How do I connect to the Shopify GraphQL API in Parabola?

This guide walks you through setting up a custom Shopify integration in Parabola using your own Shopify app credentials. You’ll create an app in Shopify’s Dev Dashboard, configure it to work with Parabola, and authorize a permanent connection so your flows run automatically in the background without interruption. Before you begin, make sure you have:

A Shopify account with app development permissions
A Parabola account with a flow open and ready to connect

Set up your app in Shopify

Step 1: Create a new app

Go to the Shopify Dev Dashboard.

Create the app

In the left-hand navigation, click Apps
Click Create app in the top-right corner
Select Start from Dev Dashboard
Name your app (e.g., “Parabola Integration”) and click Create

Step 2: Create a version

Configure version settings

From your app, click the Versions tab
Set your App URL to: https://shopify.dev/apps/default-app-home
Select the newest Webhooks API version

Add scopes

Under Scopes, add the permissions your integration needs. Common examples:

Scope	What it allows
`read_orders`	Pull order data into Parabola
`read_products`	Pull product data into Parabola
`read_customers`	Pull customer data into Parabola
`read_reports`	Submit ShopifyQL queries
`read_analytics`	Submit ShopifyQL queries

Add the redirect URL and release

Under Redirect URLs, add: https://parabola.io/api/steps/generic_api/callback
Click Release

Offline access: When selecting scopes, you’re granting Parabola permission to access your store in the background without you being actively logged in. In step 6 below, you’ll request a non-expiring token to make sure this access never interrupts your automated flows.

Step 3: Install your app on your store

From the Dev Dashboard, scroll down on your app and click Install app
Select your store and click Install

Step 4: Get your credentials

From the Dev Dashboard, click Settings
Copy your Client ID and Client Secret — you’ll need both in Parabola

Connect Shopify to Parabola

Step 5: Add an API step in Parabola

In your Parabola flow, add a Pull from API step to import Shopify data
In the step settings, open the Authentication dropdown and select Add expiring access token

Step 6: Configure the expiring access token

Set the access token request URL

In the Access Token Request URL (POST) field, enter:

https://{your-store}.myshopify.com/admin/oauth/authorize

Replace {your-store} with your Shopify store name.

Add request body parameters

Add the following parameters:

client_secret → your Client Secret
client_id → your Client ID
grant_type → client_credentials

Configure request headers

Set Content-Type to application/x-www-form-urlencoded
Delete the Accept header

Configure token settings

Response Access Token Field → access_token
Header Key for using Access Token → X-Shopify-Access-Token
Header Value for using Access Token → {token}

Apply the settings

Click Apply Access Token settings.

Your configuration should look like this:

Shopify access token configuration in Parabola showing request body parameters, request headers, and token settings

Step 7: Pull from the GraphQL API

Configure the API request

Select the pen icon near API Request Settings
Switch the API Endpoint URL method to POST
Enter the endpoint URL:

https://{your-development-store}.myshopify.com/admin/api/2026-04/graphql.json

Replace {your-development-store} with your Shopify store name.

Add a GraphQL query

Select GraphQL for the Request Body
Paste the following sample query:

query {
  orders(first: 10) {
    edges {
      cursor
      node {
        id
      }
    }
    pageInfo {
      hasNextPage
      hasPreviousPage
      startCursor
      endCursor
    }
  }
}

Customize this query based on the Shopify data you need to retrieve.

Use cursor pagination to pull more records

Shopify’s Admin GraphQL API caps how many records you can fetch in a single request (typically 250). To pull more, you must page through results using cursors — opaque tokens that point to the next page. Without pagination, your flow only ever sees the first page.

How cursor pagination works in Shopify

Shopify paginates connection fields using first + after:

Request page 1 with first: N and no after (or after: null).
Shopify returns:
- pageInfo.hasNextPage — whether more pages exist
- pageInfo.endCursor — the token for the next page
Request page 2 by sending after: "<endCursor from page 1>".
Repeat until hasNextPage is false.

Minimal pattern:

orders(first: 250, after: "<cursor>") {
  nodes { id name createdAt }
  pageInfo {
    hasNextPage
    endCursor
  }
}

How Parabola handles the loop

In the Pull from API step, Parabola swaps in a placeholder each request as it loops through pages.

Setting	What it does
Pagination style	Set to `Cursor`
Cursor key	The placeholder name in your query body (default: `cursor`, used as `<%cursor%>`)
Cursor path in response	Where Parabola reads the next cursor from the response
hasNextPage path	Where Parabola checks if it should keep paging
Pages to fetch while editing	Page cap when previewing in the editor (keep low, e.g., 5–200)
Pages to fetch while running	Page cap on full runs (e.g., 500+)

Parabola’s loop:

Send the request (cursor starts empty / null).
Read hasNextPage at the configured path.
Read endCursor and substitute it into <%cursor%> for the next request.
Stop when hasNextPage is false or the page cap is hit.

