---
title: Item queries for single entities
slug: graph/docs/item-queries-for-single-entities
docTags: 
createdAt: 2026-07-30T20:30:19.772Z
---

Efficient caching lets you deliver content quickly and improves user experience. When fetching single entities in Optimizely Graph, use `item` queries instead of `items` to improve cache hit ratios.

In GraphQL, `item` returns a single result identified by a unique field, while `items` returns a list.

## Prerequisites

Before you implement `item` queries, confirm you have the following:

- Familiarity with GraphQL queries.
- An active Optimizely Graph endpoint.
- A content model that exposes a unique identifier field (such as `RelativePath`).

## Understand the cache challenge

The flexibility of GraphQL can lead to queries that fetch lists with `items`. This approach is useful in many scenarios, but it reduces caching efficiency. Even when a query returns only a single item, `items` requires refreshing the entire list cache when any item in the list changes. This broad cache invalidation lowers performance compared to targeted caching.

## Benefits of `item` queries

The `item` query lets you implement precision caching by targeting a single item with its unique identifier. When an item changes, only that item's cache entry refreshes instead of the entire list cache. This improves cache efficiency and overall performance.

## Example `item` query

The following code sample shows an `item` query that retrieves a single item by its `RelativePath`:

```graphql
query GetItem($relativePath: String) {  
  Content(where: { RelativePath: { eq: $relativePath } }) {  
    item { Name RelativePath }  
  }  
}
```

## Optimize the cache with `item`

Follow the recommendations in this section to make `item` queries deliver the largest gains in cache hit ratio and content freshness. Each item describes when to apply `item` and how the GraphQL server caches the result.

- **Unique-identifier-driven queries** – Use `item` only when retrieving a single item by a unique identifier, such as:
  - Relative paths
  - URLs
  - Segments
  - Code
  - Any other uniquely identifiable field
- **ID-based caching and purging** – The GraphQL server caches the result of the `item` query using the returned `id` of the fetched item. The system purges the cached result only when that item is republished with changes. If other items update, the cached `item` result remains valid, maximizing cache hits.