Use apollo-client and GraphQL from your Ember app.

This addon exposes the following dependencies to an ember application:

• apollo-client
• graphql
• graphql-tag
• graphql-tools

I have been using the non-addon version of this in my own app for several months. Because I've actually used it to build a real app, I've encountered and solved a few real-world problems such as reliable testing and preventing resource leaks by unsubscribing from watch queries.

• ember install ember-apollo-client

This addon is tested against the release, beta, and canary channels, as well as the latest two LTS releases.

If you are looking for a full tutorial using ember-apollo-client check out the tutorial on How To GraphQL, written by DevanB.

The application built in the tutorial is also available on the How To GraphQL repository.

In your app's config/environment.js, configure the URL for the GraphQL API:

var ENV = {
  ...
  apollo: {
    apiURL: 'https://test.example/graphql',
    // Optionally, set the credentials property of the Fetch Request interface
    // to control when a cookie is sent:
    // requestCredentials: 'same-origin', // other choices: 'include', 'omit'
  },
  ...
}

Additional configuration of the ApolloClient can be done by extending the Apollo service and overriding the clientOptions property. See the Apollo Service API for more info.

GraphQL queries should be placed in external files, which are automatically made available for import:

app/gql/queries/human.graphql

query human($id: String!) {
  human(id: $id) {
    name
  }
}

Though it is not recommended, you can also use the graphql-tag package to write your queries within your JS file:

import gql from "graphql-tag";

const query = gql`
  query human($id: String!) {
    human(id: $id) {
      name
    }
  }
`;

Within your routes, you can query for data using the RouteQueryManager mixin and watchQuery:

app/routes/some-route.js

import Ember from "ember";
import RouteQueryManager from "ember-apollo-client/mixins/route-query-manager";
import query from "my-app/gql/queries/human";

export default Ember.Route.extend(RouteQueryManager, {
  model(params) {
    let variables = { id: params.id };
    return this.apollo.watchQuery({ query, variables }, "human");
  }
});

This performs a watchQuery on the ApolloClient. The resulting object is an Ember.Object and therefore has full support for computed properties, observers, etc.

If a subsequent query (such as a mutation) happens to fetch the same data while this query's subscription is still active, the object will immediately receive the latest attributes (just like ember-data).

Please note that when using watchQuery, you must unsubscribe when you're done with the query data. You should only have to worry about this if you're using the Apollo service directly. If you use the RouteQueryManager mixin in your routes, or the ComponentQueryManager in your data-loading components, all active watch queries are tracked and unsubscribed when the route is exited or the component destroyed. These mixins work by injecting a query manager named apollo that functions as a proxy to the apollo service.

You can instead use query if you just want a single query with a POJO response and no watch updates.

If you need to access the Apollo Client ObservableQuery, such as for pagination, you can retrieve it from a watchQuery result using getObservable:

import { getObservable } from "ember-apollo-client";

export default Ember.Route.extend(RouteQueryManager, {
  model() {
    let result = this.apollo.watchQuery(...);
    let observable = getObservable(result);
    observable.fetchMore(...) // utilize the ObservableQuery
    ...
  }
});

See the detailed query manager docs for more details on usage, or the Apollo service API if you need to use the service directly.

You can perform a mutation using the mutate method. You can also use GraphQL fragments in your queries. This is especially useful if you want to ensure that you refetch the same attributes in a subsequent query or mutation involving the same model(s).

The following example shows both mutations and fragments in action:

app/gql/fragments/review-fragment.graphql

fragment ReviewFragment on Human {
  stars
  commentary
}

app/gql/mutations/create-review.graphql

#import 'my-app/gql/fragments/review-fragment'

mutation createReview($ep: Episode!, $review: ReviewInput!) {
  createReview(episode: $ep, review: $review) {
    review {
      ...ReviewFragment
    }
  }
}

app/routes/my-route.js

import Ember from "ember";
import mutation from "my-app/gql/mutations/create-review";

export default Ember.Route.extend({
  apollo: Ember.inject.service(),

  model() {
    return Ember.Object.create({});
  },

  actions: {
    createReview(ep, review) {
      let variables = { ep, review };
      return this.get("apollo").mutate({ mutation, variables }, "review");
    }
  }
});

• watchQuery(options, resultKey): This calls the ApolloClient.watchQuery method. It returns a promise that resolves with an Ember.Object. That object will be updated whenever the watchQuery subscription resolves with new data. As before, the resultKey can be used to resolve beneath the root.

