Kaizen #149: Using GraphQL APIs to fetch data in a consolidated way

Hello everyone!

Welcome to this week's post in the Kaizen Series! This week, we will discuss GraphQL APIs, a query language that provides an efficient, powerful, and flexible method for fetching and manipulating data from Zoho CRM.

Let us consider the scenario of a large industrial equipment manufacturer,  Zylker Manufacturing.  They utilize Zoho CRM to streamline their sales processes and customer relationship management. Their sales support team uses a legacy system to manage their activities. When a contact seeks support, the support team must have access to the latest data from Zoho CRM to assist them better. They need:

• details of the contact, such as email, phone, and Account details
• details of the ongoing deals of the contact, including potential revenue and stages .
  

With GraphQL APIs, with a single API call, you can create custom unified view that combine information from multiple Zoho CRM modules. This allows the support team to view all relevant information in one place, making it easier to manage sales processes and customer interactions. To create the view, metadata of the fields is also required.  This structured approach in GraphQL allows Zylker Manufacturing to efficiently aggregate data.

You need to construct a GraphQL query to fetch specific data related to a contact and associated deals, as well as metadata about the fields in the Contacts and Deals modules. Let's break down each part of the query that can achieve this.

1. Fetching Contact and Deal Information

Records: Records comprises the records from the different Zoho CRM modules. Contacts: Specifies that we want to query the records of the Contacts module. The where clause filters the contacts based on their email address. _data: This indicates the fields we want to retrieve from the records. In this case: Email: Fetches the email of the contact. Full_Name: Fetches the full name of the contact. Deals__r: Fetches the related deal record of the Contact.  Expected_Revenue: Fetches the expected revenue from each deal. Deal_Name: Fetches the name of each deal. Stage: Fetches the current stage of each deal.

Records {     Contacts(where: { Email: { equals: "krismarrier@noemail.com" } }) {         _data {             Email {                 value}             Full_Name {                 value}             Deals__r {                 _data {                     Expected_Revenue {                         value}                     Deal_Name {                         value}                     Stage {                         value                     }}}}}}

2. Fetching Metadata for Contacts

Meta: This fetches the details of the metadata for Contacts module. It uses the alias "contact_meta" Modules(filter: { api_name: "Contacts" }): Specifies that we want to fetch the metadata of the Contacts module. _data: This indicates the fields we want to retrieve. In this case: id: The unique identifier for the module. api_name: The API name for the module. module_name: The name of the module. description: The description of the module. plural_label, singular_label: Labels used for the module. fields: Retrieves metadata for specific fields within the module. filter: { api_names: ["Last_Name", "Email"] }: Specifies which fields' metadata to retrieve.For each field, it retrieves: id: Field identifier. api_name: API name for the field. display_label: The display name of the field. json_type: The data type as represented in JSON. data_type: The Zoho CRM data type of the field.

contact_meta: Meta {     Modules(filter: { api_name: "Contacts" }) {       _data {         id         api_name         module_name         description         singular_label         plural_label         fields(filter: { api_names: ["Last_Name", "Email"] }) {           _data {             id             api_name             display_label             json_type             data_type           }         }       }     }  }

3. Fetching Metadata for Deals

Meta: This fetches the details of the metadata for Deals module. It uses the alias "deal_meta" Modules(filter: { api_name: "Deals" }): Specifies that we want to fetch the metadata of the Deals module. _data: This indicates the fields we want to retrieve. In this case: id: The unique identifier for the module. api_name: The API name for the module. module_name: The name of the module. description: description of the module. plural_label, singular_label: Labels used for the module. fields: Retrieves metadata for specific fields within the module. filter:  api_names: ["Expected_Revenue", "Deal_Name","Stage"] }: Specifies which fields' metadata to retrieve.For each field, it retrieves: id: Field identifier. api_name: API name for the field. display_label: The display name of the field. json_type: The data type as represented in JSON. data_type: The Zoho CRM data type of the field.

deal_meta: Meta {     Modules(filter: { api_name: "Deals" }) {         _data {             id             api_name             module_name             description             singular_label             plural_label             fields(filter: { api_names: ["Expected_Revenue", "Deal_Name","Stage"] }) {                 _data {                     api_name                     id                     display_label                     json_type                     data_type                 }             }         }     } }

