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. 

Got ideas? Tell us! ✨

Hi all,

Hello and welcome to another week of Kaizen!

In this post, we will be discussing Frequently Asked Questions on Zoho CRM GraphQL APIs.  GraphQL is a query language that provides a more flexible and efficient way to access data and metadata within your Zoho CRM organization. 

Why should I try GraphQL APIs?

 Using GraphQL with Zoho CRM allows you to fetch exactly the data you need in a single request, reducing over-fetching and under-fetching. It also enables you to combine multiple operations in one request, which can improve performance and reduce network overhead.

How do I authorize GraphQL requests?

Similar to Zoho CRM REST APIs, GraphQL APIs use OAuth 2.0 for authorization.

For self-clients, you can use the self-client option in the API console to get an authorization grant code. This code can be exchanged for an access token and a refresh token. Once you receive the access token, send the token in your HTTP authorization header with the value "Zoho-oauthtoken {access_token}" for each request. Check out our Postman collection for GraphQL APIs for examples.

Are GraphQL APIs available for all Zoho CRM editions?

GraphQL APIs are available in Enterprise, Zoho One Enterprise, CRM Plus and Ultimate edition of Zoho CRM. Note that it is not available in any trial editions.

What is the difference between REST APIs and GraphQL APIs?

REST APIs let clients talk to servers using standard HTTP methods such as GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE. Instead of fetching a fixed dataset like with REST, GraphQL APIs allows you to ask for precisely the data you want. We have covered this topic in detail in our previous Kaizen post that compares REST APIs and GraphQL APIs

Do I need to do any initial setup to start using GraphQL APIs?

To start using GraphQL APIs, you have to enable GraphQL APIs for your Zoho CRM profile through the enable GraphQL API call. 

• Request URL : {api-domain}/crm/graphql/actions/enable
• Method : POST
• Scope: ZohoCRM.GraphQL.UPDATE

This API call generates the GraphQL schema. GraphQL schema defines the capabilities of a server, the data it contains and the actions that can be done on it. Note that it is sufficient to invoke this API call once for each profile. 

What are the operations supported in Zoho CRM GraphQL APIs?

   Currently, Zoho CRM GraphQL APIs support only query operations. Query operation is analogous to the GET method in REST APIs.

How do I configure requests for Zoho CRM’s GraphQL APIs?

• Request URL: {{api-domain}}/crm/graphql 
• Method: POST
• Scope: ZohoCRM.graphql.READ and scope of the corresponding resource.
  

How do I write a basic query in GraphQL? 

The below query can be used to fetch Last_Name in Leads module.

Request body 

query {     Records {         Leads {_data {Last_Name {value}}}     } }

 

Output 

{"data":{"Records":{"Leads":{"_data":[   {"Last_Name":{"value":"Kitzman"}},   {"Last_Name":{"value":"Frey"}}   // ... ]}}}}

What are the supported metadata types that can be fetched using GraphQL APIs?

Using GraphQL APIs you can fetch metadata from Modules, Users, KanbanView, UserProperties, ProfilePermissions, Profiles, Roles, and Widgets

Can I fetch metadata and data of a particular module in a single query using GraphQL APIs?

Yes, using GraphQL it is possible to fetch both metadata and data in a single query. 

 For example, the below query can be used to fetch Last_Name from Leads module and metadata information of the Last_Name field in the Leads module.

Request body

{   Records {     Leads { _data { Last_Name { value } } }   }   Meta {     Modules(filter: { api_name: "Leads" }) {       _data {         fields(filter: { api_names: "Last_Name" }) { _data {                         id                         api_name                         display_label                         json_type                         data_type }}}}}}

 

 Output 

{   "data": {     "Records": {       "Leads": {         "_data": [           { "Last_Name": { "value": "Kitzman" } },           { "Last_Name": { "value": "Frey" } }           // ...         ]       }     },     "Meta": {       "Modules": {         "_data": [           {             "fields": {               "_data": [                 {                   "id": "6660682000000002595",                   "api_name": "Last_Name",                   "display_label": "Last Name",                   "json_type": "string",                   "data_type": "text"    }]}}]}}}}

 

We have covered this in detail in this Kaizen post: Using GraphQL APIs to fetch data in a consolidated way.

