Use variables in input queries

Function input queries can be customized on each function owner using input query variables. This is helpful when using fields with arguments like inAnyCollection.

For example, consider the following input query:

This input query will only work on the shop where those collections are defined, limiting the function to single shop. Additionally, there's no way to update these collections without deploying a new version of the function with an updated input query, or to vary them when your function is used multiple times in a shop.

This guide will explain how to use input query variables to make these arguments configurable.

Requirements

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You're using Shopify CLI version 3.34.0 or higher.
You're familiar with metafields concepts and APIs.
You're familiar with the use of metafields to configure functions

Step 1: Specify variables for your query

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Replace field argument values with a variable with a matching type. In the case of the ids argument of inAnyCollection, the type is [ID!].

Step 2: Specify values for variables

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Input query variables are populated by reading a JSON metafield on the function owner. The structure of the metafield value must be such that each top level key corresponds to a variable name, and each value matches that variables type. To satisfy the query above, we need to set a metafield value like this:

The metafield will be read from the function owner at runtime to populate the values for these variables. You can set this metafield using the same techniques as you would for configuration you would access in the function. To illustrate our example, we'll use the metafieldsSet mutation:

Step 3: Specify which metafield to use for input queries

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To specify which metafield contains the input query variables, you need to set the values in the extensions.input.variables section of the function's configuration file:

If you're using a previous version of the configuration file that doesn't have an [[extensions]] section, then the configuration section for input query variables is called [input.variables].

Once this configuration has been deployed, your function will start loading that metafield at runtime to populate your input query variables.

Limitations

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Only JSON type metafields are supported.
Metafields above the size limit won't be returned. The function should use separate metafields in these cases.
Input query variables will return errors for any GraphQL list variable with a value that exceeds 100 elements.

Next steps

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Learn about the language support available in Shopify Functions.
Consult the API references for Shopify Functions.