From REST to GraphQL in minutes with prebuilt Connectors

We’ve all been there: vague API docs, an outdated OpenAPI spec, and a half-buried list of endpoints that leave you guessing. With prebuilt REST Connectors, you skip the guesswork. Just download the schema files, run your graph locally, and start querying live data with GraphQL.

In this guide, we’ll use the Space Devs Launch Library 2 in the Connectors Community repo as an example to show how easy it is to integrate a REST API into your graph in minutes and how you can tailor it to meet your needs.

Prerequisites

• Create an Apollo Studio account. This allows you to create and manage your graph, providing the necessary credentials, APOLLO_KEY and APOLLO_GRAPH_REF (more on those later…) which the Apollo Router uses to fetch the supergraph schema and run locally.
• Install and authenticate Rover CLI which we will use for configuring our graph and running Apollo Router locally.

Setup

In your working directory, initialize your schema with:

rover init

Select the option to create a new graph.

Then “Start a graph with one or more REST APIs”.

Next you will name your graph and Rover will generate you a new ID for your graph and APOLLO_KEY.  Once your APOLLO_KEY and GRAPH_REF are generated,you can start the router with the command provided, but I would recommend putting these values in an VSCode > settings.json. The configuration below will ensure these environment variables are loaded into any new VSCode terminal windows you open:

{

 "terminal.integrated.profiles.osx": {

   "graphos": {

     "path": "zsh",

     "args": ["-l"],

     "env": {

       "APOLLO_KEY": "<YOUR_KEY>",

       "APOLLO_GRAPH_REF": "<GRAPH_REF>"

     }

   }

 },

 "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.osx": "graphos"

}

  Rover generated a supergraph.yaml file for you. You can delete this.

Using thespacedevs prebuilt connector

Next, navigate to thespacedevs folder in the Connectors Community repo. This Connector is an implementation of the Space Devs Launch Library 2.  Download all of the graphql files here and the supergraph.yaml.  You can add these to the root of your project folder. Rover generates test schema files and a supergraph. Anything that is duplicated or you do not need can be removed.

Next, open your terminal and run the following.

rover dev --supergraph-config supergraph.yaml

That’s it! Your graph is live at http://localhost:4000. Pop it open in your browser to explore the queries in Apollo Sandbox.

Modifying a prebuilt connector

You can use a prebuilt Connector as is or modify it for your application.  For example, I’d like to add more information about what a valid search string looks like for upcoming launches.

In launches.graphql find the upcoming launches query and place this comment above it.  

"""
Fetches a list of upcoming launches by agency name. 
Try Starlink, Nasa, or Exa for example.
"""
upcomingLaunches(search: String, limit: Int = 5, offset: Int = 0): LaunchConnection

   @connect(

     source: "llv2"

     http: {

       GET: "/launches/upcoming/?search={$args.search}&limit={$args.limit}&offset={$args.offset}&format=json"

     }
...rest of code

Save your file and you will see your new comment as context in the query builder.

What’s Next?

Once you have the prebuilt Connector ready for your use case now you are ready to integrate it to a client.  To continue exploring where to use this Connector, take a look at this tutorial to learn how to replace traditional REST API calls in a React and Next.js application. Or write your very first MCP tool using the Apollo MCP server. There’s even a ready to go example using The Space Devs Api for MCP you can use.

There are many prebuilt Connectors ready to use or extend including Stripe, OpenAI, AWS Lambda, and more.  Motivated to build your own Connectors to share with the community? We welcome contributions! Learn how to submit your Connector in the Connectors Community repo.

Written by

Amanda Martin

Read more by Amanda Martin