Magento GraphQL API
Overview
Magento 2 (and Adobe Commerce) ships a comprehensive GraphQL API for storefront operations — product catalog, search, cart, checkout, customer authentication, and order history. The endpoint is /graphql and does not require an admin token for public catalog data. Cart and customer operations require a guest cart ID (UUID) or a Bearer token from customer login. PWA Studio (Venia) is built entirely on this API, making it the reference implementation for headless Magento.
When to Use This Skill
- When building a React, Vue, or Next.js headless storefront on Magento 2
- When creating a native mobile app that needs Magento product and checkout data
- When implementing PWA Studio extensions that fetch custom data via GraphQL resolvers
- When replacing REST API calls with more efficient GraphQL queries in existing headless projects
- When building a custom GraphQL resolver to expose third-party or custom module data
- When integrating a headless CMS with Magento's product catalog
Core Instructions
- Set up the GraphQL client Magento GraphQL uses standard HTTP POST to
/graphql. Use Apollo Client or a lightweight fetch wrapper: `// lib/magento.ts const MAGENTO_URL = process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_MAGENTO_URL; // e.g. https://magento.example.com export async function magentoQuery<T>(query: string, variables: Record<string, unknown> = {}, token?: string): Promise<T> {const headers: Record<string, string> = {"Content-Type": "application/json", Store: process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_MAGENTO_STORE_CODE?? "default",}; if (token) {headers["Authorization"] =Bearer ${token};} const response = await fetch(${MAGENTO_URL}/graphql, {method: "POST", headers, body: JSON.stringify({query, variables}), next: {revalidate: 300}, // Next.js ISR caching}); if (!response.ok) {throw new Error(Magento GraphQL HTTP error: ${response.status});} const {data, errors} = await response.json(); if (errors?.length) {throw new Error(errors[0].message);} return data as T;}` - Query the product catalog `
// Fetch products by category UID or search export async function getProducts(params: {categoryUid?: string; search?: string; pageSize?: number; currentPage?: number;}) {return magentoQuery<{products: MagentoProductList}>(query GetProducts($search: String $filter: ProductAttributeFilterInput $pageSize: Int $currentPage: Int) {products(search: $search filter: $filter pageSize: $pageSize currentPage: $currentPage sort: {position: ASC}) {total_count page_info {current_page page_size total_pages} aggregations {attribute_code label count options {label value count}} items {uid sku name url_key... on SimpleProduct {price_range {minimum_price {regular_price {value currency} final_price {value currency} discount {percent_off amount_off}}}}... on ConfigurableProduct {configurable_options {attribute_code label values {uid label swatch_data {value}}} variants {attributes {uid label code value_index} product {sku stock_status price_range {minimum_price {final_price {value}}}}}} small_image {url label} thumbnail {url label} rating_summary review_count stock_status}}}, {search: params.search, filter: params.categoryUid? {category_uid: {eq: params.categoryUid}}: undefined, pageSize: params.pageSize?? 20, currentPage: params.currentPage?? 1,});}` - Create guest cart and add items `
// Create a guest cart and get the cart ID export async function createGuestCart(): Promise<string> {const data = await magentoQuery<{createEmptyCart: string}>(mutation {createEmptyCart}); return data.createEmptyCart; // Returns a UUID cart ID} // Add a simple product to cart export async function addSimpleProductToCart(cartId: string, sku: string, qty: number) {return magentoQuery(mutation AddSimpleProduct($cartId: String!, $sku: String!, $qty: Float!) {addSimpleProductsToCart(input: {cart_id: $cartId cart_items: [{data: {sku: $sku, quantity: $qty}}]}) {cart {items {uid quantity product {name sku} prices {price {value currency}}} prices {subtotal_excluding_tax {value currency} grand_total {value currency}}}}}, {cartId, sku, qty});} // Add a configurable product with selected variant export async function addConfigurableProductToCart(cartId: string, parentSku: string, variantSku: string, qty: number) {return magentoQuery(mutation AddConfigurable($cartId: String!, $parentSku: String!, $variantSku: String!, $qty: Float!) {addConfigurableProductsToCart(input: {cart_id: $cartId cart_items: [{parent_sku: $parentSku data: {sku: $variantSku, quantity: $qty}}]}) {cart {items {uid quantity product {name}}}}}, {cartId, parentSku, variantSku, qty});}` - Authenticate customers and manage accounts `
// Customer login — returns a bearer token export async function loginCustomer(email: string, password: string): Promise<string> {const data = await magentoQuery<{generateCustomerToken: {token: string}}>(mutation Login($email: String!, $password: String!) {generateCustomerToken(email: $email, password: $password) {token}}, {email, password}); return data.generateCustomerToken.token;} // Get authenticated customer's cart export async function getCustomerCart(token: string) {return magentoQuery(query {customerCart {id items {uid quantity product {name sku small_image {url}} prices {price {value currency}}} prices {grand_total {value currency}}}}, {}, token);} // Get order history export async function getCustomerOrders(token: string, pageSize = 10) {return magentoQuery(query GetOrders($pageSize: Int) {customer {orders(pageSize: $pageSize, sort: {sort_field: CREATED_AT, sort_direction: DESC}) {total_count items {id number status order_date total {grand_total {value currency}} items {product_name product_sku quantity_ordered} shipping_address {firstname lastname city region {code} country_code}}}}}, {pageSize}, token);}` - Create a custom GraphQL resolver in a Magento 2 module
