In this chapter, you will learn how to set up a GraphQL server using Node.js and Express. We have already covered some basic concepts and carried out an initial setup in previous chapters, but now we will delve deeper into how to build a complete and functional server.

Installing Essential Dependencies

Make sure you have the following dependencies installed, which are necessary to set up a GraphQL server:

bash

Creating a Project from Scratch

If you haven't created a project before, follow these steps to set up a basic environment:

bash

Installing Babel

To write modern JavaScript code, we will install Babel:

bash

Next, create a .babelrc file in the root of your project with the following configuration:

json

Now you can use Babel to run your server from the command line:

bash

Basic Server Setup

Create the main directories and files:

Defining the Schema in schema.js

We are going to create a basic schema that includes queries and mutations to handle users:

javascript

Defining the Resolvers in resolvers.js

The resolvers will be the functions that handle the logic for the queries and mutations defined in the schema:

javascript

Server Configuration in server.js

Set up the server to use GraphQL and the resolvers:

javascript

Running the Server

To run the server with Babel, use the following command:

bash

You should see a message like "GraphQL server running at http://localhost:4000/graphql". You can open this URL in your browser to access GraphiQL.

[Placeholder: Screenshot showing GraphiQL open at http://localhost:4000/graphql, with example queries and mutations]

Functionality Test

Test some queries and mutations from GraphiQL to verify that everything is working correctly.

Queries

graphql

graphql

Mutations

graphql

graphql

graphql

Summary

In this chapter, we set up a complete GraphQL server using Node.js and Express, defined a basic schema, implemented resolvers, and verified their functionality. With this basic server, we are ready to explore more in-depth schema and type definitions in GraphQL in the next chapter.