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Local resolvers

Manage local data with GraphQL like resolvers


📄 NOTE: We recommend using policies instead of local as described in Local-only fields.

Local support will be moved out of the core of in a future major release. The same or similar functionality will be available via ApolloLink, as described in this issue.

We've learned how to manage remote data from our with , but what should we do with our local data? We want to be able to access boolean flags and device API results from multiple components in our app, but don't want to maintain a separate Redux or MobX store. Ideally, we would like the Apollo cache to be the single source of truth for all data in our client application.

(>= 2.5) has built-in local state handling capabilities that allow you to store your local data inside the Apollo cache alongside your remote data. To access your local data, just it with . You can even request local and server data within the same query!

In this section, you'll learn how can help simplify local state management in your app. We'll cover how client-side can help us execute local queries and . You'll also learn how to and update the cache with the @client .

Please note that this documentation is intended to be used to familiarize yourself with 's local state management capabilities, and serve as a reference guide. If you're looking for a step by step tutorial outlining how to handle local state with Apollo Client (and leverage other Apollo components to build a fullstack application), please refer to the full-stack quickstart course.

Updating local state

There are two main ways to perform local state . The first way is to directly write to the cache by calling cache.writeQuery. Direct writes are great for one-off that don't depend on the data that's currently in the cache, such as writing a single value. The second way is by leveraging the useMutation hook with a that calls a local client-side . We recommend using resolvers if your mutation depends on existing values in the cache, such as adding an item to a list or toggling a boolean.

Direct writes

Direct writes to the cache do not require a or a function. They leverage your instance directly by accessing the client property returned from the useApolloClient hook, made available in the useQuery hook result, or within the render prop function of the ApolloConsumer component. We recommend using this strategy for simple writes, such as writing a string, or one-off writes. It's important to note that direct writes are not implemented as under the hood, so you shouldn't include them in your schema. They also do not validate that the data you're writing to the cache is in the shape of valid GraphQL data. If either of these features are important to you, you should opt to use a local instead.

import React from "react";
import { useApolloClient } from "@apollo/client";
import Link from "./Link";
function FilterLink({ filter, children }) {
const client = useApolloClient();
return (
<Link
onClick={() => client.writeQuery({
query: gql`query GetVisibilityFilter { visibilityFilter }`,
data: { visibilityFilter: filter },
})}
>
{children}
</Link>
);
}

The ApolloConsumer render prop function is called with a single value, the instance. You can think of the ApolloConsumer component as being similar to the Consumer component from the React context API. From the client instance, you can directly call client.writeQuery and pass in the data you'd like to write to the cache.

What if we want to immediately subscribe to the data we just wrote to the cache? Let's create an active property on the link that marks the link's filter as active if it's the same as the current visibilityFilter in the cache. To immediately subscribe to a client-side , we can use useQuery. The useQuery hook also makes the client instance available in its result object.

import React from "react";
import { gql, useQuery } from "@apollo/client";
import Link from "./Link";
const GET_VISIBILITY_FILTER = gql`
query GetVisibilityFilter {
visibilityFilter @client
}
`;
function FilterLink({ filter, children }) {
const { data, client } = useQuery(GET_VISIBILITY_FILTER);
return (
<Link
onClick={() => client.writeQuery({
query: GET_VISIBILITY_FILTER,
data: { visibilityFilter: filter },
})}
active={data.visibilityFilter === filter}
>
{children}
</Link>
)
}

You'll notice in our that we have a @client next to our visibilityFilter . This tells to fetch the field data locally (either from the cache or using a local ), instead of sending it to our . Once you call client.writeQuery, the result on the render prop function will automatically update. All cache writes and reads are synchronous, so you don't have to worry about loading state.

Local resolvers

If you'd like to implement your local state update as a , then you'll need to specify a function in your local map. The resolver map is an object with resolver functions for each GraphQL . To visualize how this all lines up, it's useful to think of a GraphQL or mutation as a tree of function calls for each . These function calls resolve to data or another function call. So when a GraphQL query is run through , it looks for a way to essentially run functions for each field in the query. When it finds an @client on a , it turns to its internal map looking for a function it can run for that field.

To help make local more flexible, the signature of a resolver function is the exact same as resolver functions on the server built with Apollo Server. Let's recap the four parameters of a function:

fieldName: (obj, args, context, info) => result;
  1. obj: The object containing the result returned from the on the parent or the ROOT_QUERY object in the case of a top-level or .
  2. args: An object containing all of the passed into the . For example, if you called a with updateNetworkStatus(isConnected: true), the args object would be { isConnected: true }.
  3. context: An object of contextual information shared between your React components and your network stack. In addition to any custom context properties that may be present, local always receive the following:
    • context.client: The instance.
    • context.cache: The Apollo Cache instance, which can be used to manipulate the cache with context.cache.readQuery, .writeQuery, .readFragment, .writeFragment, .modify, and .evict. You can learn more about these methods in Managing the cache.
    • context.getCacheKey: Get a key from the cache using a __typename and id.
  4. info: Information about the execution state of the . You will probably never have to use this one.

