Kaizen #197: Frequently Asked Questions on GraphQL APIs

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. 

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?

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.

    • Recent Topics

    • Viewing attachments

      I'm using a Web Form integrated in my web site to collect Leads several info, including a image upload. In order to to approve each lead, we have to view the image uploaded. Unfortunately, in the Leads view, the Attachments can only be downloaded, not

    • Kaizen #89 - Color Coding using Client Script

      Hello everyone! Welcome back to another exciting Kaizen post. Today let us see how you can apply color codes to the List and Detail Pages of Zoho CRM using Client Script. Need for color code in Zoho CRM When you mark things with different colors as a

    • Instant Sync of Zoho CRM Data?

      With how valuable Zoho Analytics is to actually creating data driven dashboards/reports, we are surprised that there is no instant or near instant sync between Zoho CRM and Zoho Analytics. Waiting 3 hours is okay for most of our reports, but there are

    • Is it possibly to directly set the tax amount on order instead of indirectly via tax rates?

      We own an eCommerce application and want to funnel submitted orders from that system into Zoho. We're already calculating tax in our application and just need a way to set it in Zoho. We tried to use Zoho's tax objects for tax by setting the rates to

    • Zoho account sign in with passkey

      Hello, I am trying to sign in using passkey, but the option doesn't show up in the web and is disabled in Oneauth on mobile, saying the admin has restricted the use. On the Admin page in Security MFA I can find no option for passkey. Help would be greatly

    • Rescheduled US meetups: Zoho Desk user meetups are coming to seven U.S. cities in October and November, 2025

      Hello to our Zoho Desk users in the United States, We're excited to share the revised dates for the upcoming Zoho User Groups happening across the US this summer. Our product experts are heading to seven cities throughout the country, and for the first

    • Checklists as templates

      Is it possible to save checklists as templates to reuse them in other tasks? Example: I have a web project. I maintain individual web URLs as tasks. Within the tasks the same checklist should be used again and again: - Page created in CMS - Properties

    • Send mass email using my secondary email

      Hello, When I send an email to just one person from Zoho CRM, a complete email editor appears, where I can choose which of my email addresses I want to use in the From field. When I send a mass email, there is not such option. I can only select the email

    • Add the same FROM email to multiple department

      Hi, We have several agents who work with multiple departments and we'd like to be able to select their names on the FROM field (sender), but apparently it's not possible to add a FROM address to multiple departments. Is there any way around this? Thanks.

    • ZOHO TEAM INBOX Calendar Integration

      The Problem: Clients send meeting invitations to our TeamInbox address. TeamInbox receives these invites, but we cannot accept them. We do not use individual inboxes for transparency purposes. Ideal Solution: A way to accept calendar invites sent to our

    • Unearned / Deferred Revenue Automatic Calculation for Subscriptions

      As a SaaS business, we have multiple active subscriptions with varying dates and amounts. Is there a way to have a monthly automatic calculation for all of them that debits or credits the unearned revenue and revenue accounts accordingly? Alternatively,

    • Zoho Desk Limit for Comma Separated Queries

      Hi, I have just discovered a limit that I believed is not mentioned in any of Zoho's documentations. My search query looks like so: "query: {"accountId":"786050000091629966,786050000163589273,786050000163589427,786050000162753705,786050000162112971,786050000161987643,786050000160752868,786050000167089504,786050000167089378,786050000167089024,786050000167070005,786050000166295256,786050000128153693,786050000110560021,786050000046594575,786050000039106461,786050000002225356,786050000076889093,786050000047895103,786050000043365354,786050000044765191,786050000041790249,786050000040359116,786050000037945198,786050000024605077,786050000000525015,786050000155333895,786050000157741437,786050000000718125,786050000011574353,","departmentId":"786050000042648070","status":"Finished","sortBy":"createdTime","customField2":"cf_completion_date:2025-01-28T03:00:00.000Z,2025-10-28T03:00:00.000Z","customField3":"cf_billed:false"}"

    • Module Name doesn't exist

      I am trying to create a module named Activity, with plural Activities, but I have an error that module name already exists. This module is doesn't exist, and I don't have a single field called Activity or Activities.

    • Zoho Desk iOS and Android app update: AI powered: Reply Assistance and Refine Messages on IM module.

      Hello everyone! We are excited to introduce new AI powered features on the IM module of the Zoho Desk app. Reply Assistance: Reply Assistance generates suggested responses for incoming chat messages, which you can directly insert into the conversation

    • Unify All Zoho Video Meeting Experiences into One Standardized Platform

      Hi Zoho Team, We would like to share an important user experience concern regarding the current state of video meeting functionality across the Zoho ecosystem. The Problem Within Zoho, there are multiple ways to initiate or schedule a video meeting: Zoho

    • Is it possible to embed Youtube shorts?

      Hi Zoho desk support, This is Ryan from Accuver America. While I'm trying to create a knowledge base article with embed video, I ran into this issue. "www.youtube.com refuse to connect" A little bit background is that because this video is recorded on

    • Zoho Inventory - Move Orders

      Quick question about Move Orders... Why is there no status to say something like "Draft", "In Progress" and "Completed", similar to Transfer Orders? I'm assuming that when something needs to be moved it should be planned in Inventory, executed and then

    • Split functionality - Admins need ability to do this

      Admins should be able to split an expense at any point of the process prior to approval. The split is very helpful for our account coding, but to have to go back to a user and ask them to split an invoice that they simply want paid is a bit of an in

    • Delegates - Access to approved reports

      We realized that delegates do not have access to reports after they are approved. Many users ask questions of their delegates about past expense reports and the delegates can't see this information. Please allow delegates see all expense report activity,

    • How to include total km for multiple trips in expense report.

