GraphQL HTTP — Get & Post

GraphQL is a popular open-source method for manipulating API’s. Graphs provide a natural way to map relationships and hierarchies in data, and “QL” stands for Query Language.

Queries

Here is an example of a simple GraphQL Query:

In this particular script I am specifying that I want to get a list of all cars, and specifically each car’s make, model, year, and color.

Mutations

Below is an example of a simple GraphQL Mutation. Mutations refer to modifications in the data that return values, such as inserts, updates, and deletes.

In this mutation query, I am adding a new car to my existing list of cars.

Query with HTTP GET

In some situations, it may be useful to list data from an API over HTTP GET. See an example of the original GraphQL Query above in HTTP:

Mutation with HTTP POST

HTTP POSTS are not available through a direct URL query, since URL’s don’t allow the POST method. However, tools such as Postman or shell scripts allow for testing a cURL POST. In the code below is a demonstration of a basic cURL script executing the GraphQL mutation above:

Conclusion

Hopefully this has been helpful! I had a situation where I needed to access graphQL via HTTP, and I was able to piece together some information I had on GraphQL, shell scripts, and HTTP. This puts the knowledge all in one place.