Outline
- Introduction
- Query with GraphiQL
- Query with CURL
- Query with the Fetch API
- Query with GraphQL Request
- Query with Apollo Client
All of this project's code can be found in the First Look monorepo on my GitHub.
Introduction
I've been going deep into GraphQL ever since I first started learning Redwood, and it's been an interesting experiment because I started with a fully complete GraphQL project with a server and client included and integrated.
As I've gotten deeper into GraphQL I've realized this is an incredible exception to the rule, the norm is everyone creating their own bespoke combination of clients and/or servers to fit their own purposes.
Query with GraphiQL
If we wanted to take it to the total basics, you'd want to start with actually making a GraphQL query. For example, if you were to go to the following link you'll see this:
We want to make a query, so we'll enter the following query
for characters
, specifically their name
(the results
array is a quirk of this specific GraphQL schema).
{
characters {
results {
name
}
}
}
This returns an array of names.
Watch out for Abradolf Lincler, he's a bad dude.
Query with CURL
If you want to run this same query on the command line, you can use curl. Include the GraphQL endpoint, a header specifying that the Content-Type
is application/json
, and a data-binary
option with the query.
curl 'https://rickandmortyapi.com/graphql' \
-H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
-d '{"query":"{ characters { results { name } } }"}'
Query with the Fetch API
The next layer would be making a fetch
request.
Create Project
Create a new blank directory with public
and src
directories containing an index.html
and index.js
file respectively.
mkdir rick-and-morty-graphql
cd rick-and-morty-graphql
mkdir public src
touch public/index.html src/index.js
HTML Entrypoint
Enter the following html
boilerplate with a script
tag for index.js
.
<!-- public/index.html -->
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<meta http-equiv="X-UA-Compatible" content="ie=edge">
<title>How to Query the Rick and Morty GraphQL API</title>
<script src="../src/index.js" defer></script>
</head>
<body>
<noscript>
You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.
</noscript>
<h1>Fetch API</h1>
<div id="root"></div>
</body>
</html>
Fetch Request
Make a fetch
request to https://rickandmortyapi.com/graphql
including:
- A
POST
request withContent-Type
ofapplication/json
- The
characters
query we wrote above asking for theirname
included in thebody
and stringified - The
results
displayed withconsole.log()
// src/index.js
fetch('https://rickandmortyapi.com/graphql', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
"Content-Type": "application/json"
},
body: JSON.stringify({
query: `
query getCharacters {
characters {
results {
name
}
}
}
`
})
})
.then(res => res.json())
.then(data => console.log(data.data))
Open index.html
with a tool like Live Server.
To actually display the results of the query on the page, change the final .then
function to the following:
// src/index.js
.then(data => {
document.querySelector('#root').innerHTML = `
<p>${JSON.stringify(data.data.characters.results)}</p>
`
})
This doesn't require installing dependencies, or even creating a package.json
file. However, there are many GraphQL client libraries which explore a wide range of trade offs. Use cases may include providing concise abstractions for common GraphQL functionality or adding additional features such as caching.
Query with GraphQL Request
graphql-request is a minimal GraphQL client that supports Node and browsers.
Install Dependencies
yarn init -y
yarn add graphql graphql-request react react-dom react-scripts
Add Scripts and Browsers List
{
"scripts": {
"start": "react-scripts start",
"build": "react-scripts build",
"test": "react-scripts test",
"eject": "react-scripts eject"
},
"browserslist": {
"production": [
">0.2%",
"not dead",
"not op_mini all"
],
"development": [
"last 1 chrome version",
"last 1 firefox version",
"last 1 safari version"
]
}
}
Initialize GraphQL Request Client
// src/index.js
import React from "react"
import { render } from "react-dom"
import { GraphQLClient, gql } from 'graphql-request'
async function main() {
const endpoint = 'https://rickandmortyapi.com/graphql'
const graphQLClient = new GraphQLClient(endpoint)
const GET_CHARACTERS_QUERY = gql`
query getCharacters {
characters {
results {
name
}
}
}
`
const data = await graphQLClient.request(GET_CHARACTERS_QUERY)
console.log(JSON.stringify(data, undefined, 2))
}
main()
render(
<React.StrictMode>
<h1>graphql-request</h1>
</React.StrictMode>,
document.getElementById("root")
)
Query with Apollo Client
Apollo Client is a caching GraphQL client with integrations for React and other popular frontend libraries/frameworks.
Install Apollo Dependencies
yarn add @apollo/react-hooks apollo-boost
Initialize Apollo Client
// src/index.js
import React from "react"
import { render } from "react-dom"
import { ApolloProvider } from "@apollo/react-hooks"
import ApolloClient from "apollo-boost"
import gql from "graphql-tag"
import { useQuery } from "@apollo/react-hooks"
export const client = new ApolloClient({
uri: 'https://rickandmortyapi.com/graphql'
})
export const GET_CHARACTERS_QUERY = gql`
query getCharacters {
characters {
results {
name
}
}
}
`
function Characters() {
const { data, loading, error } = useQuery(GET_CHARACTERS_QUERY)
const characters = data?.characters
if (loading) return <p>Almost there...</p>
if (error) return <p>{error.message}</p>
return (
<>
<pre>
{JSON.stringify(characters, null, " ")}
</pre>
</>
)
}
render(
<React.StrictMode>
<ApolloProvider client={client}>
<h1>Apollo Client</h1>
<Characters />
</ApolloProvider>
</React.StrictMode>,
document.getElementById("root")
)
Top comments (0)