Database views in the GraphQL API

Views are supported as alternatives to tables in Data API builder (DAB). A view can be exposed through GraphQL endpoints with minimal configuration.

Configuration

To expose a view:

• Set source.type to "view"
• Set source.object to the fully qualified view name
• To identify a row uniquely, define key-fields
• Grant permission using the "read" action (and optionally "create", "update", "delete" if the view is updatable)

CLI example

dab add BookDetail \
  --source dbo.vw_books_details \
  --source.type "view" \
  --fields.name "id" \
  --fields.primary-key "true" \
  --permissions "anonymous:read"

Configuration example

"BookDetail": {
  "source": {
    "type": "view",
    "object": "dbo.vw_books_details",
    "key-fields": [ "id" ]
  },
  "permissions": [
    {
      "role": "anonymous",
      "actions": [ "read" ]
    }
  ]
}

GraphQL behavior

• View appears as a GraphQL type
• Queries are always supported
• Mutations are supported only if the view is updatable
• Follows standard DAB GraphQL schema structure

Example query

{
  bookDetails {
    items {
      id
      title
      authorName
    }
  }
}

Permissions

• Use the read action for readonly views
• Use create, update, and delete only if the view is updatable

Limitations

• key-fields are required
• Views don't support relationships
• Pagination, filtering, and sorting are supported if the view behaves like a table

Related content

• Database views in the REST API
• Source configuration