Let's take a look at an example of a where we toggle a todo's completed status:

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache } from '@apollo/client';
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache: new InMemoryCache(),
resolvers: {
Mutation: {
toggleTodo: (_root, variables, { cache }) => {
cache.modify({
id: cache.identify({
__typename: 'TodoItem',
id: variables.id,
}),
fields: {
completed: value => !value,
},
});
return null;
},
},
},
});

In previous versions of , toggling the completed status of the TodoItem required reading a from the cache, modifying the result by negating the completed boolean, and then writing the back into the cache. 3.0 introduced the cache.modify method as an easier and faster way to update specific within a given object. To determine the ID of the entity, we pass the __typename and primary key of the object to cache.identify method.

Once we toggle the completed , since we don't plan on using the 's return result in our UI, we return null since all types are nullable by default.

Let's learn how to trigger our toggleTodo from our component:

import React from "react"
import { gql, useMutation } from "@apollo/client";
const TOGGLE_TODO = gql`
mutation ToggleTodo($id: Int!) {
toggleTodo(id: $id) @client
}
`;
function Todo({ id, completed, text }) {
const [toggleTodo] = useMutation(TOGGLE_TODO, { variables: { id } });
return (
<li
onClick={toggleTodo}
style={{
textDecoration: completed ? "line-through" : "none",
}}
>
{text}
</li>
);
}

First, we create a that takes the todo's id we want to toggle as its only . We indicate that this is a local mutation by marking the with a @client . This will tell to call our local toggleTodo in order to resolve the . Then, we create a component with useMutation just as we would for a remote . Finally, pass in your mutation to your component and trigger it from within the UI in your render prop function.

Querying local state

for local data is very similar to querying your . The only difference is that you add a @client on your local to indicate they should be resolved from the cache or a local function. Let's look at an example:

import React from "react";
import { gql, useQuery } from "@apollo/client";
import Todo from "./Todo";
const GET_TODOS = gql`
query GetTodos {
todos @client {
id
completed
text
}
visibilityFilter @client
}
`;
function TodoList() {
const { data: { todos, visibilityFilter } } = useQuery(GET_TODOS);
return (
<ul>
{getVisibleTodos(todos, visibilityFilter).map(todo => (
<Todo key={todo.id} {...todo} />
))}
</ul>
);
}

Here we create our and add @client to todos and visibilityFilter. We then pass the to the useQuery hook. The @client here let useQuery component know that todos and visibilityFilter should be pulled from the cache or resolved using pre-defined local . The following sections help explain how both options work in more detail.

⚠️ Since the above query runs as soon as the component is mounted, what do we do if there are no todos in the cache or there aren't any local resolvers defined to help calculate todos? We need to write an initial state to the cache before the is run to prevent it from erroring out. Refer to the Initializing the cache section below for more information.

Initializing the cache

Often, you'll need to write an initial state to the cache so any components data before a is triggered don't error out. To accomplish this, you can use cache.writeQuery to prep the cache with initial values.

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache } from '@apollo/client';
const cache = new InMemoryCache();
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache,
resolvers: { /* ... */ },
});
cache.writeQuery({
query: gql`
query GetTodosNetworkStatusAndFilter {
todos
visibilityFilter
networkStatus {
isConnected
}
}
`,
data: {
todos: [],
visibilityFilter: 'SHOW_ALL',
networkStatus: {
__typename: 'NetworkStatus',
isConnected: false,
},
},
});

Sometimes you may need to reset the store in your application, when a user logs out for example. If you call client.resetStore anywhere in your application, you will likely want to initialize your cache again. You can do this using the client.onResetStore method to register a callback that will call cache.writeQuery again.

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache } from '@apollo/client';
const cache = new InMemoryCache();
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache,
resolvers: { /* ... */ },
});
function writeInitialData() {
cache.writeQuery({
query: gql`
query GetTodosNetworkStatusAndFilter {
todos
visibilityFilter
networkStatus {
isConnected
}
}
`,
data: {
todos: [],
visibilityFilter: 'SHOW_ALL',
networkStatus: {
__typename: 'NetworkStatus',
isConnected: false,
},
},
});
}
writeInitialData();
client.onResetStore(writeInitialData);

Local data query flow

When a containing @client is executed, runs through a few sequential steps to try to find a result for the @client . Let's use the following to walk through the local data look up flow:

const GET_LAUNCH_DETAILS = gql`
query LaunchDetails($launchId: ID!) {
launch(id: $launchId) {
isInCart @client
site
rocket {
type
}
}
}
`;

This includes a mixture of both remote and local . isInCart is the only marked with an @client , so it's the we'll focus on. When executes this and tries to find a result for the isInCart , it runs through the following steps:

  1. Has a function been set (either through the ApolloClient constructor resolvers parameter or 's setResolvers / addResolvers methods) that is associated with the name isInCart? If yes, run and return the result from the function.
  2. If a matching function can't be found, check the cache to see if a isInCart value can be found directly. If so, return that value.

