GraphQL Schema Designer

Build efficient, type-safe GraphQL APIs with proper schema design and resolver patterns.

Core Workflow

1. Design schema: Define types, queries, mutations
2. Implement resolvers: Connect to data sources
3. Add DataLoader: Batch and cache queries
4. Enable subscriptions: Real-time updates
5. Add validation: Input validation and errors
6. Document: Schema descriptions

Project Setup

npm install @apollo/server graphql graphql-tag dataloader
npm install -D @graphql-codegen/cli @graphql-codegen/typescript

Schema Design

Type Definitions

# schema.graphql
scalar DateTime
scalar JSON

"""
A registered user in the system
"""
type User {
  id: ID!
  email: String!
  name: String!
  avatar: String
  role: UserRole!
  posts: [Post!]!
  comments: [Comment!]!
  createdAt: DateTime!
  updatedAt: DateTime!
}

enum UserRole {
  ADMIN
  USER
  GUEST
}

type Post {
  id: ID!
  title: String!
  content: String!
  published: Boolean!
  author: User!
  comments: [Comment!]!
  tags: [Tag!]!
  createdAt: DateTime!
  updatedAt: DateTime!
}

type Comment {
  id: ID!
  content: String!
  author: User!
  post: Post!
  createdAt: DateTime!
}

type Tag {
  id: ID!
  name: String!
  posts: [Post!]!
}

"""
Pagination info for cursor-based pagination
"""
type PageInfo {
  hasNextPage: Boolean!
  hasPreviousPage: Boolean!
  startCursor: String
  endCursor: String
}

type PostEdge {
  cursor: String!
  node: Post!
}

type PostConnection {
  edges: [PostEdge!]!
  pageInfo: PageInfo!
  totalCount: Int!
}

Queries

type Query {
  """
  Get current authenticated user
  """
  me: User

  """
  Get a user by ID
  """
  user(id: ID!): User

  """
  List all users with optional filtering
  """
  users(
    role: UserRole
    search: String
    limit: Int = 10
    offset: Int = 0
  ): [User!]!

  """
  Get a post by ID
  """
  post(id: ID!): Post

  """
  List posts with cursor pagination
  """
  posts(
    first: Int
    after: String
    last: Int
    before: String
    published: Boolean
    authorId: ID
  ): PostConnection!

  """
  Search posts by title or content
  """
  searchPosts(query: String!, limit: Int = 10): [Post!]!
}

Mutations

input CreateUserInput {
  email: String!
  name: String!
  password: String!
  role: UserRole = USER
}

input UpdateUserInput {
  name: String
  avatar: String
}

input CreatePostInput {
  title: String!
  content: String!
  published: Boolean = false
  tagIds: [ID!]
}

input UpdatePostInput {
  title: String
  content: String
  published: Boolean
  tagIds: [ID!]
}

type Mutation {
  # Auth
  signUp(input: CreateUserInput!): AuthPayload!
  signIn(email: String!, password: String!): AuthPayload!
  signOut: Boolean!

  # Users
  updateUser(id: ID!, input: UpdateUserInput!): User!
  deleteUser(id: ID!): Boolean!

  # Posts
  createPost(input: CreatePostInput!): Post!
  updatePost(id: ID!, input: UpdatePostInput!): Post!
  deletePost(id: ID!): Boolean!
  publishPost(id: ID!): Post!

  # Comments
  createComment(postId: ID!, content: String!): Comment!
  deleteComment(id: ID!): Boolean!
}

type AuthPayload {
  token: String!
  user: User!
}

Subscriptions

type Subscription {
  """
  Subscribe to new posts
  """
  postCreated: Post!

  """
  Subscribe to comments on a specific post
  """
  commentAdded(postId: ID!): Comment!

  """
  Subscribe to post updates
  """
  postUpdated(id: ID!): Post!
}

Resolvers

Basic Resolver Structure

// resolvers/index.ts
import { Resolvers } from '../generated/graphql';
import { userResolvers } from './user';
import { postResolvers } from './post';
import { commentResolvers } from './comment';
import { scalarResolvers } from './scalars';

export const resolvers: Resolvers = {
  ...scalarResolvers,
  Query: {
    ...userResolvers.Query,
    ...postResolvers.Query,
  },
  Mutation: {
    ...userResolvers.Mutation,
    ...postResolvers.Mutation,
    ...commentResolvers.Mutation,
  },
  Subscription: {
    ...postResolvers.Subscription,
    ...commentResolvers.Subscription,
  },
  User: userResolvers.User,
  Post: postResolvers.Post,
  Comment: commentResolvers.Comment,
};

