@apollo/server

What is @apollo/server?

@apollo/server is a powerful and flexible GraphQL server library that allows you to build and run a GraphQL API in Node.js. It provides tools for schema definition, query execution, and integration with various data sources and middleware.

What are @apollo/server's main functionalities?

Schema Definition

Defines a simple GraphQL schema with a single query and sets up an Apollo Server instance to serve it.

const { ApolloServer, gql } = require('@apollo/server');

const typeDefs = gql`
  type Query {
    hello: String
  }
`;

const resolvers = {
  Query: {
    hello: () => 'Hello world!',
  },
};

const server = new ApolloServer({ typeDefs, resolvers });

server.listen().then(({ url }) => {
  console.log(`🚀 Server ready at ${url}`);
});

Middleware Integration

Integrates Apollo Server with an Express.js application, allowing you to use GraphQL as middleware.

const { ApolloServer } = require('@apollo/server');
const express = require('express');
const { expressMiddleware } = require('@apollo/server/express');

const typeDefs = gql`
  type Query {
    hello: String
  }
`;

const resolvers = {
  Query: {
    hello: () => 'Hello world!',
  },
};

const server = new ApolloServer({ typeDefs, resolvers });

const app = express();
server.start().then(() => {
  app.use('/graphql', expressMiddleware(server));
  app.listen({ port: 4000 }, () => {
    console.log('Server is running on http://localhost:4000/graphql');
  });
});

Data Source Integration

Shows how to integrate a REST API as a data source in Apollo Server, allowing you to fetch data from external APIs.

const { ApolloServer, gql } = require('@apollo/server');
const { RESTDataSource } = require('apollo-datasource-rest');

class MyAPI extends RESTDataSource {
  constructor() {
    super();
    this.baseURL = 'https://api.example.com/';
  }

  async getExampleData() {
    return this.get('example-endpoint');
  }
}

const typeDefs = gql`
  type Query {
    exampleData: String
  }
`;

const resolvers = {
  Query: {
    exampleData: async (_source, _args, { dataSources }) => {
      return dataSources.myAPI.getExampleData();
    },
  },
};

const server = new ApolloServer({
  typeDefs,
  resolvers,
  dataSources: () => ({
    myAPI: new MyAPI(),
  }),
});

server.listen().then(({ url }) => {
  console.log(`🚀 Server ready at ${url}`);
});

Other packages similar to @apollo/server

express-graphql

express-graphql is a GraphQL HTTP server middleware for Express. It is simpler and more lightweight compared to @apollo/server, making it a good choice for smaller applications or those that do not require the full feature set of Apollo Server.

graphql-yoga

graphql-yoga is a fully-featured GraphQL server that is easy to set up and use. It is built on top of Express and Apollo Server, providing a more opinionated and streamlined experience. It is suitable for developers who want a quick and easy way to get started with GraphQL.

mercurius

mercurius is a GraphQL adapter for Fastify, a fast and low-overhead web framework for Node.js. It offers high performance and integrates seamlessly with Fastify, making it a great choice for applications that prioritize speed and efficiency.

README

apollo-server-core

This package implements the core logic of Apollo Server. It exports a base version of ApolloServer. Typically you do not use this class directly but instead use an ApolloServer imported from the batteries-included apollo-server package or one of the integration packages like apollo-server-express.

It also exports a set of plugins such as ApolloServerPluginUsageReporting which you can provide to the plugins option to the ApolloServer constructor.

Read the docs. Read the CHANGELOG.