Let's look at both of these steps more closely.

Handling @client fields with resolvers

Local are very similar to remote resolvers. Instead of sending your to a remote GraphQL endpoint, which then runs resolver functions against your query to populate and return a result set, runs locally defined resolver functions against any marked with the @client . Let's look at an example:

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache, HttpLink, gql } from '@apollo/client';
const GET_CART_ITEMS = gql`
query GetCartItems {
cartItems @client
}
`;
const cache = new InMemoryCache();
cache.writeQuery({
query: GET_CART_ITEMS,
data: {
cartItems: [],
},
});
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache,
link: new HttpLink({
uri: 'http://localhost:4000/graphql',
}),
resolvers: {
Launch: {
isInCart: (launch, _args, { cache }) => {
const { cartItems } = cache.readQuery({ query: GET_CART_ITEMS });
return cartItems.includes(launch.id);
},
},
},
});
const GET_LAUNCH_DETAILS = gql`
query LaunchDetails($launchId: ID!) {
launch(id: $launchId) {
isInCart @client
site
rocket {
type
}
}
}
`;
// ... run the query using client.query, a <Query /> component, etc.

Here when the GET_LAUNCH_DETAILS is executed, looks for a local associated with the isInCart . Since we've defined a local for the isInCart in the ApolloClient constructor, it finds a it can use. This resolver function is run, then the result is calculated and merged in with the rest of the result (if a local resolver can't be found, will check the cache for a matching - see Local data query flow for more details).

Setting through ApolloClient's constructor resolvers parameter, or through its setResolvers / addResolvers methods, adds to 's internal resolver map (refer to the Local resolvers section for more details concerning the map). In the above example we added a isInCart , for the Launch , to the map. Let's look at the isInCart function more closely:

resolvers: {
Launch: {
isInCart: (launch, _args, { cache }) => {
const { cartItems } = cache.readQuery({ query: GET_CART_ITEMS });
return cartItems.includes(launch.id);
},
},
},

launch holds the data returned from the server for the rest of the , which means in this case we can use launch to get the current id. We aren't using any in this , so we can skip the second resolver parameter. From the context however (the third parameter), we're using the cache reference, to work directly with the cache ourselves. So in this , we're making a call directly to the cache to get all cart items, checking to see if any of those loaded cart items matches the parent launch.id, and returning true / false accordingly. The returned boolean is then incorporated back into the result of running the original .

Just like on the server, local resolvers are extremely flexible. They can be used to perform any kind of local computation you want, before returning a result for the specified . You can manually (or write to) the cache in different ways, call other helper utilities or libraries to prep/validate/clean data, track statistics, call into other data stores to prep a result, etc.

Integrating @client into remote queries

While ’s local state handling features can be used to work with local state exclusively, most Apollo based applications are built to work with remote . To address this, Apollo Client supports mixing @client based local with remote queries, as well as using @client based as to remote queries, in the same request.

The @client can be used on any selection set or , to identify that the result of that field should be loaded locally with the help of a local :

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache, HttpLink, gql } from '@apollo/client';
const MEMBER_DETAILS = gql`
query Member {
member {
name
role
isLoggedIn @client
}
}
`;
const client = new ApolloClient({
link: new HttpLink({ uri: 'http://localhost:4000/graphql' }),
cache: new InMemoryCache(),
resolvers: {
Member: {
isLoggedIn() {
return someInternalLoginVerificationFunction();
}
}
},
});
// ... run the query using client.query, the <Query /> component, etc.

When the above MEMBER_DETAILS is fired by (assuming we're talking to a network based API), the @client isLoggedIn is first stripped from the , and the remaining is sent over the network to the API. After the query has been handled by the remote and the result is passed back to from the API, the @client parts of the original are then run against any defined local , their results are merged with the network results, and the final resulting data is returned as the response to the original . So in the above example, isLoggedIn is stripped before the rest of the is sent and handled by the network API, then when the results come back isLoggedIn is calculated by running the isLoggedIn() function from the map. Local and network results are merged together, and the final response is made available to the application.

