Docs
Launch GraphOS Studio

Subscriptions in Apollo Kotlin


are long-lived read that can update their response over time, enabling clients to receive new data as it becomes available.

The spec does not specify a particular protocol to use for . supports the following protocols:

  • WebSocket, using one of the following subprotocols:
    • subscriptions-transport-ws
      (⚠️ not actively maintained!)
    • graphql-ws
    • appsync
      (also uses graphql-ws as
      Sec-WebSocket-Protocol
      )

You must use whichever transport is supported by your GraphQL endpoint.

You define a in your app just like you define a , except you use the subscription keyword. Here's an example for getting the latest value of a number whenever that number is incremented:

subscription NumberIncremented {
numberIncremented
}

Unlike with queries and , a can include only one of the Subscription type. To subscribe to multiple , you create multiple .

Configuring WebSocket subscriptions

By default, uses the

protocol for via the SubscriptionWsProtocol class. This protocol is no longer actively maintained. It remains the default for backward compatibility purposes.

A future version of will change the default to the newer

protocol and GraphQLWsProtocol class. If your server already uses graphql-ws, make sure to
set your WsProtocol to GraphQLWsProtocol
.

To use over WebSocket, use WebSocketNetworkTransport:

val apolloClient = ApolloClient.Builder()
.subscriptionNetworkTransport(
WebSocketNetworkTransport.Builder()
.serverUrl("https://apollo-fullstack-tutorial.herokuapp.com/graphql")
.build()
)
.build()

Note: supports both https:// (or http://) and wss:// (or ws://) protocols. Internally, wss:// is renamed to https:// and which one you use does not matter.

Customizing your WebSocket protocol

By default, uses

for backward compatibility purposes, but it supports all of the following WebSocket subprotocols:

To customize your protocol, use the WsProtocol interface. comes with built-in support for the subprotocols above:

SubprotocolClass
subscriptions-transport-wsSubscriptionWsProtocol (default)
graphql-wsGraphQLWsProtocol
appsyncAppSyncWsProtocol

For example, you can configure a graphql-ws transport like so:

val apolloClient = ApolloClient.Builder()
.subscriptionNetworkTransport(
WebSocketNetworkTransport.Builder()
.protocol(GraphQLWsProtocol.Factory())
.serverUrl("https://apollo-fullstack-tutorial.herokuapp.com/graphql")
.build()
)
.build()

Authentication

Please refer to

about authentication with WebSocket.

Configuring HTTP subscriptions

To use HTTP for , use HttpNetworkTransport like so:

val apolloClient = ApolloClient.Builder()
.subscriptionNetworkTransport(
HttpNetworkTransport.Builder()
.serverUrl("https://apollo-fullstack-tutorial.herokuapp.com/graphql")
.build()
)
.build()

This is the only configuration required. HttpNetworkTransport will use

for and standard POST or GET requests for queries and .

Listening to a subscription

After you configure the NetworkTransport, use ApolloClient.subscribe to open the connection and listen for changes:

apolloClient.subscription(TripsBookedSubscription())
.toFlow()
.collect {
println("trips booked: ${it.data?.tripsBooked}")
}

Because are long-lasting , they return a Flow<Response> instead of a single Response.

Terminating a subscription

Termination is handled through the coroutine scope. Cancel the coroutine to terminate the .

By default, a single WebSocket is shared between all active . When no subscription is active, the WebSocket is closed after a configurable timeout.

Error handling

Like queries, support partial responses with errors, which are emitted in the Flow.

Network errors terminate the Flow, and you need to retry to get new updates. Depending on the situation, retrying might open a new WebSocket or restart the .

See also

about WebSocket errors handling.

Previous
Mutations
Next
GraphQL variables
Edit on GitHubEditForumsDiscord

© 2024 Apollo Graph Inc.

Privacy Policy

Company