GraphQL (Prisma ORM v6) (/docs/orm/v6/overview/prisma-in-your-stack/graphql)

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This page gives explains how to build GraphQL servers with Prisma ORM. It shows how Prisma ORM fits into the GraphQL ecosystem and provides practical examples.

Location: ORM > v6 > Core Concepts > Prisma in Your Stack > GraphQL

GraphQL is a query language for APIs. It is often used as an alternative to RESTful APIs, but can also be used as an additional "gateway" layer on top of existing RESTful services.

With Prisma ORM, you can build GraphQL servers that connect to a database. Prisma ORM is completely agnostic to the GraphQL tools you use. When building a GraphQL server, you can combine Prisma ORM with tools like Apollo Server, GraphQL Yoga, TypeGraphQL, GraphQL.js, or any other tool or library in your GraphQL server setup.

A GraphQL server consists of two major components:

• GraphQL schema (type definitions + resolvers)
• HTTP server

Note that a GraphQL schema can be written code-first or SDL-first. Check out this article to learn more about these two approaches. If you like the SDL-first approach but still want to make your code type-safe, check out GraphQL Code Generator to generate various type definitions based on SDL.

The GraphQL schema and HTTP server are typically handled by separate libraries. Here is an overview of current GraphQL server tools and their purpose:

In addition to these standalone and single-purpose libraries, there are several projects building integrated application frameworks:

Note: If you notice any GraphQL libraries/frameworks missing from the list, please let us know.

The following table lists several ready-to-run examples that show how to use Prisma ORM with different combinations of the tools mentioned in the table above.

No matter which of the above GraphQL tools/libraries you use, Prisma ORM is used inside your GraphQL resolvers to connect to your database. It has the same role that any other ORM or SQL query builder would have inside your resolvers.

In the resolver of a GraphQL query, Prisma ORM typically reads data from the database to return it in the GraphQL response. In the resolver of a GraphQL mutation, Prisma ORM typically also writes data to the database (e.g. creating new or updating existing records).

Prisma curates GraphQL Weekly, a newsletter highlighting resources and updates from the GraphQL community. Subscribe to keep up-to-date with GraphQL articles, videos, tutorials, libraries, and more.

• Fullstack: This page gives explains how to build fullstack applications with Prisma. It shows how Prisma fits in with fullstack frameworks and provides practical examples
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• REST: This page gives an overview of the most important things when building REST APIs with Prisma. It shows practical examples and the supported libraries.