Are there any limits applicable for a GraphQL API query?

Yes, Zoho CRM imposes certain limits on the GraphQL API to ensure fair usage. 

• Credits: A single query can consume up to a maximum of 10 credits
• Complexity: Complexity is a measure of workload a query exerts on the server based on the number of fields and depth of the query. The maximum complexity allowed for a single query is 1000. 
• Depth: The nesting level of a queried field is referred to as depth. The limit for metadata is seven, and for data is three.
  

Refer to the official documentation on GraphQL credits.

Is it possible to retrieve selective data using GraphQL APIs?

Records

You can use the where argument to filter records from each module.  Each field can support type specific operators and can be combined with Boolean logic and wildcards.

For example. to fetch Email, Last_Name, ID, Phone and Mobile of  contacts where last name starts with "Ni" and mobile contains the digit 5 or phone number equals 555-678-9999

Request body

{   Records {     Contacts(where: {       and: [         { Last_Name: { like: "Ni%" } },         {           or: [             { Phone: { equals: "555-678-9999" } },             { Mobile: { like: "%5%" } }           ]         }       ]     }) {       _data {         Email { value }         Last_Name { value }         id { value }         Phone { value }         Mobile { value }   }}}}

 

Introspecting the GraphQL schema in Postman will reveal the details of fields and supported operators for each module. Check out our previous Kaizen, where we explained this using videos.

Metadata

You can use the filter argument to filter metadata resources.

For example, the query below fetches metadata of Deals module and api_name of its layouts and fields

Request body

query {   Meta {     Modules(filter: { api_name: "Deals" }) {       _data {         id         singular_label         plural_label         layouts {           _data {             id             api_name           }         }         fields {           _data {             api_name      }}}}}}

How do I paginate results in GraphQL?

In GraphQL, we use the offset and limit argument to paginate results.

You can use offset to fetch the next page of results by passing the value from your previous response, starting with null for the initial set.  For each page, the number of records has a limit: up to 100 records for root queries or 10 for nested data.

The value to be passed in offset is obtained by querying for previous_offset and next_offset inside _info object.

Is it possible to sort records in GraphQL? 

The order_by argument can be used to sort the response set after fetching records to ascending or descending order.

For example, the below query fetches the fields Deal_Name, Expected_Revenue, and Probability from Deals module in descending order of probability.

Request body

query {   Records {     Deals(order_by: { Probability: { order: DESC } }) {       _data {         Deal_Name { value }         Expected_Revenue { value }         Probability { value } }}}}

When should I choose Zoho CRM GraphQL APIs over Zoho CRM REST APIs, and vice versa? 

Use Zoho CRM GraphQL APIs when:

• You need to fetch complex, nested data from multiple resources (e.g., accounts with linked contacts and deals) in a single request and avoid under-fetching of required data/metadata.

• You need to minimize over-fetching of data/metadata by selecting only specific resources, fields of the resources, and relationships of the resources.

• You need to query data and metadata together efficiently. 

Use Zoho CRM REST APIs when :

• You need to perform simple CRUD operations (e.g., fetch/update a single product).

• Your use case involves straightforward endpoints without nested data/metadata.

• You need to do add/update/delete operations.

We trust that this post addressed your doubts on GraphQL APIs. If you have any questions please let us know in the comment section or reach out to us at support@zohocrm.com.

