Hexagraph HX_ID System: Format, Resolution, and Usage

Hexagraph standardizes all entity identifiers with the HX_ prefix, used for cataloging entities. Every entity — works, authors, sources, institutions, publishers, and funders — has a unique HX_ID that you use consistently across REST and GraphQL requests. Whether you’re fetching a single record, building a relational query, or resolving an unknown entity type, the HX_ID is your single, reliable key.

ID Format

HX_IDs follow a simple structure: HX_ followed by an entity-type code letter and a numeric identifier.

HX_[EntityTypeCode][Number]

Examples:
  HX_W2107277218     ← a Work (output)
  HX_A5086208034     ← an Author

The entity-type code embedded in the ID tells you — and the API — exactly what kind of entity you’re referencing:

Prefix	Entity Type	Example
`HX_W`	Works (Outputs)	`HX_W2107277218`
`HX_A`	Authors	`HX_A5086208034`
`HX_S`	Sources	`HX_S137773608`
`HX_I`	Institutions	`HX_I1290206310`
`HX_P`	Publishers	`HX_P4310320595`
`HX_F`	Funders	`HX_F4320306076`

Using IDs in REST Requests

Pass the full HX_ID as the path parameter on the appropriate entity endpoint:

# Fetch a specific output (scholarly work)
curl https://api.hexagraph.in/outputs/HX_W2107277218

# Fetch a specific author
curl https://api.hexagraph.in/authors/HX_A5086208034

# Fetch a specific source (journal or repository)
curl https://api.hexagraph.in/sources/HX_S137773608

# Fetch a specific institution
curl https://api.hexagraph.in/institutions/HX_I1290206310

# Fetch a specific publisher
curl https://api.hexagraph.in/publishers/HX_P4310320595

# Fetch a specific funder
curl https://api.hexagraph.in/funders/HX_F4320306076

Entity Endpoints & GraphQL Lookups

Pass the HX_ID directly to the corresponding entity REST endpoint (e.g. GET /outputs/HX_W3038568908, GET /authors/HX_A5028125522) or query it via GraphQL.

Using IDs in GraphQL

Pass the HX_ID as the id argument in any entity query:

query {
  output(id: "HX_W2107277218") {
    id
    title
    doi
    year
    citations
    authors {
      id
      name
    }
  }

  author(id: "HX_A5086208034") {
    id
    name
    orcid
    outputs_count
  }
}

GraphQL lets you resolve multiple entities — even of different types — in a single request, which is especially efficient when you already have a set of known IDs to look up.

HX_IDs are case-sensitive and must include the full HX_ prefix in all requests. Using a bare numeric ID or the wrong prefix will result in a 404 Not Found response.

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Hexagraph HX_ID System: Format, Resolution, and Usage

ID Format

Using IDs in REST Requests

Entity Endpoints & GraphQL Lookups

Using IDs in GraphQL

​ID Format

​Using IDs in REST Requests

​Entity Endpoints & GraphQL Lookups

​Using IDs in GraphQL

ID Format

Using IDs in REST Requests

Entity Endpoints & GraphQL Lookups

Using IDs in GraphQL