The @client can be used with entire selection sets as well:

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache, HttpLink, gql } from '@apollo/client';
const MEMBER_DETAILS = gql`
query Member {
member {
name
role
session @client {
isLoggedIn
connectionCount
errors
}
}
}
`;
const client = new ApolloClient({
link: new HttpLink({ uri: 'http://localhost:4000/graphql' }),
cache: new InMemoryCache(),
resolvers: {
Member: {
session() {
return {
__typename: 'Session',
isLoggedIn: someInternalLoginVerificationFunction(),
connectionCount: calculateOpenConnections(),
errors: sessionError(),
};
}
}
},
});

supports the merging of local @client results and remote results for Queries, and .

Async local resolvers

supports asynchronous local functions. These functions can either be async functions or ordinary functions that return a Promise. Asynchronous are useful when they need to return data from an asynchronous API.

⚠️ If you would like to hit a REST endpoint from your resolver, we recommend checking out apollo-link-rest instead, which is a more complete solution for using REST endpoints with .

For React Native and most browser APIs, you should set up a listener in a component lifecycle method and pass in your trigger function as the callback instead of using an async . However, an async function is often the most convenient way to consume asynchronous device APIs:

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache } from '@apollo/client';
import { CameraRoll } from 'react-native';
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache: new InMemoryCache(),
resolvers: {
Query: {
async cameraRoll(_, { assetType }) {
try {
const media = await CameraRoll.getPhotos({
first: 20,
assetType,
});
return {
...media,
id: assetType,
__typename: 'CameraRoll',
};
} catch (e) {
console.error(e);
return null;
}
},
},
},
});

CameraRoll.getPhotos() returns a Promise resolving to an object with an edges property, which is an array of camera node objects, and a page_info property, which is an object with pagination information. This is a great use case for , since we can filter down the return value to only the data that our components consume.

import { gql } from "@apollo/client";
const GET_PHOTOS = gql`
query GetPhotos($assetType: String!) {
cameraRoll(assetType: $assetType) @client {
id
edges {
node {
image {
uri
}
location {
latitude
longitude
}
}
}
}
}
`;

Handling @client fields with the cache

As outlined in Handling @client fields with resolvers, @client can be resolved with the help of local functions. However, it's important to note that local resolvers are not always required when using an @client . marked with @client can still be resolved locally, by pulling matching values out of the cache directly. For example:

import React from "react";
import ReactDOM from "react-dom";
import {
ApolloClient,
InMemoryCache,
HttpLink,
ApolloProvider,
useQuery,
gql
} from "@apollo/client";
import Pages from "./pages";
import Login from "./pages/login";
const cache = new InMemoryCache();
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache,
link: new HttpLink({ uri: "http://localhost:4000/graphql" }),
resolvers: {},
});
const IS_LOGGED_IN = gql`
query IsUserLoggedIn {
isLoggedIn @client
}
`;
cache.writeQuery({
query: IS_LOGGED_IN,
data: {
isLoggedIn: !!localStorage.getItem("token"),
},
});
function App() {
const { data } = useQuery(IS_LOGGED_IN);
return data.isLoggedIn ? <Pages /> : <Login />;
}
ReactDOM.render(
<ApolloProvider client={client}>
<App />
</ApolloProvider>,
document.getElementById("root"),
);

In the above example, we first prep the cache using cache.writeQuery to store a value for the isLoggedIn . We then run the IS_LOGGED_IN via an useQuery hook, which includes an @client . When executes the IS_LOGGED_IN , it first looks for a local that can be used to handle the @client . When it can't find one, it falls back on trying to pull the specified field out of the cache. So in this case, the data value returned by the useQuery hook has a isLoggedIn property available, which includes the isLoggedIn result (!!localStorage.getItem('token')) pulled directly from the cache.

⚠️ If you want to use Apollo Client's @client support to the cache without using local , you must pass an empty object into the ApolloClient constructor resolvers option. Without this will not enable its integrated @client support, which means your @client based queries will be passed to the link chain. You can find more details about why this is necessary here.

Pulling @client values directly out of the cache isn't quite as flexible as local functions, since local resolvers can perform extra computations before returning a result. Depending on your application's needs however, loading @client directly from the cache might be a simpler option. doesn't restrict combining both approaches, so feel free to mix and match. If the need arises, you can pull some @client values from the cache, and resolve others with local , all in the same .

