GraphQL and GraphiQL Spring Framework Boot Starters

We are looking for contributors!

Are you interested in improving our documentation, working on the codebase, reviewing PRs?

Reach out to us on Discussions and join the team!

Table of Contents

• WARNING: NoClassDefFoundError when using GraphQL Java Tools > 5.4.x
  • Using Gradle
  • Using Maven
• Documentation
• Requirements and Downloads
  • Snapshots
• Enable GraphQL Servlet
• Enable GraphiQL
• Enable Altair
• Enable GraphQL Playground
  • Basic settings
  • CDN
  • Custom static resources
  • Customizing GraphQL Playground
  • Tabs
• Supported GraphQL-Java Libraries
  • GraphQL Java Tools
  • GraphQL Annotations
    • Configuration
    • Root resolvers, directives, type extensions
    • Interfaces
    • Custom scalars and type functions
    • Custom Relay and GraphQL Annotation Processor
• Tracing and Metrics
  • Usage
• Contributions
• Licenses

WARNING: NoClassDefFoundError when using GraphQL Java Tools > 5.4.x

If you're using graphql-java-tools in combination with Spring Boot 2.1.x or below then you need to set the kotlin.version in your Spring Boot project explicitly to version 1.3.70, because Spring Boot Starter parent currently overrides it with a 1.2.* version of Kotlin. graphql-java-tools requires 1.3.* however because of its coroutine support. If you don't override this version you will run into a NoClassDefFoundError.

Spring Boot team has indicated the Kotlin version will be upgraded to 1.3 in Spring Boot 2.2.

Using Gradle

Set the Kotlin version in your gradle.properties

kotlin.version=1.3.70

Using Maven

Set the Kotlin version in your <properties> section

<properties>
  <kotlin.version>1.3.70</kotlin.version>
</properties>

Documentation

See our new Documentation.

Repository contains:

• graphql-spring-boot-starter to turn your boot application into GraphQL server ( see graphql-java-servlet)
• altair-spring-boot-starterto embed Altair tool for schema introspection and query debugging ( see altair)
• graphiql-spring-boot-starterto embed GraphiQL tool for schema introspection and query debugging (see graphiql)
• playground-spring-boot-starterto embed GraphQL Playground tool for schema introspection and query debugging (see GraphQL Playground)
• voyager-spring-boot-starterto embed Voyager tool for visually explore GraphQL APIs as an interactive graph (see voyger)

Requirements and Downloads

Requirements:

• Java 1.8
• Spring Framework Boot > 2.x.x (web)

Gradle:

repositories {
    jcenter()
    mavenCentral()
}

dependencies {
  implementation 'com.graphql-java-kickstart:graphql-spring-boot-starter:8.1.0'
  
  // to embed Altair tool
  runtimeOnly 'com.graphql-java-kickstart:altair-spring-boot-starter:8.1.0'

  // to embed GraphiQL tool
  runtimeOnly 'com.graphql-java-kickstart:graphiql-spring-boot-starter:8.1.0'

  // to embed Voyager tool
  runtimeOnly 'com.graphql-java-kickstart:voyager-spring-boot-starter:8.1.0'
  
  // testing facilities
  testImplementation 'com.graphql-java-kickstart:graphql-spring-boot-starter-test:8.1.0'
}

Maven:

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.graphql-java-kickstart</groupId>
    <artifactId>graphql-spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
    <version>8.1.0</version>
</dependency>

<!-- to embed Altair tool -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.graphql-java-kickstart</groupId>
    <artifactId>altair-spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
    <version>8.1.0</version>
    <scope>runtime</scope>
</dependency>

<!-- to embed GraphiQL tool -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.graphql-java-kickstart</groupId>
    <artifactId>graphiql-spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
    <version>8.1.0</version>
    <scope>runtime</scope>
</dependency>

<!-- to embed Voyager tool -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.graphql-java-kickstart</groupId>
    <artifactId>voyager-spring-boot-starter</artifactId>
    <version>8.1.0</version>
    <scope>runtime</scope>
</dependency>

