orcaqubits/bc-api-graphql

BigCommerce GraphQL Storefront API

Before writing code

Fetch live docs:

1. Fetch https://developer.bigcommerce.com/docs/storefront/graphql for GraphQL overview
2. Web-search site:developer.bigcommerce.com graphql storefront api reference for schema reference
3. Web-search bigcommerce graphql storefront token for token creation

Architecture

What It Is

A client-side GraphQL API designed for storefront applications:

• Endpoint: https://{store_domain}/graphql
• Designed for browser/frontend usage (not server-to-server)
• Fetch exactly the data you need in a single request
• Supports: products, categories, cart, checkout, customer, site settings, content

When to Use

• Stencil themes — client-side AJAX calls for dynamic content
• Headless storefronts — Catalyst/Next.js primary data source
• Single-page applications — React, Vue, Angular storefronts
• Progressive enhancement — add dynamic features to server-rendered pages

GraphQL vs REST

| Feature | GraphQL Storefront | REST API | |---------|-------------------|----------| | Audience | Frontend/browser | Backend/server | | Auth | Storefront token | API account token | | Data shape | Client-defined | Server-defined | | Rate limits | Complexity-based | Request count | | Mutations | Cart, checkout, login | Full CRUD |

Authentication

Storefront API Token

Create via REST API:

POST /v3/storefront/api-token
{
  "channel_id": 1,
  "expires_at": 1893456000,
  "allowed_cors_origins": ["https://my-storefront.com"]
}

Returns a token to use as Authorization: Bearer {token} header.

Customer Impersonation Token

For accessing customer-specific data (addresses, orders, wishlists):

POST /v3/storefront/api-token-customer-impersonation
{
  "channel_id": 1,
  "expires_at": 1893456000
}

Combine with X-Bc-Customer-Id header for customer-specific queries.

Stencil Theme Context

In Stencil themes, the GraphQL token is available automatically:

• Use {{inject 'graphQLToken' settings.storefront_api.token}} in templates
• Or fetch from /api/storefront/graphql-token endpoint

Key Queries

Products

query Products($first: Int, $after: String) {
  site {
    products(first: $first, after: $after) {
      edges {
        node {
          entityId
          name
          path
          prices {
            price { value currencyCode }
            salePrice { value currencyCode }
          }
          defaultImage {
            url(width: 500)
            altText
          }
        }
      }
      pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor }
    }
  }
}

Single Product

query Product($productId: Int!) {
  site {
    product(entityId: $productId) {
      entityId
      name
      description
      prices { price { value currencyCode } }
      images { edges { node { url(width: 800) altText } } }
      productOptions { edges { node { entityId displayName } } }
      variants { edges { node { entityId sku } } }
    }
  }
}

Categories

query Categories {
  site {
    categoryTree {
      entityId
      name
      path
      children { entityId name path }
    }
  }
}

Cart

query Cart {
  site {
    cart {
      entityId
      lineItems {
        physicalItems {
          entityId
          name
          quantity
          listPrice { value currencyCode }
        }
      }
      amount { value currencyCode }
    }
  }
}

Customer (Requires Impersonation Token)

query Customer {
  customer {
    entityId
    firstName
    lastName
    email
    addresses { edges { node { address1 city } } }
  }
}

Mutations

Cart Operations

mutation AddToCart($cartId: String!, $lineItems: [CartLineItemInput!]!) {
  cart {
    addCartLineItems(input: {
      cartEntityId: $cartId
      data: { lineItems: $lineItems }
    }) {
      cart { entityId }
    }
  }
}

Create Cart

mutation CreateCart($lineItems: [CartLineItemInput!]!) {
  cart {
    createCart(input: { lineItems: $lineItems }) {
      cart { entityId }
    }
  }
}

Customer Login

mutation Login($email: String!, $password: String!) {
  login(email: $email, password: $password) {
    result
    customer { entityId firstName }
  }
}

Pagination

Uses Relay-style cursor pagination:

• first: N — number of items
• after: "cursor" — cursor from pageInfo.endCursor
• pageInfo { hasNextPage endCursor } — pagination metadata

Complexity Limits

GraphQL queries have complexity limits instead of request-count rate limits:

• Each field has a cost
• Nested connections multiply costs
• Use first arguments to limit results
• Avoid deeply nested queries

Best Practices

• Request only the fields you need — avoid SELECT * mentality
• Use pagination (first + after) for large collections
• Cache responses where appropriate (products, categories change infrequently)
• Use customer impersonation tokens only when customer-specific data is needed
• Set appropriate token expiration (not too long)
• Restrict CORS origins for storefront tokens
• Use fragments for reusable field sets
• Handle errors in the errors array of the GraphQL response

Fetch the BigCommerce GraphQL Storefront API reference for the current schema, available queries/mutations, and authentication patterns before implementing.