The complete query will look this:

query {   Records {     Contacts(where: { Email: { equals: "krismarrier@noemail.com" } }) {       _data {         Email {           value         }         Full_Name {           value         }         Deals__r {           _data {             Expected_Revenue {               value             }             Deal_Name {               value             }             Stage {               value             }           }         }       }     }   }   contact_meta: Meta {     Modules(filter: { api_name: "Contacts" }) {       _data {         plural_label         id         api_name         module_name         description         singular_label         fields(filter: { api_names: ["Last_Name", "Email"] }) {           _data {             id             api_name             display_label             json_type             data_type           }         }       }     }   }   deal_meta: Meta {     Modules(filter: { api_name: "Deals" }) {       _data {         plural_label         id         api_name         module_name         description         singular_label         fields(           filter: { api_names: ["Expected_Revenue", "Deal_Name", "Stage"] }         ) {           _data {             api_name             id             display_label             json_type             data_type           }         }       }     }   } }

If you were to fetch this data using REST APIs, it will involve multiple calls to the 

• Query API
• Related Records API
• Modules meta API, and 
• Fields meta API.
  

Using the GraphQL query you can fetch the required data alone in a less round trip time. While constructing a query for your custom requirement, please note that you can query up to three levels of depth (nesting levels of a field) for Records and 7 levels of depth for Metadata. 

Constructing GraphQL query using Postman

To construct a GraphQL query in Postman to suit your requirements, type {api_domain}/crm/graphql in the URL box. Postman will automatically fetch the query schema in the schema explorer, which can be used to explore the types of queries that can be made, including what fields are available on each type, what arguments those fields accept, and what other types they return.   

Constructing a Zoho CRM GraphQL query in Postman using schema explorer

You can refer to the help documentation on GraphQL APIs for more details on GraphQL APIs. 

Update 25th Sep 2024:

GraphQL APIs are now open across all DCs including IN DC for Enterprise, Zoho One Enterprise, CRM Plus and Ultimate edition orgs. Please note that GraphQL APIs are not available for Trial Edition of these editions.

We hope you found this post useful. We will meet you next week with another interesting topic!

If you have any questions, let us know in the comment section or reach out to us directly at support@zohocrm.com.

Further Reading.                                                                                                                                

• Kaizen Series
  
• GraphQL Documentation
  

Previous Kaizen Post

• Kaizen #148 - 'trigger' in Records APIs

• Topic Participants

• Mable Mary M P

  

• Sticky Posts

• Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs

  🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

• Kaizen #198: Using Client Script for Custom Validation in Blueprint

  Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – 1 More to the Big Two-Oh-Oh! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

• Celebrating 200 posts of Kaizen! Share your ideas for the milestone post

  Hello Developers, We launched the Kaizen series in 2019 to share helpful content to support your Zoho CRM development journey. Staying true to its spirit—Kaizen Series: Continuous Improvement for Developer Experience—we've shared everything from FAQs

• Kaizen #193: Creating different fields in Zoho CRM through API

  🎊 Nearing 200th Kaizen Post – We want to hear from you! Do you have any questions, suggestions, or topics you would like us to cover in future posts? Your insights and suggestions help us shape future content and make this series better for everyone.

• Client Script | Update - Introducing Commands in Client Script!

  Have you ever wished you could trigger Client Script from contexts other than just the supported pages and events? Have you ever wanted to leverage the advantage of Client Script at your finger tip? Discover the power of Client Script - Commands! Commands

• Recent Topics

• How do you print a refund check to customer?

  Maybe this is a dumb question, but how does anyone print a refund check to a customer? We cant find anywhere to either just print a check and pick a customer, or where to do so from a credit note.

• Notebook

  I have purchased the monthly pro subscription of Notebook. But it does not support my XP-Pen to write something in it. So it is not useful to me. Hence I am requesting you to help me to discontinue this subscription.

• Domain Mapping & Image Publishing Issues on Zoho Sites

  Hello, I am facing two issues with my Zoho Sites account: 1. Images not visible after publishing. 2. Domain mapping error: "Domain already exists". I am a paid customer. Please connect me with Live Chat Support or Zoho Assist so I can show my issue

• Prevent duplicate with custom fields?

