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# GraphQL API

Welcome to Avantra's GraphQL documentation with examples and full API documentation for interacting with Avantra from third party systems.

## What is GraphQL?​

GraphQL is a data query and manipulation language with open source clients pre-written in many languages and frameworks. GraphQL allows the caller to specify exactly the information required to improve query and transfer times.

For an Avantra server, the GraphQL API is hosted on the UI service and can be accessed using a URI like:

    http[s]://<avantra_ui_hostname>:<avantra_ui_port/xn/api/graphql

For example:

    https://avantra.company.net:8443/xn/api/graphql

Requests are only made to this endpoint by a series of POST http requests supplying the information needed, in the form of a query, and required filters, usually as variables to this query. Requests can either be a query, that simply returns some useful data given some parameters, or a mutation that will change the state of a managed system or trigger a workflow in Avantra.

More information and tutorials about GraphQL can be found on their project website and this is their introductory tutorial.

## Getting Started​

It is recommended to use an API testing / development application such as Insomnia or Postman to help with discoverability and testing required queries return the expected data or perform the required actions before attempting to integrate the API into your intended use case.

The Avantra GraphQL API supports introspection which allows these tools to provide assistance in generating the queries and generated this documentation itself.

## Structure of this documentation​

Over the next few pages, there are specifications for authentication and examples of commonly used queries that read useful information from Avantra and mutations that can start automations.