Rover CLI
OverviewInstallConfigureProxy ConfigurationCI/CDConventionsPrivacy and Data CollectionContributingError Codes
Commands
api-keyclientcompletionconfigconnectorcontractdevexplaininstallgraphgraph-artifactinitlicensepersisted-queriesreadmeschemasubgraphsupergraphtemplate
The Apollo CLI (deprecated)
InstallationValidating Client OperationsMoving to Rover
Products
Apollo GraphOS PlatformManage, observe, and scale your graph.GraphOS Agent ServicesPreviewGovern how agents access your graph.Apollo ConnectorsConnect REST APIs to your graph declaratively.Apollo FederationFederate multiple subgraphs into a single supergraph.Rover CLIInteract with your graph from the command line.Apollo RouterRun and configure your graph gateway.Apollo OperatorDeploy and manage Apollo Router on Kubernetes.
Open source
Apollo Client (Web)Simplify GraphQL data management in web apps.Apollo iOSSwift-first GraphQL client for iOS.Apollo KotlinKotlin-first GraphQL client for Android and JVM.Apollo ServerBuild GraphQL servers with Node.js.Apollo MCP ServerExpose GraphQL tools to AI agents with MCP.IDE SupportEnhance your development workflow with IDE support.GraphOS Router Support ToolDiagnose and troubleshoot your GraphOS Router.
Resources

Installing Rover

Rover CLI installation guide for Linux, Mac, and Windows

The Rover CLI is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows.

Installation Methods

Linux / MacOS installer

To install or upgrade to the latest release of Rover:

Bash
1curl -sSL https://rover.apollo.dev/nix/latest | sh

To install or upgrade to a specific version of Rover (recommended for CI environments to ensure predictable behavior):

Bash
1# Note the `v` prefixing the version number
2curl -sSL https://rover.apollo.dev/nix/v1.0.0 | sh

If your machine doesn't have the curl command, you can get the latest version from the curl downloads page.

note
The rover supergraph compose command is not yet available for Alpine Linux. You can track the progress for supporting this command on Alpine in this issue.

Windows PowerShell installer

To install or upgrade to the latest release of Rover:

Bash
1iwr 'https://rover.apollo.dev/win/latest' | iex

To install or upgrade to a specific version of Rover (recommended for CI environments to ensure predictable behavior):

Bash
1# Note the `v` prefixing the version number
2iwr 'https://rover.apollo.dev/win/v1.0.0' | iex

Installing from a binary mirror using the bash and PowerShell scripts

Both the bash and powershell scripts support the APOLLO_ROVER_BINARY_DOWNLOAD_PREFIX environment variable, which defaults to https://github.com/apollographql/rover/releases/download.

This can be set in your environment to specify a remote mirror or proxy to a GitHub release download URL for the Apollo Rover GitHub repository.

For example, if your remote host is my-mirror-proxy.com/artifacts/github-com:

  • From a bash shell:

Bash
1# for bash (Mac/Linux)
2export APOLLO_ROVER_BINARY_DOWNLOAD_PREFIX="https://my-mirror-proxy.com/artifacts/github-com/apollographql/rover/releases/download"

  • From a PowerShell:

powershell
1# for PowerShell (Windows)
2$env:APOLLO_ROVER_BINARY_DOWNLOAD_PREFIX = "https://my-mirror-proxy.com/artifacts/github-com/apollographql/rover/releases/download"

This variable also supports basic authentication. Set the format of the URL to https://<username>:<password>@<remote-host>/apollographql/rover/releases/download

Docker image

Starting with Rover v0.39.1, Apollo publishes a Linux container image with each release. The image's default entry point is rover, so any arguments you pass to docker run are forwarded to the CLI. Each version tag is enforced as immutable, so a pinned tag can't change transparently.

Pull from either GitHub Container Registry or Docker Hub:

Bash
1docker pull ghcr.io/apollographql/rover:1.0.0
2# or
3docker pull apollograph/rover:1.0.0

Then run any Rover command:

Bash
1docker run --rm \
2  -e APOLLO_KEY \
3  -v "$PWD:/workspace" -w /workspace \
4  ghcr.io/apollographql/rover:1.0.0 \
5  subgraph check my-graph@prod --name products --schema ./schema.graphql

  • -e APOLLO_KEY forwards your API key from the host environment.

  • -v "$PWD:/workspace" -w /workspace mounts your project so Rover can read your schema files.