User Resolvers

// resolvers/user.ts
import { Resolvers } from '../generated/graphql';
import { Context } from '../context';

export const userResolvers: Resolvers<Context> = {
  Query: {
    me: async (_, __, { user }) => {
      if (!user) return null;
      return user;
    },

    user: async (_, { id }, { dataSources }) => {
      return dataSources.users.findById(id);
    },

    users: async (_, { role, search, limit, offset }, { dataSources }) => {
      return dataSources.users.findMany({ role, search, limit, offset });
    },
  },

  Mutation: {
    signUp: async (_, { input }, { dataSources }) => {
      const user = await dataSources.users.create(input);
      const token = generateToken(user);
      return { token, user };
    },

    updateUser: async (_, { id, input }, { dataSources, user }) => {
      // Authorization check
      if (user?.id !== id && user?.role !== 'ADMIN') {
        throw new ForbiddenError('Not authorized');
      }
      return dataSources.users.update(id, input);
    },
  },

  User: {
    posts: async (parent, _, { loaders }) => {
      return loaders.postsByAuthor.load(parent.id);
    },

    comments: async (parent, _, { loaders }) => {
      return loaders.commentsByAuthor.load(parent.id);
    },
  },
};

Post Resolvers with Pagination

// resolvers/post.ts
import { Resolvers } from '../generated/graphql';

export const postResolvers: Resolvers<Context> = {
  Query: {
    post: async (_, { id }, { dataSources }) => {
      return dataSources.posts.findById(id);
    },

    posts: async (_, { first, after, last, before, published, authorId }, { dataSources }) => {
      const { edges, pageInfo, totalCount } = await dataSources.posts.findMany({
        first,
        after,
        last,
        before,
        where: { published, authorId },
      });

      return { edges, pageInfo, totalCount };
    },

    searchPosts: async (_, { query, limit }, { dataSources }) => {
      return dataSources.posts.search(query, limit);
    },
  },

  Mutation: {
    createPost: async (_, { input }, { dataSources, user, pubsub }) => {
      if (!user) throw new AuthenticationError('Must be logged in');

      const post = await dataSources.posts.create({
        ...input,
        authorId: user.id,
      });

      // Publish to subscribers
      pubsub.publish('POST_CREATED', { postCreated: post });

      return post;
    },

    publishPost: async (_, { id }, { dataSources, user }) => {
      const post = await dataSources.posts.findById(id);

      if (post.authorId !== user?.id) {
        throw new ForbiddenError('Not your post');
      }

      return dataSources.posts.update(id, { published: true });
    },
  },

  Subscription: {
    postCreated: {
      subscribe: (_, __, { pubsub }) => pubsub.asyncIterator(['POST_CREATED']),
    },

    postUpdated: {
      subscribe: (_, { id }, { pubsub }) => {
        return pubsub.asyncIterator([`POST_UPDATED_${id}`]);
      },
    },
  },

  Post: {
    author: async (parent, _, { loaders }) => {
      return loaders.users.load(parent.authorId);
    },

    comments: async (parent, _, { loaders }) => {
      return loaders.commentsByPost.load(parent.id);
    },

    tags: async (parent, _, { loaders }) => {
      return loaders.tagsByPost.load(parent.id);
    },
  },
};

DataLoader Pattern

Create Loaders

// loaders/index.ts
import DataLoader from 'dataloader';
import { db } from '../db';

export function createLoaders() {
  return {
    users: new DataLoader<string, User>(async (ids) => {
      const users = await db.user.findMany({
        where: { id: { in: [...ids] } },
      });
      // Return in same order as requested
      return ids.map((id) => users.find((u) => u.id === id)!);
    }),

    postsByAuthor: new DataLoader<string, Post[]>(async (authorIds) => {
      const posts = await db.post.findMany({
        where: { authorId: { in: [...authorIds] } },
      });
      // Group by authorId
      return authorIds.map((authorId) =>
        posts.filter((p) => p.authorId === authorId)
      );
    }),

    commentsByPost: new DataLoader<string, Comment[]>(async (postIds) => {
      const comments = await db.comment.findMany({
        where: { postId: { in: [...postIds] } },
        orderBy: { createdAt: 'desc' },
      });
      return postIds.map((postId) =>
        comments.filter((c) => c.postId === postId)
      );
    }),

    tagsByPost: new DataLoader<string, Tag[]>(async (postIds) => {
      const postTags = await db.postTag.findMany({
        where: { postId: { in: [...postIds] } },
        include: { tag: true },
      });
      return postIds.map((postId) =>
        postTags.filter((pt) => pt.postId === postId).map((pt) => pt.tag)
      );
    }),
  };
}

export type Loaders = ReturnType<typeof createLoaders>;

