Microsoft Graph

Microsoft Graph is the gateway to data and intelligence in Microsoft 365 . It provides a unified programmability model that you can use to access the tremendous amount of data in Microsoft 365, Windows, and Enterprise Mobility + Security. Use the wealth of data accessible through Microsoft Graph to build apps for organizations and consumers that interact with millions of users.

What's in Microsoft Graph?

Microsoft Graph exposes REST APIs and client libraries to access data on the following Microsoft cloud services:

• Microsoft 365 core services: Bookings, Calendar, Delve, Excel, Microsoft 365 compliance eDiscovery, Microsoft Search, OneDrive, OneNote, Outlook/Exchange, People (Outlook contacts), Planner, SharePoint, Teams, To Do, Viva Insights
• Enterprise Mobility + Security services: Advanced Threat Analytics, Advanced Threat Protection, Microsoft Entra ID, Identity Manager, and Intune
• Windows services: activities, devices, notifications, Universal Print
• Dynamics 365 Business Central servic

Understand Microsoft Graph services

Microsoft Graph services are centered on users and groups.

A user's data is the core of Microsoft 365 cloud services. Think about a salesperson planning to create a calendar event with a customer. The salesperson can schedule the meeting invitation by using the user's protected identity with any device or platform that the salesperson chooses. As the meeting is scheduled, the calendar event will be accessible across all platforms and applications to act upon if needed.

The following image shows the types of information that Microsoft Graph can access for a user

Groups are the base environment for a user's collaboration and teamwork in Microsoft 365. Imagine a group of users in a sales team. They can use Microsoft 365 services to collaborate with their colleagues, have conversations, and share files, calendar events, and notes.

Accessing that type of functionality is key to the sales application scenario, because multiple salespeople might have reached out to a customer over time. Having access to group information enables salespeople across the organization to make better decisions.

Access user information from Microsoft Graph by using Graph Explorer

Microsoft Graph Explorer is a free, open-source tool where you can make Microsoft Graph REST API requests without any installation or setup. It's a great place to start practicing and learning Microsoft Graph APIs before consuming them in applications.

Graph Explorer is a web application that's available in any modern browser. In the sales application scenario, your development team can use Graph Explorer to prototype the initial API calls and see the type of data returned.

Here's a quick overview of the Graph Explorer tool:

1. Graph Explorer is available at https://developer.microsoft.com/graph/graph-explorer.
2. An HTTP verb drop-down list helps you modify your HTTP requests, such as GET, POST, PUT, PATCH, and DELETE.
3. A version drop-down list helps you change the API version in the query to v1.0 or beta.
4. A query editor lets you modify the query and see the results by selecting the Run query button.
5. Sample Graph API queries are available for you to search through and test.
6. A selected query will automatically run and show the results in Graph Explorer.
7. A link to related API documentation is available next to each sample quer