graphql-request

What is graphql-request?

The graphql-request npm package is a minimal GraphQL client for Node.js and browsers, providing a simple and flexible way to execute GraphQL queries, mutations, and subscriptions. It is designed for making HTTP requests to a GraphQL server, and it's a lightweight alternative to more complex GraphQL clients like Apollo Client or Relay.

What are graphql-request's main functionalities?

Simple Query Execution

Execute a simple GraphQL query and log the result.

const { request } = require('graphql-request');
const query = `{ hello }`;
request('https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/movies', query).then((data) => console.log(data));

Mutation Execution

Execute a GraphQL mutation to create a new resource and log the result.

const { request } = require('graphql-request');
const mutation = `mutation ($title: String!) { createMovie(title: $title) { id } }`;
const variables = { title: 'Inception' };
request('https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/movies', mutation, variables).then((data) => console.log(data));

Error Handling

Handle errors that may occur during the execution of a GraphQL request.

const { request } = require('graphql-request');
const query = `{ hello }`;
request('https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/movies', query).catch((error) => console.error(error.response.errors));

GraphQL Subscriptions

Set up a GraphQL subscription to listen for real-time updates.

const { SubscriptionClient } = require('graphql-request');
const ws = require('ws');
const subscriptionClient = new SubscriptionClient('wss://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/movies', { reconnect: true }, ws);
const query = `subscription { newMovie { id title } }`;
const observer = subscriptionClient.request({ query }).subscribe({
  next(data) { console.log(data); },
  error(err) { console.error(err); }
});

Other packages similar to graphql-request

apollo-client

Apollo Client is a comprehensive state management library for JavaScript that enables you to manage both local and remote data with GraphQL. It is more feature-rich than graphql-request, offering advanced features like caching, optimistic UI updates, and integration with various view layers.

urql

urql is a highly customizable and versatile GraphQL client for React applications. It includes features like caching, pagination, and subscriptions. It is similar to graphql-request in its simplicity and ease of use but offers more extensibility and integration with the React ecosystem.

relay-runtime

Relay is a framework for building data-driven React applications with GraphQL. It provides a powerful and opinionated set of tools for fetching, storing, and managing GraphQL data. Relay is more complex than graphql-request and is designed for use cases that require fine-grained control over data management and performance optimization.

README

graphql-request

Minimal GraphQL client supporting Node and browsers for scripts or simple apps

• Highlights
• Install
• Quick Start
• Examples
• Node Version Support
• Reference
  • Configuration
    • ErrorPolicy
      • None (default)
      • Ignore
      • All
  • IgnoreOperationName
• Knowledge Base
  • Why was the file upload feature taken away? Will it return?
  • Why do I have to install graphql?
  • Do I need to wrap my GraphQL documents inside the gql template exported by graphql-request?
  • What sets graphql-request apart from other clients like Apollo, Relay, etc.?

Highlights

• Most simple & lightweight GraphQL client
• Promise-based API (works with async / await)
• Pure ESM package
• First class TypeScript support
  • Including TypedDocumentNode
• Isomorphic (works in both Nodejs and Browsers)

Install

npm add graphql-request graphql

Quick Start

Send a GraphQL document using a static request function:

import { gql, request } from 'graphql-request'

const document = gql`
  {
    company {
      ceo
    }
  }
`
await request('https://api.spacex.land/graphql/', document)

The function can be passed a configuration object for more complex cases:

await request({
  url,
  document,
  variables,
  requestHeaders,
})

A class is available for constructing your own instances:

import { gql, GraphQLClient } from 'graphql-request'

const document = gql`
  {
    company {
      ceo
    }
  }
`
const endpoint = 'https://api.spacex.land/graphql/'
const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint)
await client.request(document)

Examples

• Request:
  • Authentication via HTTP header
  • Method GET
  • Cancellation
  • Headers Per Request (static)
  • Headers Per Request (dynamic)
  • Handle Raw Response
• GraphQL:
  • Document Variables
  • Mutation
  • Batching Requests
• Configuration:
  • Fetch: Passing Options
  • Custom JSON Serializer
  • Incremental: Set Endpoint
  • Incremental: Set Request Headers
• TypeScript:
  • Use TypedDocumentNode
• Other:
  • Middleware
  • Error Handling

Node Version Support

We only (officially) support versions of Nodejs of the following status:

• Current
• LTS
• Maintenance and end of life not yet reached

So for example on Oct 24 2023 that would mean these versions: 18, 20, 21.

Any issue that exists solely for an unsupported version of Nodejs will be rejected (not worked on).

Reference

⚠️ This reference is incomplete. Check out the examples for more reference material.

Configuration

ErrorPolicy

By default GraphQLClient will throw when an error is received. However, sometimes you still want to resolve the (partial) data you received. You can define errorPolicy in the GraphQLClient constructor.

const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, { errorPolicy: 'all' })

None (default)

Allow no errors at all. If you receive a GraphQL error the client will throw.

Ignore

Ignore incoming errors and resolve like no errors occurred

All

Return both the errors and data, only works with rawRequest.

IgnoreOperationName

OperationName has been introduced to address issues reported here Support operation name, However, on certain occasions this information may not be needed in requests. In such cases, you might consider ignoring operationName to avoid the extraction steps currently performed by a parsing operation when the document is provided in string format.

By default the GraphQLClient tries to extract the operationName from the document. You can define excludeOperationName in the constructor of GraphQLClient to avoid the extraction process if it is not needed. This can be useful if you don't use operationName and want to optimise queries by reducing the amount of computation as much as possible, especially if we are in a context where we are using documents in string format to reduce bundle size.

// example where the operation name is not ignored
const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, {
  method: 'POST',
})
// example in which the operation name is ignored
const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, {
  method: 'POST',
  excludeOperationName: true,
})

Knowledge Base

Why was the file upload feature taken away? Will it return?

In this issue we decided to make this library more stable and maintainable. In principal the feature is still in scope of this library and will make a return when we find time to do the feature right.

Why do I have to install graphql?

graphql-request uses methods exposed by the graphql package to handle some internal logic. On top of that, for TypeScript users, some types are used from the graphql package to provide better typings.

Do I need to wrap my GraphQL documents inside the gql template exported by graphql-request?

No. It is there for convenience so that you can get the tooling support like automatic formatting and syntax highlighting. You can use gql from graphql-tag if you need it for some reason too.

What sets graphql-request apart from other clients like Apollo, Relay, etc.?

graphql-request is the most minimal and simplest to use GraphQL client. It's perfect for small scripts or simple apps.

Compared to GraphQL clients like Apollo or Relay, graphql-request doesn't have a built-in cache and has no integrations for frontend frameworks. The goal is to keep the package and API as minimal as possible.