Working with fetch policies

Before executes a , one of the first things it does is check to see which fetchPolicy it has been configured to use. It does this so it knows where it should attempt to resolve the from first, either the cache or the network. When running a query, treats @client based local just like it does remote resolvers, in that it will adhere to its defined fetchPolicy to know where to attempt to pull data from first. When working with local , it's important to understand how fetch policies impact the running of resolver functions, since by default local resolver functions are not run on every request. This is because the result of running a local resolver is cached with the rest of the result, and pulled from the cache on the next request. Let's look at an example:

import React, { Fragment } from "react";
import { useQuery, gql } from "@apollo/client";
import { Loading, Header, LaunchDetail } from "../components";
import { ActionButton } from "../containers";
export const GET_LAUNCH_DETAILS = gql`
query LaunchDetails($launchId: ID!) {
launch(id: $launchId) {
isInCart @client
site
rocket {
type
}
}
}
`;
export default function Launch({ launchId }) {
const { loading, error, data } = useQuery(
GET_LAUNCH_DETAILS,
{ variables: { launchId } }
);
if (loading) return <Loading />;
if (error) return <p>ERROR: {error.message}</p>;
return (
<Fragment>
<Header image={data.launch.mission.missionPatch}>
{data.launch.mission.name}
</Header>
<LaunchDetail {...data.launch} />
<ActionButton {...data.launch} />
</Fragment>
);
}

In the above example we're using an useQuery hook to run the GET_LAUNCH_DETAILS . The @client based isInCart is configured to pull its data from the following :

import { GET_CART_ITEMS } from './pages/cart';
export const resolvers = {
Launch: {
isInCart: (launch, _, { cache }) => {
const { cartItems } = cache.readQuery({ query: GET_CART_ITEMS });
return cartItems.includes(launch.id);
},
},
};

Let's assume we're starting with an empty cache. Since we haven't specified a fetchPolicy prop in our useQuery call, we're using 's default cache-first fetchPolicy. This means when the GET_LAUNCH_DETAILS is run, it checks the cache first to see if it can find a result. It's important to note that when the cache is checked the entire query is run against the cache, but any @client associated local are skipped (not run). So the cache is queried with the following (it's as if the @client was never specified):

launch(id: $launchId) {
isInCart
site
rocket {
type
}
}

In this case a result can't be extracted from the cache (since our cache is empty), so behind the scenes moves further down the execution path. At its next step, it essentially splits the original query into two parts - the part that has @client and the part that will be fired over the network. Both parts are then executed - results are fetched from the network, and results are calculated by running local . The results from the local resolvers and from the network are then merged together, and the final result is written to the cache and returned. So after our first run, we now have a result in the cache for the original , that includes data for both the @client parts and network parts of the .

When the GET_LAUNCH_DETAILS is run a second time, again since we're using 's default fetchPolicy of cache-first, the cache is checked first for a result. This time a full result can be found for the , so that result is returned through our useQuery call. Our @client local aren't fired since the result we're looking for can already be extracted from the cache.

In a lot of situations treating local just like remote resolvers, by having them adhere to the same fetchPolicy, makes a lot of sense. Once you have the data you're looking for, which might have been fetched remotely or calculated using a local , you can cache it and avoid recalculating/re-fetching it again on a subsequent request. But what if you're using local resolvers to run calculations that you need fired on every request? There are a few different ways this can be handled. You can switch your to use a fetchPolicy that forces your entire to run on each request, like no-cache or network-only. This will make sure your local fire on every request, but it will also make sure your network based components fire on every request. Depending on your use case this might be okay, but what if you want the network parts of your query to leverage the cache, and just want your @client parts to run on every request? We'll cover a more flexible option for this in the Forcing resolvers with @client(always: true) section.

Forcing resolvers with @client(always: true)

leverages its cache to help reduce the network overhead required when constantly making requests for the same data. By default, @client based leverage the cache in the exact same manner as remote fields. After a local is run, its result is cached alongside any remote results. This way the next time a is fired that can find its results in the cache, those results are used, and any associated local resolvers are not fired again (until the data is either removed from the cache or the query is updated to use a no-cache or network-only fetchPolicy).

While leveraging the cache for both local and remote results can be super helpful in a lot of cases, it's not always the best fit. We might want to use a local to calculate a dynamic value that needs to be refreshed on every request, while at the same time continue to use the cache for the network based parts of our . To support this use case, 's @client accepts an always , that when set to true will ensure that the associated local is run on every request. Looking at an example:

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache, gql } from '@apollo/client';
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache: new InMemoryCache(),
resolvers: {
Query: {
isLoggedIn() {
return !!localStorage.getItem('token');
},
},
},
});
const IS_LOGGED_IN = gql`
query IsUserLoggedIn {
isLoggedIn @client(always: true)
}
`;
// ... run the query using client.query, a <Query /> component, etc.

The isLoggedIn above is checking to see if an authentication token exists in localStorage. In this example, we want to make sure that every time the IS_LOGGED_IN is executed, the isLoggedIn local is also fired, so that we have the most up to date login information. To do this, we're using a @client(always: true) in the , for the isLoggedIn . If we didn't include always: true, then the local would fire based on the queries fetchPolicy, which means we could be getting back a cached value for isLoggedIn. Using @client(always: true) ensures that we're always getting the direct result of running the associated local .

