Making a GraphQL Server (with Apollo)

Building a GraphQL Server with Apollo

Now it's time to get hands-on! In this episode, we'll build a GraphQL server from scratch using Apollo Server — the most popular GraphQL server library for Node.js.

Project Setup

First, create a new project and install the dependencies:

mkdir graphql-server
cd graphql-server
npm init -y
npm install @apollo/server graphql

Update your package.json to use ES modules:

{
  "type": "module"
}

Creating the Server

Create an index.js file with a basic Apollo Server:

import { ApolloServer } from '@apollo/server';
import { startStandaloneServer } from '@apollo/server/standalone';

// Type Definitions (Schema)
const typeDefs = `#graphql
  type Game {
    id: ID!
    title: String!
    platform: [String!]!
  }

  type Query {
    games: [Game]
  }
`;

// Sample data
let games = [
  { id: "1", title: "Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom", platform: ["Switch"] },
  { id: "2", title: "Final Fantasy XVI", platform: ["PS5", "PC"] },
  { id: "3", title: "Elden Ring", platform: ["PS5", "Xbox", "PC"] },
];

// Resolvers
const resolvers = {
  Query: {
    games() {
      return games;
    },
  },
};

// Start the server
const server = new ApolloServer({
  typeDefs,
  resolvers,
});

const { url } = await startStandaloneServer(server, {
  listen: { port: 4000 },
});

console.log(`🚀 Server ready at ${url}`);

Running the Server

node index.js

Visit http://localhost:4000 in your browser. You'll see the Apollo Sandbox — an interactive query editor. Try this query:

{
  games {
    id
    title
    platform
  }
}

How It Works

The Apollo Server needs two main things:

1. Type Definitions (Schema) — describes the shape of your data and what queries are available
2. Resolvers — functions that return the actual data for each field in the schema

The flow is:

Client sends query → Apollo Server parses it → Matches to resolvers → Returns data

The Apollo Sandbox

Apollo Server v4 comes with a built-in sandbox at the server URL. Features include:

• Auto-complete — suggests fields as you type
• Schema explorer — browse your entire API schema
• Query history — saves your previous queries
• Response viewer — formatted JSON response

Project Structure

For a well-organized project, consider this structure:

graphql-server/
├── index.js          # Server entry point
├── schema.js         # Type definitions
├── resolvers.js      # Resolver functions
├── data.js           # Sample data / DB connection
└── package.json

Key Takeaways

• Apollo Server is the most popular GraphQL server for Node.js
• A GraphQL server needs type definitions (schema) and resolvers
• Apollo Sandbox provides an interactive query editor
• The server runs on a single endpoint

In the next episode, we'll dive deep into Schema & Types to understand the GraphQL type system.