<!-- testing facilities -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.graphql-java-kickstart</groupId>
    <artifactId>graphql-spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
    <version>8.1.0</version>
    <scope>test</scope>
</dependency>

New releases will be available faster in the JCenter repository than in Maven Central. Add the following to use for Maven

<repositories>
    <repository>
      <id>jcenter</id>
      <url>https://jcenter.bintray.com/</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>

For Gradle:

repositories {
    jcenter()
}

Snapshots

<repositories>
    <repository>
      <id>jfrog-snapshots</id>
      <name>oss-jfrog-artifactory-snapshots</name>
      <url>https://oss.jfrog.org/artifactory/oss-snapshot-local</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>

For gradle:

repositories {
    maven { url "https://oss.jfrog.org/artifactory/oss-snapshot-local" }
}

Enable GraphQL Servlet

The servlet becomes accessible at /graphql if graphql-spring-boot-starter added as a dependency to a boot application and a GraphQLSchema bean is present in the application. Check out the simple example for the bare minimum required.

A GraphQL schema can also be automatically created when a supported graphql-java schema library is found on the classpath.

See the graphql-java-servlet usage docs for the avaiable endpoints exposed.

Available Spring Boot configuration parameters (either application.yml or application.properties):

graphql:
      servlet:
           mapping: /graphql
           enabled: true
           corsEnabled: true
           cors:
              allowed-origins: http://some.domain.com
           # if you want to @ExceptionHandler annotation for custom GraphQLErrors
           exception-handlers-enabled: true
           contextSetting: PER_REQUEST_WITH_INSTRUMENTATION

By default a global CORS filter is enabled for /graphql/** context. The corsEnabled can be set to false to disable it.

Enable GraphiQL

GraphiQL becomes accessible at the root /graphiql if graphiql-spring-boot-starter is added as a dependency to a boot application.

Note that GraphQL server must be available at /graphql/* context to be discovered by GraphiQL.

Available Spring Boot configuration parameters (either application.yml or application.properties):

graphiql:
    mapping: /graphiql
    endpoint:
      graphql: /graphql
      subscriptions: /subscriptions
    subscriptions:
      timeout: 30
      reconnect: false
    static:
      basePath: /
    enabled: true
    pageTitle: GraphiQL
    cdn:
        enabled: false
        version: 0.13.0
    props:
        resources:
            query: query.graphql
            defaultQuery: defaultQuery.graphql
            variables: variables.graphql
        variables:
            editorTheme: "solarized light"
    headers:
        Authorization: "Bearer <your-token>"

By default GraphiQL is served from within the package. This can be configured to be served from CDN instead, by setting the property graphiql.cdn.enabled to true.

You are able to set the GraphiQL props as well. The graphiql.props.variables group can contain any of the props as defined at GraphiQL Usage. Since setting (large) queries in the properties like this isn't very readable, you can use the properties in the graphiql.props.resources group to set the classpath resources that should be loaded.

Headers that are used when sending the GraphiQL queries can be set by defining them in the graphiql.headers group.

Enable Altair

Altair becomes accessible at the root /altair if altair-spring-boot-starter is added as a dependency to a boot application.

Note that GraphQL server must be available at /graphql/* context to be discovered by Altair.

Available Spring Boot configuration parameters (either application.yml or application.properties):

altair:
    mapping: /altair
    endpoint:
      graphql: /graphql
      subscriptions: /subscriptions
    subscriptions:
      timeout: 30
      reconnect: false
    static:
      basePath: /
    enabled: true
    pageTitle: Altair
    cdn:
        enabled: false
        version: 2.1.7
    props:
        resources:
            defaultQuery: defaultQuery.graphql
            variables: variables.graphql
    headers:
        Authorization: "Bearer <your-token>"

By default Altair is served from within the package. This can be configured to be served from CDN instead, by setting the property altair.cdn.enabled to true.

You are able to set the Altair props as well. The altair.props.variables group. Since setting ( large) queries in the properties like this isn't very readable, you can use the properties in the altair.props.resources group to set the classpath resources that should be loaded.

