Shopify GraphQL APIs

Before writing code

Fetch live docs:

1. Fetch https://shopify.dev/docs/api/admin-graphql for Admin API schema
2. Fetch https://shopify.dev/docs/api/storefront for Storefront API schema
3. Web-search site:shopify.dev graphql api versioning for current API versions

Two APIs

Admin API (Server-Side)

Full CRUD on all store resources:

• Endpoint: https://{store}.myshopify.com/admin/api/{version}/graphql.json
• Auth: X-Shopify-Access-Token header
• Use for: product management, order processing, customer data, metafields, fulfillment
• Rate limit: cost-based, max 1,000 points per query. Restore rate varies by plan (100 pts/s Standard, 200 Advanced, 1,000 Plus)

Storefront API (Client-Side)

Read-heavy access for custom storefronts:

• Endpoint: https://{store}.myshopify.com/api/{version}/graphql.json
• Auth: X-Shopify-Storefront-Access-Token header
• Use for: product browsing, cart operations, checkout, customer account
• Rate limit: cost-based (separate budget from Admin API)

API Versioning

Quarterly releases: YYYY-MM (January, April, July, October)

• Each version supported for 12 months after release
• unstable version available for testing upcoming changes
• Always specify version in URL path

Admin API Examples

Query Products

query Products($first: Int!, $after: String) {
  products(first: $first, after: $after) {
    edges {
      node {
        id
        title
        handle
        status
        variants(first: 10) {
          edges {
            node {
              id
              title
              price
              sku
              inventoryQuantity
            }
          }
        }
        metafields(first: 5) {
          edges {
            node {
              namespace
              key
              value
              type
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
    pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor }
  }
}

Create Product

mutation ProductCreate($input: ProductInput!) {
  productCreate(input: $input) {
    product {
      id
      title
    }
    userErrors {
      field
      message
    }
  }
}

Bulk Operations

For large data exports:

mutation {
  bulkOperationRunQuery(
    query: """
    {
      products {
        edges {
          node {
            id
            title
            variants {
              edges {
                node { id sku price }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
    """
  ) {
    bulkOperation {
      id
      status
    }
    userErrors { field message }
  }
}

Poll for completion, then download JSONL result file.

Storefront API Examples

Query Products

query Products($first: Int!) {
  products(first: $first) {
    edges {
      node {
        id
        title
        handle
        priceRange {
          minVariantPrice { amount currencyCode }
        }
        images(first: 1) {
          edges {
            node { url altText }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Cart Operations

mutation CartCreate($input: CartInput!) {
  cartCreate(input: $input) {
    cart {
      id
      lines(first: 10) {
        edges {
          node {
            id
            quantity
            merchandise {
              ... on ProductVariant {
                id
                title
                price { amount currencyCode }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
      cost {
        totalAmount { amount currencyCode }
      }
      checkoutUrl
    }
    userErrors { field message }
  }
}

Cost-Based Rate Limiting

Each query has a calculated cost:

• Single object field: 1 point
• Connection (list): 2 points + (first * child cost)
• Maximum single query cost: 1,000 points (enforced before execution)
• Restore rate by plan: 100 pts/s (Standard), 200 (Advanced), 1,000 (Plus), 2,000 (Enterprise)
• Throttle info in response extensions: extensions.cost.throttleStatus
• Handle throttled responses with backoff based on retryAfter

Pagination

Relay-style cursor pagination:

• Forward: first + after (from pageInfo.endCursor)
• Backward: last + before (from pageInfo.startCursor)
• Always check pageInfo.hasNextPage / pageInfo.hasPreviousPage

Python SDK

The official ShopifyAPI package (GitHub: Shopify/shopify_python_api) provides a Python client:

• Install: pip install ShopifyAPI
• Supports both REST (legacy) and GraphQL APIs
• Handles authentication, rate limiting, and pagination
• Useful for backend scripts and data pipelines

Best Practices

• Use GraphQL Admin API (not REST) — REST is deprecated
• Always specify the API version in requests
• Request only the fields you need to minimize query cost
• Use bulk operations for large data exports (> 250 items)
• Handle rate limits gracefully with exponential backoff
• Use cursor pagination, not offset-based
• Check userErrors in mutation responses — a 200 status does not mean success
• Cache stable data (product info, collections) to reduce API calls

Fetch the Shopify GraphQL API reference for the current schema, available queries/mutations, and latest API version before implementing.