GraphQL Admin Overview

The admin queries and mutations read and change how an instance is built. That covers its pages, layouts, partials, tables, GraphQL files, authorization policies, notifications, assets, background jobs and logs. They are what the Insites admin itself uses, and you can call them from your own tools.

Use them to build tooling, audit an instance, or read the log from code. For your site's data, use the data operations instead.

How they are named

Introspection on the docs.insites.io instance on 1 November 2026 listed 20 admin queries and 54 admin mutations. Deprecated operations, such as admin_forms, still run but are left out of that list.

Example: which instance am I on

{
  admin_current_instance { id name created_at }
  admin_tables(per_page: 3) {
    total_entries
    results { name }
  }
}

{
  "data": {
    "admin_current_instance": {
      "id": "302",
      "name": "site-e0c380c0",
      "created_at": "2026-10-27T07:47:55.246Z"
    },
    "admin_tables": {
      "total_entries": 28,
      "results": [
        { "name": "ds_page_feedback" },
        { "name": "ds_promo" },
        { "name": "ds_search_event" }
      ]
    }
  }
}

The two queries ran together, read-only. Run the first one before any change, so you know which instance you are about to write to.

Common mistakes

• Expecting module files in the lists. Files in the private directories of modules are not included.
• Editing a deployed page through admin_page_update and expecting it to last. A deploy replaces the page's metadata with its front matter, so put lasting values in the file.
• Reading the log without a limit in mind. admin_logs returns 1 to 500 entries; the default is 20.
• Using admin_forms in new code. It is deprecated.

• Admin queriesEvery admin query and its arguments.
• Admin mutationsCreate, update and delete instance records.