Allison announces GitHub’s retirement of the GraphQL Explorer, advising developers to use local GraphQL tools and providing guidance for transitioning.

GitHub Retires GraphQL Explorer from API Documentation

Overview

GitHub has officially retired the GraphQL Explorer from its API documentation, effective November 7, 2025. This change follows a prior announcement and impacts users who relied on the Explorer for testing and prototyping with the GitHub GraphQL API.

Who Is Affected

Developers who used the GraphQL Explorer for experimenting with the GitHub GraphQL API.
Most users are not required to take any action.

Reason for Retirement

Technical Debt: Ongoing maintenance proved costly, especially regarding security and accessibility.
Reliance on Third-Party Libraries: The Explorer’s dependencies could not be kept compliant with current standards.
Limited Usage: The tool was not widely used, supporting the decision to retire it.

Recommendations for Developers

Switch to Local Tools: Developers should transition to local GraphQL clients for interacting with the GitHub GraphQL API.
Updated Documentation: GitHub provides updated guidance for using popular GraphQL clients: Using GraphQL Clients.

Additional Resources

This change is part of GitHub’s ongoing effort to improve its platform by making APIs faster, more scalable, and easier to use.

This post appeared first on “The GitHub Blog”. Read the entire article here