (for querying the last 2 orders, and their ID's)
{
"data": {
"orders": {
"edges": [
{
"node": {
"id": "gid://shopify/Order/5629138473214"
},
"cursor": "eyJsYXN0X2lkIjo1NjI5MTM4NDczMjE0fQ=="
},
{
"node": {
"id": "gid://shopify/Order/5629138129541"
},
"cursor": "eyJsYXN0X2lkIjo1NjI5MTM4MTI5NTQxfQ=="
}
],
"pageInfo": {
"hasNextPage": false,
"hasPreviousPage": true,
"startCursor": "eyJsYXN0X2lkIjo1NjI5MTM4NDczMjE0fQ==",
"endCursor": "eyJsYXN0X2lkIjo1NjI5MTM4MTI5NTQxfQ=="
}
}
},
"extensions": {
"cost": {
"requestedQueryCost": 10,
"actualQueryCost": 10,
"throttleStatus": {
"maximumAvailable": 1000,
"currentlyAvailable": 990,
"restoreRate": 50
}
}
}
}
Breaking down the response:
- edges
Each edge represents one order in the result set. - node
The actual order object. In this case, you only asked for the id. - Global IDs (gid://shopify/Order/...)
Shopify always uses globally unique IDs in GraphQL. - cursor
Used for pagination. You pass this cursor into the next query to fetch more orders. - pageInfo
Tells you whether more orders exist before or after this page. - extensions cost
Shows query cost and remaining capacity. This is critical for understanding rate limits.
Making GraphQL Requests in Your Code / App
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Most real-world apps send GraphQL requests from code, not just inside the GraphiQL sandbox.
Here’s how this could look inside your app using plain JavaScript:
async function fetchShopifyData() {
const shopifyGraphQLEndpoint = "https://YOUR_SHOP.myshopify.com/admin/api/2026-01/graphql.json";
const accessToken = "YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN";
const query = `{
shop {
name
primaryDomain {
url
}
}
}`;
const response = await fetch(shopifyGraphQLEndpoint, {
method: "POST",
headers: {
"Content-Type": "application/json",
"X-Shopify-Access-Token": accessToken,
},
body: JSON.stringify({ query })
});
const data = await response.json();
console.log(data);
}
fetchShopifyData();
Replace YOUR_SHOP and YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN with your actual Shopify store credentials.
Run the script, and it will return your store’s name and primary domain URL.
PS. Never Expose the Access Token publicly on the frontend. These queries are meant to be made form a secure backend.
Understanding Shopify GraphQL Rate Limits
Shopify doesn’t limit GraphQL by request count. It limits it by query cost.
Official documentation: https://shopify.dev/docs/api/usage/limits#rate-limits
Here’s how it works:
- Each request costs a certain number of points.
- Your store has a maximum limit per query (e.g., 1,000 points at a time).
- Points recharge at a rate of 100-2000 per second, depending on your plan
To avoid hitting limits:
- Keep queries efficient
- Use pagination for large datasets
- Implement timeouts and retries
A common mistake is trying to fetch everything in one request. That works in small stores and breaks immediately in large ones.
The good news is that you usually don’t have to worry about this.
Shopify’s GraphQL limits are generous enough for most apps, especially when you’re working with small to medium-sized catalogs or building UI-driven features where you only need a subset of data.
Problems start to appear when you deal with large product catalogs, thousands or tens of thousands of products, or when you try to sync entire stores in one go.
At that scale, naïve queries hit rate limits, time out, or fail unpredictably.
How do you deal with large datasets
When you need to process large amounts of data, the solution depends on what you’re trying to do.
If you need to loop over a large number of products, say 10,000 or more, you generally have two options:
1. Cursor-based pagination
This is the most common approach. Instead of fetching everything at once, you fetch data in batches and move forward using cursors. Each request picks up where the last one left off. This is ideal for background jobs, incremental syncing, or admin tools that process data over time.
Cursor-based pagination is slower than a single request, but it’s safe, predictable, and works well within Shopify’s rate limits.
2. Bulk operations (bulk queries)
For very large datasets, Shopify provides bulk operations. These let you run a long-running query that exports large amounts of data asynchronously. You submit the query, Shopify processes it in the background, and you download the results once it’s finished.
Bulk queries are designed specifically for large catalogs and full-store exports. They’re not real-time and not suitable for user-facing features, but they’re the right tool for heavy data jobs like syncing products to external systems.
Choosing the right approach:
- For UI features and normal app behavior, cursor-based pagination is usually enough
- For full catalog processing or large-scale exports, bulk operations are the correct solution
Common Shopify GraphQL Use Cases
Most Shopify apps use the GraphQL Admin API to solve focused, real-world problems.
Below are common app types and how they typically use GraphQL.
Invoice / Accounting Apps
These apps listen for new orders being created. When an order comes in, they use GraphQL to fetch order details, customer information, line items, taxes, and totals.
That data is then used to generate a PDF invoice, store it, or send it to the customer automatically.
Inventory Management Apps
Inventory apps use GraphQL to keep product and inventory data in sync between Shopify and external warehouse systems.
They read products, variants, and inventory levels, compare them with warehouse stock, and update quantities when changes occur on either side.
Reporting and Analytics Apps
These apps use GraphQL to read large sets of orders, products, or customers in batches.
They paginate through data to calculate revenue, analyze sales trends, or generate custom reports that aren’t available in the Shopify admin.
Product Management Apps
Product-focused apps rely on GraphQL mutations to create, update, or bulk-edit products and variants.
Common use cases include updating prices, managing metafields, or handling large variant catalogs without manual admin work.
Automation and Workflow Apps
Automation apps react to store events such as order creation or fulfillment updates.
They fetch the required data using GraphQL, apply business rules, and then trigger follow-up actions like tagging orders, notifying external services, or updating records.
Across all of these examples, the pattern is the same: GraphQL is used to fetch precise data, and make controlled changes at scale.
Wrapping Up
If you want to go deeper, start by watching the original video that inspired this guide: