Fetching resources

Fetching Resources (GET)

When to Use

Retrieving entity data from Drupal. Applies to collections (multiple entities) and individual entities.

Steps

1. Determine resource URL: - Collection: /jsonapi/{entity_type}/{bundle} - Individual: /jsonapi/{entity_type}/{bundle}/{uuid}

2. Set required header: - Accept: application/vnd.api+json

3. Add query parameters (optional): - Filtering: ?filter[field]=value - Includes: ?include=field_name - Sparse fieldsets: ?fields[type]=field1,field2 - Sorting: ?sort=-created - Pagination: ?page[limit]=10&page[offset]=0

4. Make GET request: - Use curl, fetch, axios, or HTTP client

5. Parse response: - data: Resource object(s) - included: Related resources (if requested) - links: Pagination links - meta: Metadata

Pattern

Fetch collection:

curl -X GET "https://example.com/jsonapi/node/article" \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.api+json"

Fetch individual:

curl -X GET "https://example.com/jsonapi/node/article/{uuid}" \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.api+json"

Fetch with includes and sparse fields:

curl -X GET "https://example.com/jsonapi/node/article?include=uid,field_image&fields[node--article]=title,created,uid&fields[user--user]=name" \
  -H "Accept: application/vnd.api+json"

JavaScript with fetch:

fetch('/jsonapi/node/article?include=uid&page[limit]=10', {
  headers: { 'Accept': 'application/vnd.api+json' }
})
  .then(response => response.json())
  .then(data => {
    const articles = data.data;
    const users = data.included;
  });

Decision Points

Scenario	Query Parameters
Get published articles only	`?filter[status]=1`
Get newest articles first	`?sort=-created`
Get 10 articles at a time	`?page[limit]=10`
Get articles with author info	`?include=uid`
Reduce response size	`?fields[node--article]=title,created`
Get specific revision	`?resourceVersion=id:123`
Get Spanish translation	Use `/jsonapi/es/node/article/{uuid}`

Common Mistakes

Not handling pagination: Collections default to 50 items max. WHY: Performance protection. Always check links.next for more results.

Over-fetching data: Requesting all fields when only a few are needed. WHY: Wastes bandwidth, especially on mobile. Use sparse fieldsets.

Making separate requests for relationships: Use ?include=uid instead of separate requests. WHY: Reduces HTTP round trips. The "N+1 queries" problem applies to HTTP too.

Ignoring cache headers: JSON:API includes proper cache headers. WHY: Responses are cacheable. Leverage browser cache or CDN.

Fetching resources