Authenticate with a client-credential pair instead of an API key by forwarding APOLLO_CLIENT_ID and APOLLO_CLIENT_SECRET:

Bash
1docker run --rm \
2  -e APOLLO_CLIENT_ID -e APOLLO_CLIENT_SECRET \
3  -v "$PWD:/workspace" -w /workspace \
4  ghcr.io/apollographql/rover:1.0.0 \
5  subgraph check my-graph@prod --name products --schema ./schema.graphql

The image doesn't include any plugins. A plugin installed globally in one docker run is gone by the next, so install plugins into your mounted project instead, where they persist between runs. For example, with a project that declares its plugins in .rover/rover.yaml:

Bash
1docker run --rm \
2  -e APOLLO_ELV2_LICENSE=accept \
3  -v "$PWD:/workspace" -w /workspace \
4  ghcr.io/apollographql/rover:1.0.0 \
5  plugin install

Otherwise, rover supergraph compose and rover dev download each plugin on every run, with a warning. For details, see Automatic downloads. The container runs as a non-root user, so the mounted directory must be writable by it.

This is the recommended way to run Rover in CI on providers that support running steps inside a container image (CircleCI, Bitbucket Pipelines, GitLab CI/CD, Jenkins with a Docker agent, and so on). See the CI/CD guide for end-to-end examples.

npm installer

Rover is distributed on npm for integration with your JavaScript projects. Rover's Node dependency follows LTS versions where possible unless security concerns justify an earlier upgrade.

caution
This installation method is provided for convenience in projects that are already in the Node ecosystem. Apollo does not recommend it otherwise, as it exposes your installation to npm's surface area of potential supply-chain attacks. Rover's npm installation script has been minimized to reduce that surface, but it still represents nonzero risk. For other use cases, prefer the Linux/MacOS installer, the Windows PowerShell installer, or the Docker image.

Installing from a mirror

The npm package doesn't download anything when it's installed. The Rover binary for your platform comes from an npm package of its own, such as @apollo/rover-aarch64-apple-darwin, which npm installs as a dependency of @apollo/rover. To install from a private network, mirror these packages in your npm registry.

Rover's plugins, such as supergraph and router, are downloaded from https://rover.apollo.dev when you install or first use them. To download them from a mirror instead, set the APOLLO_ROVER_DOWNLOAD_HOST environment variable or pass --download-host. This applies both to rover plugin install and to the automatic downloads that rover supergraph compose and rover dev make. If you've turned automatic downloads off, those commands use only plugins that are already installed, so install them ahead of time with rover plugin install.

To resolve a floating version such as latest or 2, Rover reads the X-Version: vX.X.X header from the mirror's response, so your mirror must pass it through. To avoid needing the header, install exact versions, such as rover plugin install supergraph@=2.9.3. With automatic downloads, pin the versions rover dev uses with the APOLLO_ROVER_DEV_COMPOSITION_VERSION, APOLLO_ROVER_DEV_ROUTER_VERSION, and APOLLO_ROVER_DEV_MCP_VERSION environment variables. For more details, see versioning for rover dev.

devDependencies install

Run the following to install rover as one of your project's devDependencies:

Bash
1npm install --save-dev @apollo/rover

You can then call rover <parameters> directly in your package.json scripts, or you can run npx -p @apollo/rover rover <parameters> in your project directory to execute commands.

note
When using npx, the -p @apollo/rover argument is necessary to specify that the @apollo/rover package provides the rover command. See npx's documentation for more information.
caution
Running Rover directly via npx (without first installing it as a devDependency) bypasses lockfiles — including Rover's own — and is the highest-risk install path in terms of supply-chain exposure. Prefer installing @apollo/rover as a devDependency so the resolved version is captured in your project's lockfile.

Global install

To install rover globally so you can use it from any directory on your machine, run the following:

Bash
1npm install -g @apollo/rover
note
If you've installed npm without a version manager such as nvm, you might have trouble with global installs. If you encounter an EACCES permission-related error while trying to install globally, DO NOT run the install command with sudo. This support page has information that should help resolve this issue.

Binary download

You can also download the Rover binary for your operating system and manually add its location to your PATH.

Unofficial methods

There are a few additional installation methods maintained by the community:

  1. Homebrew

  2. Nix

Next steps

After installing Rover, you can set up shell completion for bash or zsh to enable tab completion for Rover commands. See the completion command documentation for instructions.

Connecting to GraphOS

After you install Rover, you should authenticate it with GraphOS, because many of its commands communicate with GraphOS.

Run the following command:

shell
1rover auth login

This command opens your browser so you can log in to GraphOS and authorize Rover. On a machine without a browser, such as over SSH, run rover auth login --no-browser instead. Rover prints a URL and a code to enter from any device. For more information, see the rover auth commands.

If you'd rather use a personal API key, run rover config auth instead. It tells you where to obtain a key and saves it to a configuration profile.

Either way, Rover stores the credential in your operating system's keychain, where one is available. See where Rover stores configuration.

In CI and other automation, provide a credential with environment variables instead: APOLLO_KEY for an API key, or APOLLO_CLIENT_ID and APOLLO_CLIENT_SECRET for a client-credential pair. See Choosing a credential and Configuring Rover.