Previous Kaizen Post : Kaizen #196 - Zoho CRM Queries - Best Practices|Kaizen Directory

• Topic Participants

• Mable Mary M P

  

• Andres

• qasim

• Malik Faisal Ijaz

• Thomas James

• Sticky Posts

• Kaizen #226: Using ZRC in Client Script

  Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. In today's post, lets see what is ZRC (Zoho Request Client) and how we can use ZRC methods in Client Script to get inputs from a Salesperson and update the Lead status with a single button click. In this

• Kaizen #222 - Client Script Support for Notes Related List

  Hello everyone! Welcome to another week of Kaizen. The final Kaizen post of the year 2025 is here! With the new Client Script support for the Notes Related List, you can validate, enrich, and manage notes across modules. In this post, we’ll explore how

• Kaizen #217 - Actions APIs : Tasks

  Welcome to another week of Kaizen! In last week's post we discussed Email Notifications APIs which act as the link between your Workflow automations and you. We have discussed how Zylker Cloud Services uses Email Notifications API in their custom dashboard.

• Kaizen #216 - Actions APIs : Email Notifications

  Welcome to another week of Kaizen! For the last three weeks, we have been discussing Zylker's workflows. We successfully updated a dormant workflow, built a new one from the ground up and more. But our work is not finished—these automated processes are

• Kaizen #152 - Client Script Support for the new Canvas Record Forms

  Hello everyone! Have you ever wanted to trigger actions on click of a canvas button, icon, or text mandatory forms in Create/Edit and Clone Pages? Have you ever wanted to control how elements behave on the new Canvas Record Forms? This can be achieved

• Recent Topics

• Email Address for Contact not Populating

  When I click "Send Mail" from a Contact's page, their email address does not auto populate the "To" field. How do I make this happen?

• New in CRM: Dynamic filters for lookup fields

  Last modified on Oct 28, 2024: This feature was initially available only through Early Access upon request. It is now available to all users across all data centers, except for the IN DC. Users in the IN DC can temporarily request access using this form

• Why hybrid project management might be the best fit for you?

  Project management techniques are designed to equip teams with proven methods for easy and efficient project execution. While management teams may have apprehensions about adopting the hybrid method of project management, we’ve compiled the top reasons

• Allow all Company Users to view all projects, but only owner/admins can change projects

  I was wondering if there was a permission setting I could adjust to allow all our company users to see all projects created. Then, only the project owners and admins with the change permission. Thanks

• Fail to send Email by deluge

  Hi， today I gonna update some email include details in deluge, while this msg pops up and restrict me to save but my rules has run for one year. can you tell me how to use one of our admin account or super admin account to send the email? I tried to update

• Seeking help to be able to search on all custom functions that are defined

  Hello I have a lot of custom functions defined (around 200) and i would like to search some specific strings in the content of those. Is there a way to accomplish that? If not, is there a way to download all existing custom functions in some files locally

• Totals for Sales Tax Report

  On the sales tax report, the column totals aren't shown for any column other than Total Tax. I can't think of a good reason that they shouldn't be included for the other columns, as well. It would help me with my returns, for sure. It seems ludicrous

• Add Bulk Section / Grid Layout Duplicate Feature in Zoho Forms Builder

  Currently in Zoho Forms, users can only duplicate individual fields. There is no option to duplicate an entire section or two-column/grid layout with all internal fields. This becomes inefficient when building structured forms such as Family Details,

• Leistungsdatum in Rechnungen (Zoho Books)

  Hallo, ist es irgendwie möglich den Leistungszeitraum in der Rechnung aufzuführen? Beste Grüße Aleks

• Zoho Trident Windows - Streams Not Visible

  Namaste We’re having an issue with Streams not being visible in Trident (Windows), which is important for us as we share many emails internally. It appears that the feature to show Streams above the Inbox folder, as seen in the default mailbox view, is

• Sales IQ Chat Widget is Only Displaying Last Name

  Can anyone suggest why the widget is only displaying "last name"?! We have the latest version of the wordpress plugin installed. Thanks Thanks!