      Whenever I create a mileage report it only shows the total dollar amount to be reimbursed. The mileage for each individual trip is included but I also need to see the total distance for all trips in a report? How do I do this?

    • Get logged in user ID in Deluge script

      Hello all, How do I get the id of the logged-in user in a deluge script? the "zoho.loginuserid" function actually returns the users email address or whatever the user id they use to login to zoho with and not the id of the user record, and given that

    • Item Details Field - New Barcode / Document option?

      Is this a new feature??? its in both books and inventory.

    • Super Admin Logging in as another User

      How can a Super Admin login as another user. For example, I have a sales rep that is having issues with their Accounts and I want to view their Zoho Account with out having to do a GTM and sharing screens. Moderation Update (8th Aug 2025): We are working

    • Shared Mailbox - Mark as read for all users

      Hi all, Maybe someone can help me out. At the moment we have a shared mailbox without streams. When a users reads an mail or marks it as read other users will not see this. How can we resolve this? We now archive the mails when read and followed up. However

    • How do I increase the email attachment size in Zoho CRM ?

      It looks like I'm limited to 10MB when sending an attachment using the email widget on a record in Zoho CRM. Is there a way to increase the size? Or can I use some other tool? From what I'm reading online, I'm maxed out at 10MB. Any insight would be greatly

    • Can I export to PDF in Zoho Learn

      I have seen help pages where export to pdf options are available but I do not see that option available from the application. I see that exprt is available in my free trial version but that is only to html pages. I need to be able to export my manuals

    • Zoho Sites "pages" management page

      I have 80 plus pages on zoho sites. When I go to the "pages" link to view and edit pages, They are not in any kind of order, so I spend lots of time searching for pages when I need to edit or create new. How can I change the view order of all my pages

    • Staff rules

      Hi! Do you people know what are the default staff rules when a new booking is created? We have two staff members in my team (me as the admin, and my employee). As we share the same services, I'm wondering how Zoho will pick the staff for new apointments.

    • Add Image Upload Field to Zoho Bookings Registration Form

      Hi, We would like to request the addition of an image upload field to the Zoho Bookings registration form. Currently, Zoho Bookings only supports text-based fields (e.g., Single Line, Multi-Line, Email, Checkbox, Dropdown, Radio Button, and Date), but

    • New Field in CRM Product Module Not Visible in Zoho Creator for Mapping

      I created a new single-line field in the Products module in Zoho CRM. Zoho CRM and Zoho Creator are integrated, but the newly created field in CRM is not visible in Zoho Creator when I try to map fields.

    • Merge Tags Output Incorrect Placeholder Text After CRM Sync

      Hi everyone, I’m experiencing an issue with merge tags in Zoho Campaigns after last sync of contacts and leads from Zoho CRM (days before everything worked perfectly). Here’s the situation (seems like a default configuration in Campaigns) : My leads have

    • UI Improvement - Ability to Collapse Flow

      The UI for Flow is generally pretty good. However, when multiple decision trees are used, the layout can get pretty convoluted and hard-to-follow (see one of my Flows below): In these cases, even the auto-arrange fails to make this something that a normal

    • Windows agent 2025_M02 release notes

      Agent Version: 111.0.3.300 Release date: 24 February, 2025 Various Major enhancements to improve overall performance and optimize the user experience. Squashed a few bugs to improve overall product quality.

    • Windows agent 2025_M01 release notes

      Agent Version: 111.0.3.299 Release date: 05 February, 2025 Major Enhancement: Live Monitor feature compatibility released. Major Enhancement: Updated Scaling for multi technician cases with Android and Web based viewers. Various other bug fixes and performance

    • how to record deferred revenue?

      Dear Zoho Team, We issue invoices relating to 12-month web hosting service. When we issue the invoice, we should record the entire amount of the invoice as DEFERRED REVENUE (ie. $10 x 12 mths = $120, balance sheet item). After the particular month of the hosting service, $10 of revenue has been earned and deferred revenue amount will be $110. We must keep adjusting the balance sheet and income statement over the course of the service until the company has fulfilled its obligation of services and

    • Narrative 13: Importing your data

      Behind the scenes of a successful ticketing system: BTS Series Narrative 13: Importing your data When importing data into an application, it is crucial to prevent data loss or duplication. These types of errors can hinder the development of a clean and

    • Blueprint Not Triggering When Lead Status Is Updated by Workflow (IndiaMART Integration)

      I have set up a blueprint that triggers when a lead’s status is “New Lead.” Our CRM is integrated with IndiaMART, and when leads are created from IndiaMART, their Lead Status is initially set to None. To handle this, I created a workflow that automatically

    • Update Subform in specific field(Status) without affecting other fields in Zoho CRM using Deluge?

      Scenario: PRODUCT Module(change name Plot) in any product status change From Available to Booked then on PROJECT Custom Module have Subform So, Subform name is Property Details now in that Subform 1 field is STATUS that update according to  product status

    • YouTube Live #2: Agreement Intelligence with Zoho Sign's eSign AI assistant

      Hi there, We're back again with our YouTube live series and this time, we'll take you through our holistic agreement intelligence powered signature workflows. Struggling to draft an agreement? Need help double-checking clauses and going through complicated

    • Can I Build a POS using ZOHO creator and integrate it with ZOHO Books?

      Hello,  I have a Zoho Books account and I was wondering if I can have a POS system that integrates with it. Primarily with Inventory, Customers and Payment and ofcourse Create invoices and credit notes.   So, would Zoho creator provide me with this solution?  Thank you, 

    • Next Page