How to Set Up a GraphQL API Server with Node.js

What Is GraphQL?

GraphQL is a query language for APIs that lets clients request exactly the data they need. Setting up a GraphQL server on your Breeze provides a flexible, efficient API layer for your applications.

Prerequisites

• A Breeze running Ubuntu 22.04 or later
• Node.js 18+ installed
• Nginx installed

Step 1: Initialize the Project

mkdir /var/www/graphql-api && cd /var/www/graphql-api
npm init -y
npm install @apollo/server graphql

Step 2: Create the Server

Create index.js:

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

const typeDefs = `#graphql
  type Query {
    hello: String
    users: [User]
  }
  type User {
    id: ID
    name: String
    email: String
  }
`;

const resolvers = {
  Query: {
    hello: () => 'Hello from GraphQL!',
    users: () => [
      { id: 1, name: 'Alice', email: 'alice@example.com' }
    ],
  },
};

const server = new ApolloServer({ typeDefs, resolvers });
const { url } = await startStandaloneServer(server, { listen: { port: 4000 } });
console.log(`GraphQL server ready at ${url}`);

Step 3: Run in Production

pm2 start index.js --name "graphql-api"
pm2 save && pm2 startup

Step 4: Nginx Reverse Proxy

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name api.yourdomain.com;

    location / {
        proxy_pass http://127.0.0.1:4000;
        proxy_set_header Host $host;
        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;
    }
}

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/graphql /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx
sudo certbot --nginx -d api.yourdomain.com

Next Steps

Connect a database with Prisma or TypeORM, add authentication middleware, and use @apollo/server/plugin for caching and rate limiting.