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

• Features
• Install
• Quick Start
• Usage
• Node Version Support
• Community
  • Get typed GraphQL Queries with GraphQL Code Generator
• Examples
  • Authentication via HTTP header
    • Incrementally setting headers
    • Set endpoint
    • passing-headers-in-each-request
    • Passing dynamic headers to the client
  • Passing more options to fetch
  • Custom JSON serializer
  • Using GraphQL Document variables
  • Making a GET request
  • GraphQL Mutations
  • Error handling
  • Using require instead of import
  • Cookie support for node
  • Using a custom fetch method
  • Receiving a raw response
  • File Upload
    • Browser
    • Node
  • Batching
  • Cancellation
  • Middleware
  • ErrorPolicy
    • None (default)
    • Ignore
    • All
• FAQ
  • Why do I have to install graphql?
  • Do I need to wrap my GraphQL documents inside the gql template exported by graphql-request?
  • What's the difference between graphql-request, Apollo and Relay?

Features

• Most simple & lightweight GraphQL client
• Promise-based API (works with async / await)
• ESM native package (CJS build is included for now as well, but will eventually be removed)
• TypeScript support
• Isomorphic (works with Node / browsers)

Install

npm add graphql-request graphql

Quick Start

Send a GraphQL query with a single line of code. ▶️ Try it out.

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

const query = gql`
  {
    company {
      ceo
    }
    roadster {
      apoapsis_au
    }
  }
`

request('https://api.spacex.land/graphql/', query).then((data) => console.log(data))

Usage

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

// Run GraphQL queries/mutations using a static function
request(endpoint, query, variables).then((data) => console.log(data))

// ... or create a GraphQL client instance to send requests
const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, { headers: {} })
client.request(query, variables).then((data) => console.log(data))

You can also use the single argument function variant:

request({
  url: endpoint,
  document: query,
  variables: variables,
  requestHeaders: headers,
}).then((data) => console.log(data))

Node Version Support

We only officially support LTS Node versions. We also make an effort to support two additional versions:

1. The latest even Node version if it is not LTS already.
2. The odd Node version directly following the latest even version.

You are free to try using other versions of Node (e.g. 13.x) with graphql-request but at your own risk.

Community

Get typed GraphQL Queries with GraphQL Code Generator

graphql-request@^5 supports TypedDocumentNode, the typed counterpart of graphql's DocumentNode.

Installing and configuring GraphQL Code Generator requires a few steps in order to get end-to-end typed GraphQL operations using the provided graphql() helper:

import request from 'graphql-request'
import { graphql } from './gql/gql'

const getMovieQueryDocument = graphql(/* GraphQL */ `
  query getMovie($title: String!) {
    Movie(title: $title) {
      releaseDate
      actors {
        name
      }
    }
  }
`)

const data = await request(
  'https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/cixos23120m0n0173veiiwrjr',
  getMovieQueryDocument,
  // variables are type-checked!
  { title: 'Inception' }
)

// `data.Movie` is typed!

The complete example is available in the GraphQL Code Generator repository

Visit GraphQL Code Generator's dedicated guide to get started: https://www.the-guild.dev/graphql/codegen/docs/guides/react-vue.

Examples

Authentication via HTTP header

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

async function main() {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/cixos23120m0n0173veiiwrjr'

  const graphQLClient = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, {
    headers: {
      authorization: 'Bearer MY_TOKEN',
    },
  })

  const query = gql`
    {
      Movie(title: "Inception") {
        releaseDate
        actors {
          name
        }
      }
    }
  `

  const data = await graphQLClient.request(query)
  console.log(JSON.stringify(data, undefined, 2))
}

main().catch((error) => console.error(error))

TypeScript Source

Incrementally setting headers

If you want to set headers after the GraphQLClient has been initialised, you can use the setHeader() or setHeaders() functions.

import { GraphQLClient } from 'graphql-request'

const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint)

// Set a single header
client.setHeader('authorization', 'Bearer MY_TOKEN')

// Override all existing headers
client.setHeaders({
  authorization: 'Bearer MY_TOKEN',
  anotherheader: 'header_value',
})

Set endpoint

If you want to change the endpoint after the GraphQLClient has been initialised, you can use the setEndpoint() function.

import { GraphQLClient } from 'graphql-request'

const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint)

client.setEndpoint(newEndpoint)

passing-headers-in-each-request

It is possible to pass custom headers for each request. request() and rawRequest() accept a header object as the third parameter

import { GraphQLClient } from 'graphql-request'

const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint)

const query = gql`
  query getMovie($title: String!) {
    Movie(title: $title) {
      releaseDate
      actors {
        name
      }
    }
  }
`

const variables = {
  title: 'Inception',
}

const requestHeaders = {
  authorization: 'Bearer MY_TOKEN',
}

// Overrides the clients headers with the passed values
const data = await client.request(query, variables, requestHeaders)

