# If I fetch Strapi content over GraphQL, does Croct need to hook into that query?

Asked by Priyanka Rao on 2026-08-03. Tags: strapi, graphql, slots.

Our app pulls everything from Strapi through the GraphQL plugin. Before I wire
Croct in I want to get the mental model right. Does Croct need to hook into that
GraphQL query somehow, sitting in front of it or replacing it, or does it work
another way?

I am trying to understand how the two relate before I change any of our fetching
behaviour.

## 2 answers

### Answer from hannah_cro (2026-08-04)

Croct does not intercept or replace your Strapi GraphQL queries. You keep
fetching your base content exactly the way you do now, the GraphQL plugin stays
untouched.

The way it actually relates: the integration [maps your Strapi components and
dynamic zones to Croct slots](/answers/strapi-dynamic-zone-slot-mapping), and
Croct serves the right variant for a given slot. Your Strapi content stays as the
default fallback, so if Croct returns nothing for a slot the page still renders
your base content. Two separate layers. Your query is the content, Croct is the
personalization on top of it.

### Answer from Diego F (2026-08-05)

The part that made it click for me was realising you request the slot content
separately from the GraphQL fetch, then merge it where that block renders.
Server-side you call fetchContent for the slot, in React you use the useContent
hook, and you drop the result into the same props your GraphQL data already
feeds. So my hero component still gets its base fields from the Strapi query and
just takes the personalized overrides from the slot when there is one. Nothing
about the GraphQL layer changed.

#### Reply from Priyanka Rao (2026-08-05)

That clears up the mental model, thank you. Two layers, base content from my
query, Croct merged in at render. I can work with that.