• Shopify - Item sync from Zoho Inventory

  Hi team, We’ve connected Shopify with Zoho Inventory. We want that when an item is created in Zoho Inventory, it must create a product in Shopify. But currently, new items created in Zoho Inventory are not getting created in Shopify even after clicking

• Bulk upload image option in Zoho Commerce

  I dont know if I am not looking into it properly but is there no option to bulk upload images along with the products? Like after you upload the products, I will have to upload images one by one again? Can someone help me out here? And what should I enter

• Is it possible to setup bin locations WITHOUT mandating batch tracking?

  Hi fellow zoho users, I'm wondering if anyone else has a similar issue to me? I only have some products batch tracked (items with shelf life expiry dates) but I am trying to setup bin locations for my entire inventory so we can do stock counting easier.

• Kill zoho meeting

  Saying the quiet part out loud. Can zoho please just give up on the idea that they can make a meeting platform and just make our workplace licenses cheaper when you remove it so people can switch to zoom or teams. Tired of the excuses, you guys cant make

• Utilisation de Zoho en conformité avec l’article 286 du Code général des impôts (CGI)

  Cher(e) client(e), Conformément à l’article 286 du Code général des impôts (CGI) impose aux entreprises assujetties à la TVA d’utiliser des systèmes de caisse ou de gestion commerciale certifiés lorsqu’elles enregistrent des ventes à des particuliers.

• Unable to Create Task as a Support Administrator

  Hello! I want to ask for help regarding creating tasks within the tickets. I am by default the Support Admin. I should be able to create tasks or activities right? But there's a prompt that I need to contact the Administrator. See photos for reference.

• Introducing Forms in Zoho Sheet

  We hereby bring you the power of ​forms in Zoho Sheet. ​Now, build and create your own customized forms using Zoho Sheet. Be it compiling a questionnaire or rolling out a survey, Zoho Sheet can do it all for you. Forms is an excellent feature that helps you collect information in the simplest of ways and having it in Zoho Sheet takes it a notch higher. Build Simple yet Powerful forms Building forms using Zoho Sheet is fairly simple. The exclusive 'Form' tab lets you create one quickly. Whether you

• Layout one survey question in a time & redirect next Page based on previous response

  I have doubt while, I am scripting survey on the Zoho where I redirecting to next page based on my previous response but didn’t get success on this. Please help me on this and tell me how I layout one survey questions in a time when I submit response

• Zoho Bookings form pre-filled with Zoho Forms in

  Hi, I've got a contact page on my website and I'd like to have the option to book an appointment (redirected to zoho bookings page) after an option is submitted on the contact form. how would I go about doing this? thanks

• Support “Other” Option with Free Text in Dropdown Fields

  Hello Zoho Bookings Team, Greetings, We would like to request an enhancement to the registration form fields in Zoho Bookings, specifically for dropdown fields. Current Limitation: At the moment, dropdown fields do not support an “Other” option that allows

• ZOHO add-in issue

  I cannot connect ZOHO from my Outlook. I am getting this error.

• Sending automated messages that appear in the ticket's conversation thread

  Good morning, esteemed Zoho Desk community, warm greetings Today I am here to raise the following problem, seeking a solution that I can implement: I need to implement an automation that allows me to send reminder messages to customers when I am waiting

• Introducing parent-child ticketing in Zoho Desk [Early access]

  Hello Zoho Desk users! We have introduced the parent-child ticketing system to help customer service teams ensure efficient resolution of issues involving multiple, related tickets. You can now combine repetitive and interconnected tickets into parent-child

• Payment Card or Identity form-fill from Vault?