Passing dynamic headers to the client

It's possible to recalculate the global client headers dynamically before each request. To do that, pass a function that returns the headers to the headers property when creating a new GraphQLClient.

import { GraphQLClient } from 'graphql-request'

const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, {
  headers: () => ({ 'X-Sent-At-Time': Date.now() }),
})

const query = gql`
  query getCars {
    cars {
      name
    }
  }
`
// Function saved in the client runs and calculates fresh headers before each request
const data = await client.request(query)

Passing more options to fetch

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

async function main() {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/cixos23120m0n0173veiiwrjr'

  const graphQLClient = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, {
    credentials: 'include',
    mode: 'cors',
  })

  const query = gql`
    {
      Movie(title: "Inception") {
        releaseDate
        actors {
          name
        }
      }
    }
  `

  const data = await graphQLClient.request(query)
  console.log(JSON.stringify(data, undefined, 2))
}

main().catch((error) => console.error(error))

TypeScript Source

Custom JSON serializer

If you want to use non-standard JSON types, you can use your own JSON serializer to replace JSON.parse/JSON.stringify used by the GraphQLClient.

An original use case for this feature is BigInt support:

import JSONbig from 'json-bigint'
import { GraphQLClient, gql } from 'graphql-request'

async function main() {
  const jsonSerializer = JSONbig({ useNativeBigInt: true })
  const graphQLClient = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, { jsonSerializer })
  const data = await graphQLClient.request(
    gql`
      {
        someBigInt
      }
    `
  )
  console.log(typeof data.someBigInt) // if >MAX_SAFE_INTEGER then 'bigint' else 'number'
}

Using GraphQL Document variables

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

async function main() {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/cixos23120m0n0173veiiwrjr'

  const query = gql`
    query getMovie($title: String!) {
      Movie(title: $title) {
        releaseDate
        actors {
          name
        }
      }
    }
  `

  const variables = {
    title: 'Inception',
  }

  const data = await request(endpoint, query, variables)
  console.log(JSON.stringify(data, undefined, 2))
}

main().catch((error) => console.error(error))

Making a GET request

Queries can be sent as an HTTP GET request:

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

async function main() {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/cixos23120m0n0173veiiwrjr'

  const graphQLClient = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, {
    method: 'GET',
    jsonSerializer: {
      parse: JSON.parse,
      stringify: JSON.stringify,
    },
  })

  const query = gql`
    query getMovie($title: String!) {
      Movie(title: $title) {
        releaseDate
        actors {
          name
        }
      }
    }
  `

  const variables = {
    title: 'Inception',
  }

  const data = await graphQLClient.request(query, variables)
  console.log(JSON.stringify(data, undefined, 2))
}

main().catch((error) => console.error(error))

GraphQL Mutations

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

async function main() {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/cixos23120m0n0173veiiwrjr'

  const graphQLClient = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, {
    headers: {
      authorization: 'Bearer MY_TOKEN',
    },
  })

  const mutation = gql`
    mutation AddMovie($title: String!, $releaseDate: Int!) {
      insert_movies_one(object: { title: $title, releaseDate: $releaseDate }) {
        title
        releaseDate
      }
    }
  `

  const variables = {
    title: 'Inception',
    releaseDate: 2010,
  }
  const data = await graphQLClient.request(mutation, variables)

  console.log(JSON.stringify(data, undefined, 2))
}

main().catch((error) => console.error(error))

TypeScript Source

Error handling

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

async function main() {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/cixos23120m0n0173veiiwrjr'

  const query = gql`
    {
      Movie(title: "Inception") {
        releaseDate
        actors {
          fullname # "Cannot query field 'fullname' on type 'Actor'. Did you mean 'name'?"
        }
      }
    }
  `

  try {
    const data = await request(endpoint, query)
    console.log(JSON.stringify(data, undefined, 2))
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(JSON.stringify(error, undefined, 2))
    process.exit(1)
  }
}

main().catch((error) => console.error(error))

TypeScript Source

Using require instead of import

const { request, gql } = require('graphql-request')

async function main() {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/cixos23120m0n0173veiiwrjr'

  const query = gql`
    {
      Movie(title: "Inception") {
        releaseDate
        actors {
          name
        }
      }
    }
  `

  const data = await request(endpoint, query)
  console.log(JSON.stringify(data, undefined, 2))
}

main().catch((error) => console.error(error))

Cookie support for node

npm install fetch-cookie

require('fetch-cookie/node-fetch')(require('node-fetch'))

