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What are Aliases in GraphQL?

Updated Apr 28, 2026

Short answer

Aliases allow you to rename the data returned in a query's response, which is crucial when querying the same field multiple times with different arguments.

Deep explanation

Without aliases, GraphQL would throw an error if you tried to query the same field twice because the JSON response keys would conflict.

Real-world example

Fetching a user's 'work' address and 'home' address simultaneously from a generic address(type: String) field.

Common mistakes

  • Creating completely separate schema fields (e.g., `activeUsers` and `bannedUsers`) instead of utilizing one parameterized field with client-side aliases.

Follow-up questions

  • Do aliases change the schema?

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