GraphQL “includeVariations” returns empty with filters in AEMaaCS

Enable hybrid filtering by adding the cfGlobalVersion=1 property to /content/dam. It improves query performance and fixes path-based filtering issues. Refer the Use AEM GraphQL hybrid filtering documentation for more details.

Test it in a lower environment before applying to production.

Modify query filters. Use the STARTS_WITH operator for _path instead of EQUALS in expressions:

[
            {
                value: "/content/dam/content-fragments/sites/example-path/",
                 _operator: STARTS_WITH
             }
        ]

Note: This workaround does not work if hybrid filtering is enabled.

If multiple variations are required, explicitly query each variation using aliases, as shown below:

query($path: String!) {
       standard: pageByPath(_path: $path, variation: "standard") {
         item {       _path
           title       _variation
         }
       }
       premier: pageByPath(_path: $path, variation: "premier") {
         item {       _path
           title       _variation
         }
       }
     }

To optimize query design, if only one specific variation is needed, specify it directly in the query using the variation parameter instead of relying on includeVariations: true.

Check for invalid content fragments where the associated content models are missing.

Clean up invalid fragments or make them valid by associating them with appropriate models.

After enabling hybrid filtering or making changes, verify logs on both author and publish instances to confirm that settings are applied correctly.

Use list queries sparingly when only one fragment is needed; prefer targeted queries (for example., pageByPath).