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Version: 3.x

Native GraphQL

Saleor was the first commerce platform to fully adopt GraphQL; We are strongly committed to the ecosystem and its philosophy.

Benefits of native GraphQL​

  • GraphQL powers all API and extensibility points; no need to switch between different styles of API due to API coverage gaps.

  • Extensibility designed with GraphQL in mind.

  • All documentation examples are using GraphQL

Benefits of GraphQL​

  • Reduce round-trips. Improve performance and simplify code.

  • Type-safety tooling. Use codegen tooling to generate types for your queries and mutation payloads.

  • Developer tools. Lowers barriers to experimentation, discoverability, and collaboration.

  • Common among CMS. Many CMSs use GraphQL, and have a single API style for commerce and content simplifies the codebase.

  • Data privacy. You can choose which fields and entities are being shared via webhook events.

  • Client driven. Enables faster front-end development.

  • Schema and type system. Provides a standard for self-documented Schema.

  • Versions API. New fields can be added without breaking changes.

  • Single API endpoint. Simplifies operations.

  • Real-time updates. GraphQL subscriptions.

Common misconceptions​

  • GraphQL is complex. Consuming GraphQL APIs is straightforward, and in many ways can provide a better developer experience than REST. Building GraphQL APIs requires experience, however as a user of Saleor you don't need to worry about that.

  • GraphQL is slow. GraphQL is just a query language and does not introduce any overhead. GraphQL is often faster than REST because it allows you to fetch all the data you need in a single request.

  • GraphQL is a database technology. GraphQL is a query language for APIs, it has no opinion on the underlying database or data source.


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