Headers that are used when sending the Altair queries can be set by defining them in the altair.headers group.

Enable GraphQL Playground

GraphQL Playground becomes accessible at root /playground (or as configured in graphql.playground.mapping) if playground-spring-boot-starter is added as a dependency to a boot application.

It uses an embedded GraphQL Playground React, in accordance to the official guide, using the 'minimum HTML' approach.

Available Spring Boot configuration parameters (either application.yml or application.properties):

graphql.playground:
    mapping: /playground
    endpoint: /graphql
    subscriptionEndpoint: /subscriptions
    staticPath.base: my-playground-resources-folder
    enabled: true
    pageTitle: Playground
    cdn:
        enabled: false
        version: latest
    settings:
        editor.cursorShape: line
        editor.fontFamily: "'Source Code Pro', 'Consolas', 'Inconsolata', 'Droid Sans Mono', 'Monaco', monospace"
        editor.fontSize: 14
        editor.reuseHeaders: true
        editor.theme: dark
        general.betaUpdates: false
        prettier.printWidth: 80
        prettier.tabWidth: 2
        prettier.useTabs: false
        request.credentials: omit
        schema.polling.enable: true
        schema.polling.endpointFilter: "*localhost*"
        schema.polling.interval: 2000
        schema.disableComments: true
        tracing.hideTracingResponse: true
    headers:
        headerFor: AllTabs
    tabs:
        - name: Example Tab
          query: classpath:exampleQuery.graphql
          headers:
            SomeHeader: Some value
          variables: classpath:variables.json
          responses:
            - classpath:exampleResponse1.json
            - classpath:exampleResponse2.json

Basic settings

mapping, endpoint and subscriptionEndpoint will default to /playground, /graphql and /subscriptions, respectively. Note that these values may not be empty.

enabled defaults to true, and therefor Playground will be available by default if the dependency is added to a Spring Boot Web Application project.

pageTitle defaults to Playground.

headers allows you to specify headers for the default tab. Note that if your are using Spring Security and CSRF is enabled CSRF, the CSRF token will be automatically added to the headers. These headers will also be added to all the tabs configured under the Tabs section. If a header is defined both in this 'global' header list and the header list of the individual tabs, the 'local' version will be used for that tab.

CDN

The currently bundled version is 1.7.20, which is - as of writing this - the latest release of GraphQL Playground React. The CDN option uses jsDelivr CDN, if enabled. By default, it will load the latest available release. Available CDN versions can be found on the project's jsDelivr page. The CDN option is disabled by default.

Custom static resources

You can also specify a custom local version of Playground by setting the base path for Playground resources in the staticPath.base property. Under this directory, you have to provide the following files:

• static/css/index.css
• static/js/middleware.js
• favicon.png
• logo.png

This is identical to the directory structure of the CDN under the build subfolder (where these files can be found).

Customizing GraphQL Playground

Further GraphQL Playground settings can be specified under the settings group, which are documented in the official GraphQL Playground readme. Note that enum-like values are validated against the available options, and your application will not start if wrong settings are provided. Similarly there is some basic validation for integer values (they must be valid positive integers).

Tabs

Optionally, you can specify tabs that will be present when the user first opens GraphQL Playground. You can configure the query, variables, headers and even supply sample responses. Note that query , variables and responses are expected to be resources of the appropriate format (GraphQL for query, JSON for variables and responses).

Supported GraphQL-Java Libraries

The following libraries have auto-configuration classes for creating a GraphQLSchema.

GraphQL Java Tools

https://github.com/graphql-java-kickstart/graphql-java-tools

All GraphQLResolver and GraphQLScalar beans, along with a bean of type SchemaParserDictionary (to provide all other classes), will be used to create a GraphQLSchema. Any files on the classpath named *.graphqls will be used to provide the schema definition. See the Readme for more info.

