Hexagraph GraphQL API: Endpoint, Playground & Rate Limits

Introduction to the Hexagraph GraphQL gateway. Access the interactive playground, send programmatic queries, and learn when to choose GraphQL over REST.

Hexagraph provides a code-first GraphQL API at https://hexagraph-core.onrender.com/graphql. The same URL serves an interactive Apollo playground for exploring the schema and running queries directly in your browser — no setup or authentication required.

Interactive Playground

Visit https://hexagraph-core.onrender.com/graphql in your browser to open the Apollo Sandbox playground. From there you can:

• Write and execute GraphQL queries against live data
• Browse every available type, field, and argument via the Docs panel on the right
• Inspect full response payloads alongside your queries
• Copy queries directly into your application code once you’ve validated them

No API key or login is needed — just open the URL and start querying.

Endpoint

All GraphQL requests are sent as HTTP POST to a single endpoint:

Property	Value
URL	https://hexagraph-core.onrender.com/graphql
Method	POST
Content-Type	application/json

Queries are delivered in the request body as a JSON object with a query key:

{
  "query": "{ output(id: \"OA:W2107277218\") { id title year } }"
}

Sending Queries

Use any HTTP client to send queries programmatically. Here’s a minimal curl example that fetches a work by its OA:W identifier:

curl -X POST https://hexagraph-core.onrender.com/graphql \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"query": "{ output(id: \"OA:W2107277218\") { id title year } }"}'

For multi-line or complex queries, consider using a dedicated GraphQL client library (e.g. graphql-request for Node.js, gql + httpx for Python) which handles escaping and query formatting automatically.

Available Query Types

Hexagraph exposes three top-level queries:

Query	Description
output(id)	Fetch a single scholarly work by its OA:W identifier
outputs(query)	Search and filter scholarly works using full-text search and filter expressions
author(id)	Fetch a researcher profile by its OA:A identifier

Full argument and field documentation for each query is available on the Queries reference page.

When to Use GraphQL vs REST

Choose GraphQL when:

• You need data from multiple entity types (e.g. a work and its authors) in a single network round-trip
• You want to select only the fields your application needs, reducing payload size and over-fetching
• You’re building a new integration and want to explore the schema interactively before writing code

Choose REST when:

• You need simple, easily cacheable GET requests at the HTTP layer
• You’re running high-volume queries against a single, well-known endpoint and don’t need field selection

Rate Limits

The same rate limits apply to all GraphQL requests:

Limit	Value
Per minute	30 requests
Per day	1,000 requests

A single GraphQL query that fetches multiple entities — for example, one output and one author in the same request body — counts as one request against both limits.

Batching multiple lookups into a single GraphQL query is the most efficient way to stay within rate limits. Instead of sending separate requests for each entity, combine them into one query and fetch everything you need in a single round-trip. See Batching Multiple Queries for an example.