⚠️ Please consider the impact of using @client(always: true) carefully. While forcing a local to run on every request can be useful, if that resolver is computationally expensive or has side effects, you could be negatively impacting your application. We recommend leveraging the cache as much as possible when using local resolvers, to help with application performance. @client(always: true) is helpful to have in your tool-belt, but letting local adhere to a fetchPolicy should be the preferred choice.

While @client(always: true) ensures that a local is always fired, it's important to note that if a is using a fetchPolicy that leverages the cache first (cache-first, cache-and-network, cache-only), the is still attempted to be resolved from the cache first, before the local is fired. This happens because @client(always: true) use could be mixed with normal @client use in the same , which means we want part of the query to adhere to the defined fetchPolicy. The benefit of this is that anything that can be loaded from the cache first is made available to your @client(always: true) function, as its first parameter. So even though you've used @client(always: true) to identify that you want to always run a specific , within that resolver you can look at the loaded cache values for the , and decide if you want to proceed with running the resolver.

Using @client fields as variables

provides a way to use an @client result as a for a selection set or field, in the same . So instead of running an @client based first, getting the local result, then running a second query using the loaded local result as a , everything can be handled in one request. This is achieved by combining the @client with the @export(as: "variableName") :

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache, HttpLink, gql } from '@apollo/client';
const query = gql`
query CurrentAuthorPostCount($authorId: Int!) {
currentAuthorId @client @export(as: "authorId")
postCount(authorId: $authorId)
}
`;
const cache = new InMemoryCache();
const client = new ApolloClient({
link: new HttpLink({ uri: 'http://localhost:4000/graphql' }),
cache,
resolvers: {},
});
cache.writeQuery({
query: gql`query GetCurrentAuthorId { currentAuthorId }`,
data: {
currentAuthorId: 12345,
},
});
// ... run the query using client.query, the <Query /> component, etc.

In the example above, currentAuthorId is first loaded from the cache, then passed into the subsequent postCount as the authorId (specified by the @export(as: "authorId") ). The @export can also be used on specific within a selection set, like:

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache, HttpLink, gql } from '@apollo/client';
const query = gql`
query CurrentAuthorPostCount($authorId: Int!) {
currentAuthor @client {
name
authorId @export(as: "authorId")
}
postCount(authorId: $authorId)
}
`;
const cache = new InMemoryCache();
const client = new ApolloClient({
link: new HttpLink({ uri: 'http://localhost:4000/graphql' }),
cache,
resolvers: {},
});
cache.writeQuery({
query: gql`
query GetCurrentAuthor {
currentAuthor {
name
authorId
}
}
`,
data: {
currentAuthor: {
__typename: 'Author',
name: 'John Smith',
authorId: 12345,
},
},
});
// ... run the query using client.query, the <Query /> component, etc.

Here the authorId is set from the authorId loaded from the cache stored currentAuthor. @export use isn't limited to remote queries; it can also be used to define variables for other @client or selection sets:

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache, HttpLink, gql } from '@apollo/client';
const query = gql`
query CurrentAuthorPostCount($authorId: Int!) {
currentAuthorId @client @export(as: "authorId")
postCount(authorId: $authorId) @client
}
`;
const cache = new InMemoryCache();
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache,
resolvers: {
Query: {
postCount(_, { authorId }) {
return authorId === 12345 ? 100 : 0;
},
},
},
});
cache.writeQuery({
query: gql`{ currentAuthorId }`,
data: {
currentAuthorId: 12345,
},
});
// ... run the query using client.query, the <Query /> component, etc.

So here the currentAuthorId is loaded from the cache, then passed into the postCount local as authorId.

A few important notes about @export use:

  1. currently only supports using the @export to store for local data. @export must be used with @client.

  2. @client @export use might appear to go against the specification, given that the execution order of an looks like it could affect the result. From the Normal and Serial Execution section of the spec:

    ... the resolution of other than top‐level fields must always be side effect‐free and idempotent, the execution order must not affect the result, and hence the server has the freedom to execute the field entries in whatever order it deems optimal.

    currently only supports the use of the @export when mixed with the @client . It prepares @export by first running through an that has @client @export , extracting the specified @export , then attempting to resolve the value of those variables from the local cache or local . Once a map of variable names to local values is built up, that map is then used to populate the variables passed in when running the server based . The execution order of the server based GraphQL query is not impacted by @export use; the are prepped and organized before the server runs, so the specification is being followed.

  3. If you define multiple @export that use the same name, in a single , the value of the last @export will be used as the variable value moving forward. When this happens will log a warning message (dev only).