Context Setup

// context.ts
import { createLoaders, Loaders } from './loaders';
import { DataSources } from './dataSources';
import { PubSub } from 'graphql-subscriptions';

export interface Context {
  user: User | null;
  dataSources: DataSources;
  loaders: Loaders;
  pubsub: PubSub;
}

const pubsub = new PubSub();

export async function createContext({ req }): Promise<Context> {
  const token = req.headers.authorization?.replace('Bearer ', '');
  const user = token ? await verifyToken(token) : null;

  return {
    user,
    dataSources: new DataSources(),
    loaders: createLoaders(), // New loaders per request
    pubsub,
  };
}

Apollo Server Setup

// server.ts
import { ApolloServer } from '@apollo/server';
import { expressMiddleware } from '@apollo/server/express4';
import { ApolloServerPluginDrainHttpServer } from '@apollo/server/plugin/drainHttpServer';
import { WebSocketServer } from 'ws';
import { useServer } from 'graphql-ws/lib/use/ws';
import express from 'express';
import http from 'http';
import cors from 'cors';
import { typeDefs } from './schema';
import { resolvers } from './resolvers';
import { createContext } from './context';

async function startServer() {
  const app = express();
  const httpServer = http.createServer(app);

  // WebSocket server for subscriptions
  const wsServer = new WebSocketServer({
    server: httpServer,
    path: '/graphql',
  });

  const serverCleanup = useServer(
    {
      schema,
      context: async (ctx) => createContext(ctx),
    },
    wsServer
  );

  const server = new ApolloServer({
    typeDefs,
    resolvers,
    plugins: [
      ApolloServerPluginDrainHttpServer({ httpServer }),
      {
        async serverWillStart() {
          return {
            async drainServer() {
              await serverCleanup.dispose();
            },
          };
        },
      },
    ],
  });

  await server.start();

  app.use(
    '/graphql',
    cors(),
    express.json(),
    expressMiddleware(server, {
      context: createContext,
    })
  );

  httpServer.listen(4000, () => {
    console.log('Server ready at http://localhost:4000/graphql');
  });
}

startServer();

Error Handling

// errors.ts
import { GraphQLError } from 'graphql';

export class AuthenticationError extends GraphQLError {
  constructor(message: string) {
    super(message, {
      extensions: { code: 'UNAUTHENTICATED' },
    });
  }
}

export class ForbiddenError extends GraphQLError {
  constructor(message: string) {
    super(message, {
      extensions: { code: 'FORBIDDEN' },
    });
  }
}

export class NotFoundError extends GraphQLError {
  constructor(resource: string) {
    super(`${resource} not found`, {
      extensions: { code: 'NOT_FOUND' },
    });
  }
}

export class ValidationError extends GraphQLError {
  constructor(message: string, field?: string) {
    super(message, {
      extensions: {
        code: 'BAD_USER_INPUT',
        field,
      },
    });
  }
}

Code Generation

# codegen.yml
schema: "./schema.graphql"
generates:
  ./src/generated/graphql.ts:
    plugins:
      - typescript
      - typescript-resolvers
    config:
      contextType: ../context#Context
      mappers:
        User: ../models#UserModel
        Post: ../models#PostModel
      useIndexSignature: true

npx graphql-codegen

Best Practices

1. Use DataLoader: Prevent N+1 queries
2. Design schema first: API-first approach
3. Use cursor pagination: For large datasets
4. Add descriptions: Document every type and field
5. Handle errors properly: Custom error types
6. Generate types: Use codegen for type safety
7. Validate inputs: Sanitize before processing
8. Use subscriptions sparingly: Only for real-time needs

Output Checklist

Every GraphQL API should include:

• Well-designed type definitions
• Queries with proper filtering/pagination
• Mutations with input validation
• DataLoader for batching
• Custom error types
• Authentication/authorization
• Code generation setup
• Schema documentation
• Subscription support (if needed)
• Rate limiting