apollo-link-local

Purpose

An Apollo Link to execute queries against a local schema. Useful for SSR query execution or client side schemas.

Installation

npm install apollo-link-local --save

Usage

import { LocalLink } from "apollo-link-local";
import { makeExecutableSchema } from "graphql-tools";
 
/* Generate an executable schema */
const schema = makeExecutableSchema({ typeDefs, resolvers });
 
const link = new LocalLink({ schema });

Context

The context generated by ApolloLink is handed to the GraphQL context at execution. If you need context available in a resolver pass it via a Link.

Why is this useful?

If you're building SSR and have access to the executable schema on the same server, you may find LocalLink makes good sense. It enables you to hydrate SSR state from without needing to make network calls.

Client side schemas

GraphQL typically requires mutual agreement to adopt the technology on both the server and client. However, there may be reasons why it's not practical to host a GraphQL service, whether organisational, technical, or otherwise.

Consider the case of a GraphQL service backed by an existing RESTful API. With LocalLink, the schema could exist and resolve to RESTful endpoints entirely client side allowing you to benefit from other Apollo tooling such as caching, query fragments, and more.