Managing the cache

When you're using to work with local state, your Apollo cache becomes the single source of truth for all of your local and remote data. The Apollo cache API has several methods that can assist you with updating and retrieving data. Let's walk through the most relevant methods, and explore some common use cases for each one.

cache.writeQuery

The easiest way to update the cache is with cache.writeQuery. Here's how you use it in your map for a simple update:

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache } from '@apollo/client';
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache: new InMemoryCache(),
resolvers: {
Mutation: {
updateVisibilityFilter: (_, { visibilityFilter }, { cache }) => {
cache.writeQuery({
query: gql`query GetVisibilityFilter { visibilityFilter }`,
data: {
__typename: 'Filter',
visibilityFilter,
},
});
},
},
},
};

The cache.writeFragment method allows you to pass in an optional id property to write a to an existing object in the cache. This is useful if you want to add some client-side to an existing object in the cache.

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache } from '@apollo/client';
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache: new InMemoryCache(),
resolvers: {
Mutation: {
updateUserEmail: (_, { id, email }, { cache }) => {
cache.writeFragment({
id: cache.identify({ __typename: "User", id }),
fragment: gql`fragment UserEmail on User { email }`,
data: { email },
});
},
},
},
};

The cache.writeQuery and cache.writeFragment methods should cover most of your needs; however, there are some cases where the data you're writing to the cache depends on the data that's already there. In that scenario, you can either use a combination of cache.read{Query,Fragment} followed by cache.write{Query,Fragment}, or use cache.modify({ id, fields }) to update specific within the object identified by id.

writeQuery and readQuery

Sometimes, the data you're writing to the cache depends on data that's already in the cache; for example, you're adding an item to a list or setting a property based on an existing property value. In that case, you should use cache.modify to update specific existing . Let's look at an example where we add a todo to a list:

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache, gql } from '@apollo/client';
let nextTodoId = 0;
const cache = new InMemoryCache();
cache.writeQuery({
query: gql`query GetTodos { todos { ... } }`,
data: { todos: [] },
});
const client = new ApolloClient({
resolvers: {
Mutation: {
addTodo: (_, { text }, { cache }) => {
const query = gql`
query GetTodos {
todos @client {
id
text
completed
}
}
`;
const previous = cache.readQuery({ query });
const newTodo = { id: nextTodoId++, text, completed: false, __typename: 'TodoItem' };
const data = {
todos: [...previous.todos, newTodo],
};
cache.writeQuery({ query, data });
return newTodo;
},
},
},
});

In order to add our todo to the list, we need the todos that are currently in the cache, which is why we call cache.readQuery to retrieve them. cache.readQuery will throw an error if the data isn't in the cache, so we need to provide an initial state. This is why we're calling cache.writeQuery with the empty array of todos after creating the InMemoryCache.

writeFragment and readFragment

cache.readFragment is similar to cache.readQuery except you pass in a . This allows for greater flexibility because you can read from any entry in the cache as long as you have its cache key. In contrast, cache.readQuery only lets you read from the root of your cache.

Let's go back to our previous todo list example and see how cache.readFragment can help us toggle one of our todos as completed.

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache } from '@apollo/client';
const client = new ApolloClient({
resolvers: {
Mutation: {
toggleTodo: (_, variables, { cache }) => {
const id = `TodoItem:${variables.id}`;
const fragment = gql`
fragment CompleteTodo on TodoItem {
completed
}
`;
const todo = cache.readFragment({ fragment, id });
const data = { ...todo, completed: !todo.completed };
cache.writeFragment({ fragment, id, data });
return null;
},
},
},
});

In order to toggle our todo, we need the todo and its status from the cache, which is why we call cache.readFragment and pass in a to retrieve it. The id we're passing into cache.readFragment refers to its cache key. If you're using the InMemoryCache and not overriding the dataIdFromObject config property, your cache key should be __typename:id.

Advanced

Code splitting

Depending on the complexity and size of your local , you might not always want to define them up front, when you create your initial ApolloClient instance. If you have local that are only needed in a specific part of your application, you can leverage 's addResolvers and setResolvers functions to adjust your map at any point. This can be really useful when leveraging techniques like route based code-splitting, using something like react-loadable.

Let's say we're building a messaging app and have a /stats route that is used to return the total number of messages stored locally. If we use react-loadable to load our Stats component like:

import Loadable from 'react-loadable';
import Loading from './components/Loading';
export const Stats = Loadable({
loader: () => import('./components/stats/Stats'),
loading: Loading,
});

and wait until our Stats component is called to define our local (using addResolvers):

import React from "react";
import { ApolloConsumer, useApolloClient, useQuery, gql } from "@apollo/client";
const GET_MESSAGE_COUNT = gql`
query GetMessageCount {
messageCount @client {
total
}
}
`;
const resolvers = {
Query: {
messageCount: (_, args, { cache }) => {
// ... calculate and return the number of messages in
// the cache ...
return {
total: 123,
__typename: "MessageCount",
};
},
},
};
export function MessageCount() {
const client = useApolloClient();
client.addResolvers(resolvers);
const { loading, data: { messageCount } } = useQuery(GET_MESSAGE_COUNT);
if (loading) return "Loading ...";
return (
<p>
Total number of messages: {messageCount.total}
</p>
);
};

our local code will only be included in the bundle a user downloads when (if) they access /stats. It won't be included in the initial application bundle, which helps keep the size of our initial bundle down, and ultimately helps with download and application startup times.