Step-by-step setup

Write the GraphQL query with <%cursor%> in the after argument

query getOrders {
  orders(first: 250, after: "<%cursor%>") {
    nodes {
      id
      name
      createdAt
      totalPriceSet { shopMoney { amount currencyCode } }
    }
    pageInfo {
      hasNextPage
      endCursor
    }
  }
}

The first request will send after: "". Shopify treats an empty string as “start from the beginning,” so no special handling is needed.

Configure the pagination panel

Using the example query above (data.orders), the settings are:

Field	Value
Pagination style	`Cursor`
Cursor key	`cursor`
Cursor path in response	`data.orders.pageInfo.endCursor`
hasNextPage path	`data.orders.pageInfo.hasNextPage`
Pages to fetch while editing	`200`
Pages to fetch while running	`500`

Run the flow

Parabola will keep firing requests until hasNextPage is false or the page cap is hit, concatenating results into a single output table.

Adapting the paths to your query

The response paths must match the shape of your GraphQL response, which mirrors the shape of your query. Example A — orders

Query root: orders { ... pageInfo { ... } }
Cursor path in response: data.orders.pageInfo.endCursor
hasNextPage path: data.orders.pageInfo.hasNextPage

Example B — shopifyPaymentsAccount.balanceTransactions

Query root: shopifyPaymentsAccount { balanceTransactions { ... pageInfo { ... } } }
Cursor path in response: data.shopifyPaymentsAccount.balanceTransactions.pageInfo.endCursor
hasNextPage path: data.shopifyPaymentsAccount.balanceTransactions.pageInfo.hasNextPage

query getBalanceTxns {
  shopifyPaymentsAccount {
    balanceTransactions(first: 100, after: "<%cursor%>") {
      nodes {
        id
        type
        amount { amount currencyCode }
        transactionDate
      }
      pageInfo {
        hasNextPage
        endCursor
      }
    }
  }
}

Example C — products

Cursor path in response: data.products.pageInfo.endCursor
hasNextPage path: data.products.pageInfo.hasNextPage

The path is always data.<your_top_level_field>.pageInfo.endCursor (or .hasNextPage).

Common pitfalls

Wrong paths. If data.orders.pageInfo.endCursor doesn’t match your actual response shape, Parabola will only pull page 1. Run the query once, inspect the response, and confirm the path before turning on pagination.
Forgot <%cursor%> in the query. The placeholder must appear in the after: argument. Without it, Parabola has nowhere to inject the cursor.
Paginating a non-connection field. Only fields that return pageInfo (connections) support cursor pagination. Singletons like shop { ... } do not.
Editing page cap too low. If you cap at 5 pages while editing, your preview will look truncated — that’s expected. The run-time cap is what matters for production.
Using first larger than Shopify allows. Most connections cap at 250. Going higher returns an error.
Rate limits. Long pagination loops can hit Shopify’s cost-based rate limit. If you see throttling, lower first or add a delay.

For more details, see Shopify’s GraphQL pagination docs.

Need to add more scopes?

If you need to grant Parabola access to additional Shopify data after your initial setup, you can update your app’s scopes without disrupting your existing connection.

Click on your app in the Dev Dashboard
Click on the Versions tab
Click Create Version in the upper right
Select Scopes under Add Access and add the ones listed above

Your client ID and client secret should not change, so there should be no disruption to your existing connection.

Account

Security

FAQs

How do I connect to the Shopify GraphQL API in Parabola?

Set up your app in Shopify

Step 1: Create a new app

Step 2: Create a version

Step 3: Install your app on your store

Step 4: Get your credentials

Connect Shopify to Parabola

Step 5: Add an API step in Parabola

Step 6: Configure the expiring access token

Step 7: Pull from the GraphQL API

How Parabola handles the loop

Step-by-step setup

Adapting the paths to your query

Common pitfalls

Need to add more scopes?

​Set up your app in Shopify

​Step 1: Create a new app

​Step 2: Create a version

​Step 3: Install your app on your store

​Step 4: Get your credentials

​Connect Shopify to Parabola

​Step 5: Add an API step in Parabola

​Step 6: Configure the expiring access token

​Step 7: Pull from the GraphQL API

​Use cursor pagination to pull more records

​How cursor pagination works in Shopify

​How Parabola handles the loop

​Step-by-step setup

​Adapting the paths to your query

​Common pitfalls

​Need to add more scopes?

Set up your app in Shopify

Step 1: Create a new app

Step 2: Create a version

Step 3: Install your app on your store

Step 4: Get your credentials

Connect Shopify to Parabola

Step 5: Add an API step in Parabola

Step 6: Configure the expiring access token

Step 7: Pull from the GraphQL API

Use cursor pagination to pull more records

How cursor pagination works in Shopify

How Parabola handles the loop

Step-by-step setup

Adapting the paths to your query

Common pitfalls

Need to add more scopes?