  I was wondering something about custom field/custom modules in Zoho Desk. For some reason you can make a custom field mandatory but not unique? For example, if I create a custom module to manage equipment and renewal and make a field serial number no

• Round robin

  Hi, I'm trying to set up a round robin to automatically distribute tickets between agents in my team but only those tickets that are not otherwise distributed by other workflows or direct assignments. Is that possible and if so which criteria should I

• "Is Zoho CRM customer" vs "Is linked with Zoho CRM"

  Recently while building a Flow, I was setting up a Decision action following a Zoho Invoice Fetch record action. There were 2 choices that I had not seen as something I could manually action in Zoho Invoice: "Is Zoho CRM customer" and "Is linked with

• Two currencies

  More and more I am finding that internattional payments' fees are unpredictable. I would like, on my invoices that are in a foreign currency (eg. USD$ or EUR€) for there to be a GBP£ TOTAL display alongside the invoice's currency total. This would make

• Automatic Matching from Bank Statements / Feeds

  Is it possible to have transactions from a feed or bank statement automatically match when certain criteria are met? My use case, which is pretty broadly applicable, is e-commerce transactions for merchant services accounts (clearing accounts). In these

• Generate leads from instagram

  hello i have question. If connect instagram using zoho social, it is possible to get lead from instagram? example if someone send me direct message or comment on my post and then they generate to lead

• Kaizen #71 - Client Script ZDKs for Detail (Canvas) Page

  Hello everyone! Welcome back to another interesting Kaizen post. In this post, we can discuss Client Script ZDKs support for Detail (Canvas) Page. What is Detail (Canvas) Page? A Detail(Canvas) Page allows you to customize the record detail page to your

• Where is the desktop app for Zoho Projects???

  As a project manager, I need a desktop app for the projects I manage. Yes, there's the web app, which is AWESOME for cross browser and platform compatibility... but I need a real desktop app for Projects that allow me to enter offline information where

• How to Automate Monthly PDF Reports with Filters in Zoho Creator

  Hi everyone, I’m trying to build an automated monthly reporting process in Zoho Creator and would appreciate suggestions or best practices from anyone who has done something similar. What I’m trying to do: I have a form called New_Customer with fields

• Feedback: Streamlining Note Management in Zoho Notebook

  Dear Team/Support, I would like to share some feedback regarding the note management system that could help improve usability and accessibility for users like myself. Notebook 1 (screenshot attached): Currently, the system does not allow selecting and

• showing Limit exceeded

  Good afternoon...trust you're good. I've been having issues working with but it's not responding. it's showing Limit exceeded, sorry it seems like too many people are working on the sheet right now please try again later. meanwhile no one is working on

• Converting Sales Order to Invoice via API; Problem with decimal places tax

  We are having problems converting a Sales Order to an Invoice via API Call. The cause of the issue is, that the Tax value in a Sales Order is sometimes calculated with up to 16 decimal places (e.g. 0.8730000000000001). The max decimal places allowed in

• Sorting columns in Zoho Projects

  Hi, In project management best practice, sorting columns (ascending, descending) is an important tool. Sorting dates to see the order of tasks starting, sorting on priority or even on planned hours is a must for an efficient project control. Currently,

• CRM : Function to add user name to text field

  I have a lookup field in a module that is linked to the CRM users so we can assign a Project Lead to the customer. Sadly Zoho Marketing Automation doesn't sync Lookup fields so I need to extract information from the lookup to text fields: Lookup field

• Upload API

  I'm trying to use the Upload API to upload some images and attach them to comments (https://desk.zoho.com/DeskAPIDocument#Uploads#Uploads_Uploadfile) - however I can only ever get a 401 or bad request back. I'm using an OAuth token with the Desk.tickets.ALL

• Losing description after merging tickets

  Hello, We merge tickets when they are about the same topic from the same client. It happens sometimes. We recently noticed that after the merger only the description from the master ticket is left in a thread. And the slave-ticket description is erased.

• Option to Empty Entire Mailbox or Folder in Zoho Mail

  Hello Zoho Mail Team, How are you? We would like to request an enhancement to Zoho Mail that would allow administrators and users to quickly clear out entire folders or mailboxes, including shared mailboxes. Current Limitation: At present, Zoho Mail only

• update linked contacts when update happens in account

  Hi, I have a custom field called Licence in the Accounts module. When someone buys a licence, I’d like to update a custom field in the related Contacts. How can I achieve this? I noticed that workflows triggered on Accounts only allow me to update fields

• Problem Management Module

  I am looking for a Problem Management module within Zoho Desk. I saw in some training videos that this is available, and some even provided an annual price for it. I want an official confirmation on whether this is indeed available. This is not a particularly

