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Overview of GraphQL APIs in Azure API Management

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APPLIES TO: All API Management tiers

You can use API Management to manage GraphQL APIs - APIs based on the GraphQL query language. GraphQL provides a complete and understandable description of the data in an API, giving clients the power to efficiently retrieve exactly the data they need. Learn more about GraphQL

API Management helps you import, manage, protect, test, publish, and monitor GraphQL APIs. You can choose one of two API models:

Pass-through GraphQL Synthetic GraphQL
▪️ Pass-through API to existing GraphQL service endpoint

▪️ Support for GraphQL queries, mutations, and subscriptions		 ▪️ API based on a custom GraphQL schema

▪️ Support for GraphQL queries, mutations, and subscriptions

▪️ Configure custom resolvers, for example, to HTTP data sources

▪️ Develop GraphQL schemas and GraphQL-based clients while consuming data from legacy APIs

Availability

  • GraphQL APIs are supported in all API Management service tiers
  • Synthetic GraphQL APIs currently aren't supported in API Management workspaces
  • Support for GraphQL subscriptions in synthetic GraphQL APIs is currently in preview and isn't available in the Consumption tier

What is GraphQL?

GraphQL is an open-source, industry-standard query language for APIs. Unlike REST-style APIs designed around actions over resources, GraphQL APIs support a broader set of use cases and focus on data types, schemas, and queries.

The GraphQL specification explicitly solves common issues experienced by client web apps that rely on REST APIs:

  • It can take a large number of requests to fulfill the data needs for a single page
  • REST APIs often return more data than needed by the page being rendered
  • The client app needs to poll to get new information

Using a GraphQL API, the client app can specify the data they need to render a page in a query document that is sent as a single request to a GraphQL service. A client app can also subscribe to data updates pushed from the GraphQL service in real time.

Schema and types

In API Management, add a GraphQL API from a GraphQL schema, either retrieved from a backend GraphQL API endpoint or uploaded by you. A GraphQL schema describes:

  • Data object types and fields that clients can request from a GraphQL API
  • Operation types allowed on the data, such as queries
  • Other types, such as unions and interfaces, that provide additional flexibility and control over the data

For example, a basic GraphQL schema for user data and a query for all users might look like:

type Query {
    users: [User]
}

type User {
    id: String!
    name: String!
}

Operation types

API Management supports the following operation types in GraphQL schemas. For more information about these operation types, see the GraphQL specification.

  • Query - Fetches data, similar to a GET operation in REST

  • Mutation - Modifies server-side data, similar to a PUT or PATCH operation in REST

  • Subscription - Enables notifying subscribed clients in real time about changes to data on the GraphQL service

    For example, when data is modified via a GraphQL mutation, subscribed clients could be automatically notified about the change.

    Important

    API Management supports subscriptions implemented using the graphql-ws WebSocket protocol. Queries and mutations aren't supported over WebSocket.

Other types

API Management supports the union and interface types in GraphQL schemas.

Resolvers

Resolvers take care of mapping the GraphQL schema to backend data, producing the data for each field in an object type. The data source could be an API, a database, or another service. For example, a resolver function would be responsible for returning data for the users query in the preceding example.

In API Management, you can create a resolver to map a field in an object type to a backend data source. You configure resolvers for fields in synthetic GraphQL API schemas, but you can also configure them to override the default field resolvers used by pass-through GraphQL APIs.

API Management currently supports resolvers based on HTTP API, Cosmos DB, and Azure SQL data sources to return the data for fields in a GraphQL schema. Each resolver is configured using a tailored policy to connect to the data source and retrieve the data:

Data source Resolver policy
HTTP-based data source (REST or SOAP API) http-data-source
Cosmos DB database cosmosdb-data-source
Azure SQL database sql-data-source

For example, an HTTP API-based resolver for the preceding users query might map to a GET operation in a backend REST API:

<http-data-source>
	<http-request>
		<set-method>GET</set-method>
		<set-url>https://myapi.contoso.com/api/users</set-url>
	</http-request>
</http-data-source>

For more information about setting up a resolver, see Configure a GraphQL resolver.

Manage GraphQL APIs

  • Secure GraphQL APIs by applying both existing access control policies and a GraphQL validation policy to secure and protect against GraphQL-specific attacks.
  • Explore the GraphQL schema and run test queries against the GraphQL APIs in the Azure and developer portals.

Next steps