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

async function main() {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/cixos23120m0n0173veiiwrjr'

  const graphQLClient = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, {
    headers: {
      authorization: 'Bearer MY_TOKEN',
    },
  })

  const query = gql`
    {
      Movie(title: "Inception") {
        releaseDate
        actors {
          name
        }
      }
    }
  `

  const data = await graphQLClient.rawRequest(query)
  console.log(JSON.stringify(data, undefined, 2))
}

main().catch((error) => console.error(error))

TypeScript Source

Using a custom fetch method

npm install fetch-cookie

import { GraphQLClient, gql } from 'graphql-request'
import crossFetch from 'cross-fetch'

async function main() {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/cixos23120m0n0173veiiwrjr'

  // a cookie jar scoped to the client object
  const fetch = require('fetch-cookie')(crossFetch)
  const graphQLClient = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, { fetch })

  const query = gql`
    {
      Movie(title: "Inception") {
        releaseDate
        actors {
          name
        }
      }
    }
  `

  const data = await graphQLClient.rawRequest(query)
  console.log(JSON.stringify(data, undefined, 2))
}

main().catch((error) => console.error(error))

Receiving a raw response

The request method will return the data or errors key from the response. If you need to access the extensions key you can use the rawRequest method:

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

async function main() {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.graph.cool/simple/v1/cixos23120m0n0173veiiwrjr'

  const query = gql`
    {
      Movie(title: "Inception") {
        releaseDate
        actors {
          name
        }
      }
    }
  `

  const { data, errors, extensions, headers, status } = await rawRequest(endpoint, query)
  console.log(JSON.stringify({ data, errors, extensions, headers, status }, undefined, 2))
}

main().catch((error) => console.error(error))

File Upload

Browser

import { request } from 'graphql-request'

const UploadUserAvatar = gql`
  mutation uploadUserAvatar($userId: Int!, $file: Upload!) {
    updateUser(id: $userId, input: { avatar: $file })
  }
`

request('/api/graphql', UploadUserAvatar, {
  userId: 1,
  file: document.querySelector('input#avatar').files[0],
})

Node

import { createReadStream } from 'fs'
import { request } from 'graphql-request'

const UploadUserAvatar = gql`
  mutation uploadUserAvatar($userId: Int!, $file: Upload!) {
    updateUser(id: $userId, input: { avatar: $file })
  }
`

request('/api/graphql', UploadUserAvatar, {
  userId: 1,
  file: createReadStream('./avatar.img'),
})

TypeScript Source

Batching

It is possible with graphql-request to use batching via the batchRequests() function. Example available at examples/batching-requests.ts

import { batchRequests } from 'graphql-request'
;(async function () {
  const endpoint = 'https://api.spacex.land/graphql/'

  const query1 = /* GraphQL */ `
    query ($id: ID!) {
      capsule(id: $id) {
        id
        landings
      }
    }
  `

  const query2 = /* GraphQL */ `
    {
      rockets(limit: 10) {
        active
      }
    }
  `

  const data = await batchRequests(endpoint, [
    { document: query1, variables: { id: 'C105' } },
    { document: query2 },
  ])
  console.log(JSON.stringify(data, undefined, 2))
})().catch((error) => console.error(error))

Cancellation

It is possible to cancel a request using an AbortController signal.

You can define the signal in the GraphQLClient constructor:

const abortController = new AbortController()

const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, { signal: abortController.signal })
client.request(query)

abortController.abort()

You can also set the signal per request (this will override an existing GraphQLClient signal):

const abortController = new AbortController()

const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint)
client.request({ document: query, signal: abortController.signal })

abortController.abort()

In Node environment, AbortController is supported since version v14.17.0. For Node.js v12 you can use abort-controller polyfill.

 import 'abort-controller/polyfill'

 const abortController = new AbortController()

Middleware

It's possible to use a middleware to pre-process any request or handle raw response.

Request middleware example (set actual auth token to each request):

function middleware(request: RequestInit) {
  const token = getToken()
  return {
    ...request,
    headers: { ...request.headers, 'x-auth-token': token },
  }
}

const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, { requestMiddleware: middleware })

It's also possible to use an async function as a request middleware. The resolved data will be passed to the request:

async function middleware(request: RequestInit) {
  const token = await getToken()
  return {
    ...request,
    headers: { ...request.headers, 'x-auth-token': token },
  }
}

const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, { requestMiddleware: middleware })

Response middleware example (log request trace id if error caused):

function middleware(response: Response<unknown>) {
  if (response.errors) {
    const traceId = response.headers.get('x-b3-traceid') || 'unknown'
    console.error(
      `[${traceId}] Request error:
        status ${response.status}
        details: ${response.errors}`
    )
  }
}

const client = new GraphQLClient(endpoint, { responseMiddleware: middleware })

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.

FAQ

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 prettier formatting and IDE syntax highlighting. You can use gql from graphql-tag if you need it for some reason too.

What's the difference between graphql-request, Apollo and Relay?

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.