Full-Stack GraphQL with Apollo & NextJS — Part 1: Setup

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Learning GraphQL is not easy. Even though the concepts sound simple at first (“just request the data that you want”), there is actually a large amount of complexity hidden behind the slick marketing message.

Part of the struggle is setting up an environment to test your new skills in. Sure, you can play around with some Client-Side GraphQL syntax in Github’s GraphQL Explorer, but that is one tiny piece of a much bigger puzzle.

• How do you actually request data from the Client? (Queries)
• How do you update state in the Client when that data changes?
• How do you detect in other components when that state has changed?
• How do you go about making changes to the data on the Server? (Mutations)

These questions are just the tip of the iceberg — after all, they don’t even discuss Server-Side GraphQL code…

What You Should Know Before Reading This Article

You should know at least basic Client-Side GraphQL syntax, and concepts like Queries and Mutations.