Introducing MiraQL — The Next Generation GraphQL GUI
A graphical user interface for GraphQL query testing, performance profiling, and schema visualization
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The world of API architecture has never been the same since Facebook officially announced the release of GraphQL in 2015. Since its inception, GraphQL has skyrocketed in popularity, becoming the industry standard for API designing and development.
GraphQL’s Promises and Flaws
GraphQL brings many benefits as an alternative to REST APIs. It allows its users to send complex, nested queries specifying the exact information they want from a server, and retrieve as much information as they need in a single request, making GraphQL a great tool for applications working with large, dynamic data stacks.
Of course, every technology also has its disadvantages. One of the biggest disadvantages of GraphQL is its lack of error handling. All query responses will return an HTTP status of 200 whether it succeeds or fails.
GraphQL queries can also encounter performance issues if a client asks for too many nested fields at once. It is critical that the user has a thorough understanding of their schema design in order to effectively use GraphQL.
Enter MiraQL
MiraQL, a newly launched open-sourced project, is designed to assist programmers by rendering graphical representations of GraphQL query responses and schemas, and providing a space for performance and speed metrics monitoring. MiraQL is a standalone desktop application that works by receiving query responses from API URLs. Simply enter your API endpoint and query to test your responses.
Features of MiraQL include:
- A GraphQL playground, where users can submit API endpoints in the form of URLs and test their queries and responses. Write and submit queries in the input field to receive responses or errors, and view them in the response and errors tabs.
- An error visualization tab, where users can view any errors in their query response in an intuitive manner. View the status, status code, error type, and error message in an easy to read table.
- A space for schema visualization, which allows users to add in data tables for a graphical representation of all the schema’s fields and relationships that they can then refer to while writing or editing queries.
- Performance metrics monitoring, where users can view data visualizations of query response speeds. Compare the speed of your most recent query to those of all previous query requests made with MiraQL in a line graph that updates every time you submit a query.
Visit our website at miraql.org to learn more. MiraQL is currently in beta, and the engineering team welcomes feedback, questions, and suggestions about our product. If you like our product, please star us on our GitHub page!
The MiraQL Makers
Kristiina Eelnurme | @keelnu
Sabrina Goldfarb | @sgoldfarb2
Jane Kim | @janemkim
Miguel Manalo | @miguelmanalo
Sanaya Mirpuri | @sanayamirpuri