<?php // app/code/MyVendor/CustomGraphQL/etc/schema.graphqls type Query {myCustomProducts(brand: String @doc(description: "Filter by brand")): MyCustomProductOutput @resolver(class: "MyVendor\\CustomGraphQL\\Model\\Resolver\\CustomProducts") @doc(description: "Get custom product list")} type MyCustomProductOutput {items: [CustomProductItem] total_count: Int} type CustomProductItem {sku: String name: String brand: String custom_attribute: String}<?php // app/code/MyVendor/CustomGraphQL/Model/Resolver/CustomProducts.php namespace MyVendor\CustomGraphQL\Model\Resolver; use Magento\Framework\GraphQl\Config\Element\Field; use Magento\Framework\GraphQl\Query\ResolverInterface; use Magento\Framework\GraphQl\Schema\Type\ResolveInfo; use Magento\Catalog\Model\ResourceModel\Product\CollectionFactory; class CustomProducts implements ResolverInterface {public function __construct(private readonly CollectionFactory $collectionFactory) {} public function resolve(Field $field, $context, ResolveInfo $info, array $value = null, array $args = null) {$collection = $this->collectionFactory->create(); $collection->addAttributeToSelect(['sku', 'name', 'brand', 'custom_attribute']); $collection->addAttributeToFilter('status', 1); $collection->addAttributeToFilter('visibility', ['neq' => 1]); if (!empty($args['brand'])) {$collection->addAttributeToFilter('brand', ['like' => '%'. $args['brand']. '%']);} $items = []; foreach ($collection as $product) {$items[] = ['sku' => $product->getSku(), 'name' => $product->getName(), 'brand' => $product->getData('brand'), 'custom_attribute' => $product->getData('custom_attribute'),];} return ['items' => $items, 'total_count' => $collection->getSize()];}}
Examples
Product detail page — configurable product with swatches
export async function getProductByUrlKey(urlKey: string) {
return magentoQuery<{ products: { items: MagentoProduct[] } }>(`
query GetProduct($urlKey: String!) {
products(filter: { url_key: { eq: $urlKey } }) {
items {
uid sku name url_key
meta_title meta_description
description { html }
short_description { html }
... on ConfigurableProduct {
configurable_options {
id uid label attribute_code position
values {
uid label
swatch_data {
... on ColorSwatchData { value }
... on ImageSwatchData { thumbnail value }
... on TextSwatchData { value }
}
}
}
variants {
attributes { uid label code value_index }
product {
uid sku stock_status
media_gallery { url label disabled }
price_range {
minimum_price {
regular_price { value currency }
final_price { value currency }
}
}
}
}
}
media_gallery { url label disabled position }
reviews(pageSize: 5) {
items {
summary text created_at
ratings_breakdown { name value }
nickname
}
}
}
}
}
`, { urlKey });
}Checkout flow — set shipping address and place order
export async function setShippingAddress(cartId: string, address: AddressInput) {
return magentoQuery(`
mutation SetShipping($cartId: String!, $address: CartAddressInput!) {
setShippingAddressesOnCart(input: {
cart_id: $cartId
shipping_addresses: [{ address: $address }]
}) {
cart {
shipping_addresses {
available_shipping_methods {
carrier_code method_code carrier_title method_title
amount { value currency }
}
}
}
}
}
`, { cartId, address });
}
export async function placeOrder(cartId: string) {
return magentoQuery<{ placeOrder: { order: { order_number: string } } }>(`
mutation PlaceOrder($cartId: String!) {
placeOrder(input: { cart_id: $cartId }) {
order { order_number }
errors { message code }
}
}
`, { cartId });
}Best Practices
- Use the
StoreHTTP header to target specific store views — without it, Magento defaults to the default store and returns incorrect pricing/currency for multi-store setups - Enable GraphQL query caching in Magento via Varnish or built-in cache for public catalog queries — product list queries can be cached for minutes to reduce PHP execution
- Use inline fragments for polymorphic product types — always include
... on SimpleProduct,... on ConfigurableProduct,... on BundleProductwhere applicable - Persist the cart ID in a cookie — guest cart IDs (UUID) expire after 24 hours of inactivity; merge with customer cart after login using
mergeCartsmutation - Batch related queries — Apollo Client batching or manual query merging reduces RTTs for pages that need product + category + CMS block data simultaneously
- Implement proper error handling for
errorsarray — GraphQL responses return 200 even for errors; always checkerrorsproperty in the response body - Cache customer tokens securely — store bearer tokens in
httpOnlycookies, notlocalStorage, to prevent XSS token theft
Common Pitfalls
| Problem | Solution |
|---|---|
| Products missing from GraphQL but visible in Admin | Check the product's visibility attribute — products set to "Not Visible Individually" won't appear in catalog queries |
Configurable product variants return empty stock_status | Query the product field inside variants.product — stock is tracked at the simple product (variant) level, not the parent |
| Custom resolver not recognized | Run bin/magento setup:upgrade after adding new GraphQL schema files; also check schema.graphqls syntax carefully |
| Cart merge fails after customer login | Call mergeCarts(source_cart_id: $guestCartId, destination_cart_id: $customerCartId) — then discard the guest cart ID cookie |
| Slow GraphQL responses | Enable Magento's built-in GraphQL caching: bin/magento config:set system/full_page_cache/caching_application 1; use Varnish for public queries |
| Bearer token expired mid-session | Implement token refresh: catch The current customer isn't authorized error and redirect to login or use refresh token if available |
Related Skills
- @magento-module-development
- @magento-indexing-caching
- @magento-multi-store
- @headless-commerce-architecture
- @graphql-api-design