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The Deploy Only Setup uses the Apollo GraphOS Operator solely for supergraph deployment. All subgraphs are published externally via rover subgraph publish and the Supergraph resource directly references a graph variant in Apollo GraphOS.
How It Works
The Operator's Role
The Apollo GraphOS Operator has a limited scope:
No Subgraph Management: The Operator doesn't manage Subgraph resources
Direct Graph Reference: Supergraph directly references a graph variant in Apollo GraphOS
Kubernetes Deployment: The Operator only handles supergraph deployment in Kubernetes
When to Use This Pattern
Use this pattern when:
All subgraphs are published via rover
You have external CI/CD workflows for subgraph publishing
You want Kubernetes supergraph benefits without operator-managed subgraphs
You're not ready for operator-managed subgraphs
Key Configuration
Supergraph with Direct Graph Reference
1apiVersion: apollographql.com/v1alpha4
2kind: Supergraph
3metadata:
4 name: retail-supergraph
5spec:
6 graphRef: retail-app@current # Direct reference to graph variant
7 # No selectors for Subgraph resources in the clusterExternal Subgraph Publishing
1# Standard rover publishing workflow
2rover subgraph publish retail-app@current \
3 --name products \
4 --schema ./schema.graphql \
5 --routing-url https://products-service.example.com/graphql \
6 --apollo-key $APOLLO_KEYWhat's Different About This Pattern
No Local Subgraph Management
No Subgraph resources in cluster
No SupergraphSchema resources
No local subgraph discovery
Studio Authoritative
External publishing workflows required
Fastest deployment path
External monitoring and health checks
Limited Operator Scope
Operator focuses only on supergraph deployment
No automatic subgraph discovery
No real-time schema synchronization
Reduced operator capabilities
Supergraph CD Pattern
Operator triggers deployments when schemas change in GraphOS
Contrasts with Router hot reloads
Kubernetes-native deployment management