  Hello! I'm working on replacing Bitwarden with Vault and one issue I've run into is that I can't find any option to fill address and payment forms from Payment Card or Identity info that has been saved in Vault. Is there a way to do this? Is it a planned

• Ability to add VAT to Retainer Invoices

  Hello, I've had a telephone conversation a month ago with Dinesh on this topic and my request to allow for the addition of VAT on Retainer Invoices.  It's currently not possible to add VAT to Retainer Invoices and it was mutually agreed that there is absolutely no reason why there shouldn't be, especially as TAX LAW makes VAT mandatory on each invoice in Europe!   So basically, what i'm saying is that if you don't allow us to add VAT to Retainer Invoices, than the whole Retainer Invoices becomes

• Time Log Reminder

  Tracking the time spent on tasks and issues is one of the most important functions of a timesheet. However, users may forget to update the time logs because they have their own goals to achieve. But, time logs must be updated at regular intervals to keep

• [Early-access] Introducing Zoho's CommandCenter - Cross-Zoho business process automation

    Resources to help Webinar recording | Documentation  Feature Restrictions Currently available on early-access only for US data center accounts Features Role CommandCenter as a Service uses signals across Zoho services to propel the movement of records

• Tip #58- Accessibility Controls in Zoho Assist: Learning- 'Insider Insights'

  Learning should be clear and interruption-free for everyone. Timely feedback plays an important role in helping users understand actions as they happen, without breaking their focus. In this post, we’ll explore the final section of Accessibility: Learning.

• ZIA "Generate Content" action doesn't have contexual data from the ticket

  "Generate Content" action doesn't have contexual data from the ticket. I try to get AI to help me with this ticket but it doesn't seem to have any ticket information as context. Although the ticket has a lot of information in it.

• Zoho Desk - Zoho FSM Integration issue on Mobile and iPad

  Hello Team, I am trying to create a Work Order (WO) using the Zoho FSM integration (Add-on Service) that is integrated with Zoho Desk. The issue is that the integration is not working on mobile devices and iPads. While I am able to create the WO, Request,

• E-File Form 1099 Directly With the IRS From Zoho Books

  The Form 1099 filing season has begun, and businesses are required to e-file certain forms with the IRS to report payments made to vendors and contractors. If your business made qualifying payments during the year, you must e-file the appropriate Form

• Can I hide empty Contact fields from view?

  Some contacts have a lot of empty fields, others are mostly filled. Is there a way I can hide/show empty fields without changing the actual Layout? I would like to de-clutter my view, and also be able to add information later as I am able. I would be willing to learn to code a button, but I am highly confused about it and thus worried it would be beyond me.  I've looked at a lot of the developer documents and I'm not able to make a lot of sense of them.  Thank you in advance to anyone who knows the

• Suggestions for showing subscribed Topics in CRM (contact record)

  We have several Topics set up in ZMA. We also have a sync set up between ZMA and CRM. I'd like to display the subscribed topics on the CRM Contact record. This will allow the Sales team (who uses CRM) to see at a glance what topics a Contact is subscribed

• Replies sometimes creating separate ticket

  Sometimes when a customer responds to an email coming from Zoho Desk, instead of adding a reply to the original ticket, a separate ticket is created. This happens even though the response subject line contained the ticket number, and the person responding

• Re-hide fields when option is unselected

  Hi all Can anyone help me with this - when I create a 'show' field rule for when a dropdown option is selected, how to I make it so the 'show' option re-hides if that option is no longer selected?

• Allow Attaching Quartz Recordings to Existing Zoho Support Tickets

  Hi Zoho Team, We would like to request an enhancement to how Zoho Quartz recordings integrate with Zoho Support tickets. Current Behavior: At the moment, each Quartz recording automatically creates a new support ticket. However, in many real-world scenarios:

• I'm getting this error when I try to link an email to a deal inside the Zohomail Zoho CRM extension.

  When I click "Yes, associate," the system displays an "Oops!! Something went wrong" error message. I have attached a screenshot of the issue for reference.

• Custom Fields

  There is no way to add a custom field in the "Timesheet" module. Honestly, the ability to add a custom field should be available in every module.

• Remove the “One Migration Per User” Limitation in Zoho WorkDrive

  Hi Zoho WorkDrive Team, Hope you are doing well. We would like to raise a critical feature request regarding the Google Drive → Zoho WorkDrive migration process. Current Limitation: Zoho WorkDrive currently enforces a hard limitation: A Zoho WorkDrive

• Next Page