  The query manager will automatically unsubscribe from this object.

• query(options, resultKey): This calls the ApolloClient.query method. It returns a promise that resolves with the raw POJO data that the query returns. If you provide a resultKey, the resolved data is grabbed from that key in the result.

• mutate(options, resultKey): This calls the ApolloClient.mutate method. It returns a promise that resolves with the raw POJO data that the mutation returns. As with the query methods, the resultKey can be used to resolve beneath the root.

You should not need to use the Apollo service directly for most regular usage, instead utilizing the RouteQueryManager and ComponentQueryManager mixins. However, you will probably need to customize options on the apollo service, and might need to query it directly for some use cases (such as loading data from a service rather than a route or component).

The apollo service has the following public API:

• clientOptions: This computed property should return the options hash that will be passed to the ApolloClient constructor. You can override this property to configure the client this service uses:

  const OverriddenService = ApolloService.extend({
    clientOptions: computed(function() {
      let opts = this._super(...arguments);
      return merge(opts, {
        dataIdFromObject: customDataIdFromObject
      });
    }),
  });

• middlewares: This computed property provides a list of middlewares to the network interface. You can use the macro middlewares to create your middlewares:

  import middlewares from "ember-apollo-client/utils/middlewares";
  
  const OverriddenService = ApolloService.extend({
    middlewares: middlewares("authorize"),
  
    authorize(req, next) {
      // Authorization logic
      next();
    }
  });

  Or create them on your own:

  const OverriddenService = ApolloService.extend({
    middlewares: computed(function() {
      return [
        { applyMiddleware: (req, next) => this.authorize(req, next) }
      ];
    }),
  
    authorize(req, next) {
      // Authorization logic
      next();
    }
  });

• watchQuery(options, resultKey): This calls the ApolloClient.watchQuery method. It returns a promise that resolves with an Ember.Object. That object will be updated whenever the watchQuery subscription resolves with new data. As before, the resultKey can be used to resolve beneath the root.

  When using this method, it is important to unsubscribe from the query when you're done with it.

• queryOnce(options, resultKey): This calls the ApolloClient.query method. It returns a promise that resolves with the raw POJO data that the query returns. If you provide a resultKey, the resolved data is grabbed from that key in the result.

• mutate(options, resultKey): This calls the ApolloClient.mutate method. It returns a promise that resolves with the raw POJO data that the mutation returns. As with the query methods, the resultKey can be used to resolve beneath the root.

Apollo Client's watchQuery will continue to update the query with new data whenever the store is updated with new data about the resolved objects. This happens until you explicitly unsubscribe from it.

In ember-apollo-client, most unsubscriptions are handled automatically by the RouteQueryManager and ComponentQueryManager mixins, so long as you use them.

If you're fetching data elsewhere, such as in an Ember Service, or if you use the Apollo service directly, you are responsible for unsubscribing from watchQuery results when you're done with them. This is exposed on the result of query via a method _apolloUnsubscribe.

ember-apollo-client does not automatically inject any dependencies into your routes. If you want to inject this mixin into all routes, you should utilize a base route class:

app/routes/base.js

import Ember from "ember";
import RouteQueryManager from "ember-apollo-client/mixins/route-query-manager";

export default Ember.Route.extend(RouteQueryManager);

Then extend from that in your other routes:

app/routes/a-real-route.js

import Base from "my-app/routes/base";

export default Base.extend(
  ...
)

This addon is test-ready! All promises from the apollo service are tracked with Ember.Test.registerWaiter, so your tests should be completely deterministic.

The dummy app contains example routes for mutations and queries:

• Acceptance test for a regular query
• Route integration test for a mutation with a fragment

The tests also contain a sample Star Wars GraphQL schema with an ember-cli-pretender setup for mock data.

• git clone https://github.com/bgentry/ember-apollo-client this repository
• cd ember-apollo-client
• npm install

• ember serve
• Visit your app at http://localhost:4200.

• npm test (Runs ember try:each to test your addon against multiple Ember versions)
• ember test
• ember test --server

• ember build

For more information on using ember-cli, visit https://ember-cli.com/.

A special thanks to the following contributors:

• Dan Freeman (@dfreeman)
• Vinícius Sales (@viniciussbs)
• Laurin Quast (@n1ru4l)
• Elias Balafoutis (@balaf)