Building GraphQL APIs With The Neo4j GraphQL Library

Neo4j Aura is a managed cloud service that provides hosted Neo4j database instances. It offers a free tier suitable for development and hobby projects, as well as professional and enterprise tiers for production applications.

To set up a Neo4j Aura instance, go to dev.neo4j.com/neo4j-aura, sign in with Google or create a username and password, and choose the AuraDB free instance. Be sure to copy and save the password provided during setup.

The Neo4j GraphQL Library is a Node.js JavaScript library that simplifies building GraphQL APIs backed by Neo4j. It supports GraphQL-first development, generates CRUD operations, and allows adding custom logic using Cypher or custom resolvers.

Custom logic can be added to a Neo4j GraphQL API using Cypher schema directives or custom resolvers. Cypher directives allow embedding Cypher queries directly in the GraphQL schema, while custom resolvers provide more flexibility for implementing complex logic.

Cypher schema directives are annotations in the GraphQL schema that specify custom Cypher queries to be executed. These directives can be used to add custom logic for fields, queries, and mutations, integrating seamlessly with the generated Cypher queries.

The auth schema directive in the Neo4j GraphQL Library is used to define authorization rules for types and fields in the GraphQL schema. These rules ensure that only authenticated users with specific roles or conditions can access or modify certain data.

JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) are a way to securely transmit information between parties as a JSON object. In Neo4j GraphQL, JWTs are used to verify user authentication and authorization. Claims in the JWT can be matched against database values to enforce access control rules defined in the auth schema directive.

Yes, you can project custom objects in a Neo4j GraphQL API using Cypher schema directives. These directives allow you to write Cypher queries that return custom objects, which can be mapped to types defined in the GraphQL schema.

GraphQL Playground is an in-browser tool for querying and introspecting GraphQL APIs. It provides features like autocompletion, documentation browsing, and the ability to execute queries and mutations, making it useful for exploring and testing GraphQL APIs.

Authorization in a Neo4j GraphQL API is handled using the auth schema directive. This directive allows defining rules based on JSON Web Tokens (JWTs) to protect types and fields. Rules can include checks for authentication, roles, and specific conditions matching JWT claims to database values.