• Deluge sendmail in Zoho Desk schedule can't send email from a verified email address

  I am trying to add a scheduled action with ZDesk using a Deluge function that sends a weekly email to specific ticket client contacts I've already verified the email address for use in ZDesk, but sendmail won't allow it in its "from:" clause. I've attached

• Unable to explore desk.zoho.com

  Greetings, I have an account with zoho which already has a survey subscription. I would like to explore desk.zoho.com, but when I visit it while logged in (https://desk.zoho.com/agent?action=CreatePortal) I just get a blank page. I have tried different

• Offline support for mobile app

  Accessing your files and folders from your mobile devices is now quicker and simpler, thanks to the power of offline support. Whether on an Android or iOS device, you can use the Offline function to save files and folders, so you can review them even

• Zoho Desk KB article embedded on another site.

  We embed KB articles from Zoho Desk on another site (our application). When opening the article in a new tab, there is no issue, but if we choose lightbox, we are getting an error "To protect your security, help.ourdomain.com will not allow Firefox to

• Transitioning to API Credits in Zoho Desk

  At Zoho Desk, we’re always looking for ways to help keep your business operations running smoothly. This includes empowering teams that rely on APIs for essential integrations, functions and extensions. We’ve reimagined how API usage is measured to give

• List of packaged components and if they are upgradable

  Hello, In reference to the article Components and Packaging in Zoho Vertical Studio, can you provide an overview of what these are. Can you also please provide a list of of components that are considered Packaged and also whether they are Upgradable?

• Does Attari Messaging app have Bot option and APIB

  Hi, Does Attari also have Bot and API as we use in WhatsApp??

• how to use validation rules in subform

  Is it possible to use validation rules for subforms? I tried the following code: entityMap = crmAPIRequest.toMap().get("record"); sum = 0; direct_billing = entityMap.get("direct_billing_details"); response = Map(); for each i in direct_billing { if(i.get("type")

• How to add application logo

  I'm creating an application which i do not want it to show my organization logo so i have changed the setting but i cannot find where to upload/select the logo i wish to use for my application. I have seen something online about using Deluge and writing

• Introducing Keyboard Shortcuts for Zoho CRM

  Dear Customers, We're happy to introduce keyboard shortcuts for Zoho CRM features! Until now, you might have been navigating to modules manually using the mouse, and at times, it could be tedious, especially when you had to search for specific modules

• Empowered Custom Views: Cross-Module Criteria Now Supported in Zoho CRM

  Hello everyone, We’re excited to introduce cross-module criteria support in custom views! Custom views provide personalized perspectives on your data and that you can save for future use. You can share these views with all users or specific individuals

• Send Automated WhatsApp Messages and Leverage the Improved WhatsApp Templates

  Greetings, I hope all of you are doing well. We're excited to announce a major upgrade to Bigin's WhatsApp integration that brings more flexibility, interactivity, and automation to your customer messaging. WhatsApp message automation You can now use

• Verifying Zoho Mail Functionality After Switching DNS from Cloudflare to Hosting Provider

  I initially configured my domain's (https://roblaxmod.com/) email with Zoho Mail while using Cloudflare to manage my DNS records (MX, SPF, etc.). All services were working correctly. Recently, I have removed my site from Cloudflare and switched my domain's

• Zoho Analytics Regex Support

  When can we expect full regex support in Zoho Analytics SQL such as REGEXP_REPLACE? Sometimes I need to clean the data and using regex functions is the easiest way to achieve this.

• Change of Blog Author

  Hi, I am creating the blog post on behalf of my colleague. When I publish the post, it is showing my name as author of the post which is not intended and needs to be changed to my colleague's name. How can I change the name of the author in the blogs?? Thanks, Ramanan

• Show Attachments in the customer portal

  Hi, is it possible to show the Attachments list in the portal for the particular module? Bests.

• Does Zoho Docs have a Line Number function ?

  Hi, when collaborating with coding tasks, I need an online real time share document that shows line numbers. Does Zoho's docs offer this feature ? If yes, how can I show them ? Regards, Frank

• Please make it easier to Pause syncing

  right now it takes 3 clicks to get there. sounds silly, but can you make it just 2 clicks to get it done instead? thats how dropbox does it, 2 clicks to pause instead of 3.

• Next Page