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slug: /api
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# Dagger GraphQL API

<div class="status-badge">Technical Preview</div>

## What is the Dagger GraphQL API?

The Dagger GraphQL API is a unified interface for programming the Dagger Engine using any standard GraphQL client. GraphQL serves as a low-level language-agnostic API framework for all Dagger operations.

In practice, interacting with the API directly is optional. You can instead use a Dagger SDK for one of the supported languages, or use the Dagger CLI.

## Who is it for?

The Dagger GraphQL API may be a good fit if you are...

* A "designated devops person" who doesn't think of themselves as a developer - nothing makes you happier than a battle-hardened shell script.
* A developer interested in building CI pipelines with code, but without a Dagger SDK for your language of choice.
* A Dagger "power user" who wants to learn more about how Dagger works, or who wants direct access to Dagger functionality bypassing the Dagger SDKs.
* A GraphQL veteran who wants to apply your existing knowledge to shorten the Dagger learning curve.

The Dagger GraphQL API may *not* be a good fit if you are...

* A developer who doesn't know GraphQL, and is not interested in learning it.
* Someone who loves writing YAML all day, thank you very much.
* A container skeptic: the less containers are involved, the happier you are.

## Get started

To get started, [understand the API](./975146-concepts.mdx) and [try it out](./282105-playground.mdx).