Available Spring Boot configuration parameters (either application.yml or application.properties):

graphql:
    tools:
        schema-location-pattern: "**/*.graphqls"
        # Enable or disable the introspection query. Disabling it puts your server in contravention of the GraphQL
        # specification and expectations of most clients, so use this option with caution
        introspection-enabled: true

By default GraphQL tools uses the location pattern **/*.graphqls to scan for GraphQL schemas on the classpath. Use the schemaLocationPattern property to customize this pattern.

GraphQL Annotations

https://github.com/Enigmatis/graphql-java-annotations

The schema will be built using the GraphQL Annotations library in a code-first approach - instead of writing it manually, the schema will be constructed based on the Java code. Please see the documentation of the GraphQL Annotations library for a detailed documentation of the available annotations. This readme focuses on how GraphQL Annotations - GraphQL Spring Boot Starter integration works.

Configuration

graphql:
    annotations:
        base-package: com.example.graphl.schema # required
        always-prettify: true #true is the default value, no need to specify it

The most important parameter is the base package. The starter will look for schema-relevant classes in the specified package and its subpackages. always-prettify will "prettify" getter/setter methods - the get/set/is prefix will be removed from GraphQL fields automatically.

Root resolvers, directives, type extensions

The root resolvers must be marked with the GraphQLQueryResolver, GraphQLMutationResolver and GraphQLSubscription annotations (not to be confused with the marker interfaces from the GraphQL Java Tools library).

Important:

Unlike GraphQL Java Tools, GraphQL Annotations only supports one of them each. Furthermore, GraphQL Annotations only accepts a class as input, not an instance. It will either create a new instance of the class itself, or use static methods. This means that Spring dependency injection will not work in the usual way. The companion example project (which can be found in the samples repository) demonstrates possible workarounds for this issue.

GraphQLDirectiveDefinition and GraphQLTypeExtension-annotated classes are subject to the same limitation regarding dependency injection - but there can be any number of them.

Interfaces

Interfaces in the configured package having at least one of their methods marked as @GraphQLField are considered a GraphQL interface, and their implementations are automatically added to the schema. Furthermore, you have to add the following annotation to GraphQL interfaces: @GraphQLTypeResolver(GraphQLInterfaceTypeResolver.class)

Custom scalars and type functions

Custom scalars can be defined in the same way as in the case of using GraphQL Java Tools - just define the GraphQLScalarType beans.

The starter will also pick up TypeFunction beans and pass them to the schema builder.

In these cases the actual beans will be used, not just the classes. Spring dependency injection works as usual.

Custom Relay and GraphQL Annotation Processor

It is possible to define a bean implementing Relay and/or GraphQLAnnotations. If present, these will be passed to the schema builder. Spring dependency injection works as usual. Note that GraphQL Annotations provides default implementation for these which should be sufficient is most cases.

Tracing and Metrics

Apollo style tracing along with two levels of metrics based on them are currently configurable. Full tracing is based on the GraphQL java implementation, and can be enabled in the application.yml or application.properties file:

graphql:
    servlet:
        tracing-enabled: true

the default value is false, with "metrics-only" being available. Metrics-only does not add the tracing extension to the response.

Metrics utilize one of two forms of tracing to feed information to Micrometer. If tracing is enabled, or set to "metrics-only", full tracing metrics will be collected, otherwise a tracing implementation that does not collect field data will be injected. Metrics can be configured in the application.yml or application.properties to either true or false, with a default of false:

graphql:
    servlet:
        actuator-metrics: true

Usage

See Baeldung Spring Boot Actuators for the basics of using Actuator. Add spring-boot-starter-actuator to your project as dependency.

The following metrics are available for exposure:

• graphql.timer.query
• graphql.websocket.sessions - number of active websocket sessions for subscriptions
• graphql.websocket.subscriptions - number of active subscriptions

Contributions

Contributions are welcome. Please respect the Code of Conduct.

Licenses

graphql-spring-boot-starter, altair-spring-boot-starter, graphiql-spring-boot-starter and voyager-spring-boot-starter are licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

graphql-java License

graphiql License

graphql-js License