API

local state handling is baked in, so you don't have to install anything extra. Local state management can be configured during ApolloClient instantiation (via the ApolloClient constructor) or by using the ApolloClient local state API. Data in the cache can be managed through the ApolloCache API.

ApolloClient

Constructor

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache } from '@apollo/client';
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache: new InMemoryCache(),
resolvers: { ... },
typeDefs: { ... },
});
OptionTypeDescription
resolvers?Resolvers | Resolvers[]A map of resolver functions that your GraphQL queries and mutations call in order to read and write to the cache.
typeDefs?string | string[] | DocumentNode | DocumentNode[];<string>A string representing your client-side schema written in the Schema Definition Language. This schema is not used for validation, but is used for introspection by the Apollo Client Devtools.

None of these options are required. If you don't specify anything, you will still be able to use the @client to the cache.

Methods

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache, HttpLink } from '@apollo/client';
const client = new ApolloClient({
cache: new InMemoryCache(),
link: new HttpLink({ uri: 'http://localhost:4000/graphql' }),
});
client.setResolvers({ ... });
MethodDescription
addResolvers(resolvers: Resolvers | Resolvers[])A map of resolver functions that your GraphQL queries and mutations call in order to read and write to the cache. Resolver functions added through addResolvers are added to the internal resolver function map, meaning any existing resolvers (that aren't overwritten) are preserved.
setResolvers(resolvers: Resolvers | Resolvers[])A map of resolver functions that your GraphQL queries and mutations call in order to read and write to the cache. Resolver functions added through setResolvers overwrite all existing resolvers (a pre-existing resolver map is wiped out, before the new resolvers are added).
getResolversGet the currently defined resolver map.
setLocalStateFragmentMatcher(fragmentMatcher: FragmentMatcher)Set a custom FragmentMatcher to be used when resolving local state queries.

Typescript interfaces/types:

interface Resolvers {
[key: string]: {
[field: string]: (
rootValue?: any,
args?: any,
context?: any,
info?: any,
) => any;
};
}
type FragmentMatcher = (
rootValue: any,
typeCondition: string,
context: any,
) => boolean;

ApolloCache

Methods

import { InMemoryCache } from '@apollo/client';
const cache = new InMemoryCache();
cache.writeQuery({
query: gql`query MyQuery {
isLoggedIn,
cartItems
}`,
data: {
isLoggedIn: !!localStorage.getItem('token'),
cartItems: [],
},
});
MethodDescription
writeQuery({ query, variables, data })Writes data to the root of the cache using the specified query to validate that the shape of the data you’re writing to the cache is the same as the shape of the data required by the query. Great for prepping the cache with initial data.
readQuery({ query, variables })Read data from the cache for the specified query.
writeFragment({ id, fragment, fragmentName, variables, data })Similar to writeQuery (writes data to the cache) but uses the specified fragment to validate that the shape of the data you’re writing to the cache is the same as the shape of the data required by the fragment.
readFragment({ id, fragment, fragmentName, variables })Read data from the cache for the specified fragment.

Deprecation notice

The idea of using client side to manage local state was first introduced into the ecosystem through the apollo-link-state project. The team is always looking for ways to improve local state handling, so we decided to bring local and @client support into the core directly, in version 2.5. While managing state with local works well, the functionality offered by apollo-link-state, and then from directly, was originally designed with certain imposed limitations due to its distance from the Apollo Client cache. 's don't have direct access to the cache, which means apollo-link-state had to implement an approach that couldn't feed or hook into the cache as seamlessly as we would have liked. The local support merged into the core in version 2.5 was essentially a mirror of the Link approach, with a few adjustments to tie into the cache a little more closely. This means Apollo Client's local resolver approach is still a bit limited when it comes to being able to work with the cache more closely, and ultimately providing a better developer experience.

To help address limitations in the local API, we have designed and implemented a new approach for managing local state in 3.0, that works as a direct extension of the cache. policies and reactive not only help provide a better developer experience from an API use and functionality point of view, but they also improve performance and provide a more reliable foundation for local state management. Re-thinking local state handling with the Apollo Client cache in mind has helped reduce a large number of local state bugs caused by local resolvers being a few too many layers removed from the cache internals.

The managing state with field policies section goes into more detail around what 3's new local state management capabilities look like. We highly recommend reviewing and considering the use of these new API's as a replacement for local . Local resolvers are still supported in Apollo Client 3 but will be moved out of the core module in a future major release.

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