Node.js GraphQL Server A robust and scalable GraphQL API server built with Node.js, Express, and MySQL. This project provides a flexible and efficient way to query and manipulate data, leveraging the power of GraphQL for modern web applications.
Table of Contents Features
Technologies Used
Prerequisites
Getting Started
Installation
Database Setup
Running the Server
Project Structure
GraphQL Schema
Usage
API Endpoints
Contributing
License
Features GraphQL API: Implement a powerful and flexible API using GraphQL.
Node.js & Express: A fast, unopinionated, minimalist web framework for Node.js.
MySQL Database: Persistent data storage using a relational database.
Schema-First Development: Define your data structure and operations clearly with GraphQL Schema Definition Language (SDL).
Apollo Server: A production-ready GraphQL server for Node.js.
Database Migrations: (Optional, but recommended to add) Manage database schema changes.
Environment Variables: Secure configuration management.
Error Handling: Robust error handling for API requests.
Technologies Used Node.js: JavaScript runtime.
Express.js: Web framework for Node.js.
GraphQL.js: GraphQL implementation for JavaScript.
Apollo Server: GraphQL server library.
MySQL: Relational database.
mysql2: MySQL client for Node.js (or sequelize/knex for ORM).
dotenv: For loading environment variables.
graphql-tools: (Optional, for schema stitching/merging)
Prerequisites Before you begin, ensure you have met the following requirements:
Node.js (LTS version recommended) installed on your machine.
MySQL server installed and running.
A code editor (e.g., VS Code).
Basic understanding of Node.js, Express, GraphQL, and SQL.
Getting Started Follow these instructions to get a copy of the project up and running on your local machine for development and testing purposes.
Installation Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/your-username/node-graphql-server.git cd node-graphql-server
Install dependencies:
npm install
yarn install
Database Setup Create a MySQL database: Access your MySQL server (e.g., via MySQL Workbench, mysql CLI, or phpMyAdmin) and create a new database for the project.
CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS graphql_db;
Configure environment variables: Create a .env file in the root of your project and add your database credentials and other configurations.
PORT=4000 DB_HOST=localhost DB_USER=root DB_PASSWORD=your_mysql_password DB_NAME=graphql_db
Replace your_mysql_password with your actual MySQL root password or a dedicated user's password.
Run database migrations (if applicable): If your project uses a migration tool (e.g., knex or sequelize), run the migrations to set up the necessary tables.
(Example if using a migration tool like knex)
If not using a migration tool, you'll need to manually create your tables. Here's an example users table:
USE graphql_db;
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS users (
id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
name VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
email VARCHAR(255) UNIQUE NOT NULL,
created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP
);
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS posts (
id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY,
title VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,
content TEXT,
user_id INT,
created_at TIMESTAMP DEFAULT CURRENT_TIMESTAMP,
FOREIGN KEY (user_id) REFERENCES users(id) ON DELETE CASCADE
);
-- Optional: Seed some initial data
INSERT INTO users (name, email) VALUES
('Alice Smith', 'alice@example.com'),
('Bob Johnson', 'bob@example.com');
INSERT INTO posts (title, content, user_id) VALUES
('My First Post', 'This is the content of my first post.', 1),
('GraphQL Basics', 'Learning about queries and mutations.', 1),
('Database Design Tips', 'Tips for designing efficient databases.', 2);
Running the Server Start the server:
npm start
yarn start
Access GraphQL Playground/Voyager: Once the server is running, open your browser and navigate to http://localhost:4000/graphql (or the port you configured). You should see the GraphQL Playground (or similar tool) where you can test your API.
Project Structure A typical project structure might look like this:
. ├── config ├── graphql ├── middleware ├── model ├── route ├── server.js ├── .env # Environment variables ├── package.json ├── package-lock.json ├── README.md └── .gitignore
GraphQL Schema Your GraphQL schema defines the types of data that can be queried and mutated, and the relationships between them.
Example src/schema/user.js:
type User { id: ID! name: String! email: String! posts: [Post] }
extend type Query { users: [User] user(id: ID!): User }
extend type Mutation { createUser(name: String!, email: String!): User updateUser(id: ID!, name: String, email: String): User deleteUser(id: ID!): User }
Example src/schema/post.js:
type Post { id: ID! title: String! content: String user: User }
extend type Query { posts: [Post] post(id: ID!): Post }
extend type Mutation { createPost(title: String!, content: String, userId: ID!): Post updatePost(id: ID!, title: String, content: String): Post deletePost(id: ID!): Post }
Usage You can use any GraphQL client (e.g., Apollo Client, Relay, Postman, Insomnia) or simply the GraphQL Playground to interact with your API.
Example Query:
query { users { id name email posts { id title } } }
Example Mutation (Create User):
mutation { createUser(name: "Charlie Brown", email: "charlie@example.com") { id name email } }
Example Mutation (Create Post):
mutation { createPost(title: "New Post Title", content: "Some exciting content here.", userId: 1) { id title user { name } } }
API Endpoints The primary API endpoint is:
http://localhost:4000/graphql: The GraphQL endpoint for all queries and mutations.
Contributing Contributions are welcome! Please follow these steps:
Fork the repository.
Create a new branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature).
Make your changes.
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature').
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature).
Open a Pull Request.
License This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details.