---
title: Getting Started With GraphQL.js
sidebarTitle: Getting Started
---

import { Tabs } from 'nextra/components';

{/* title can be removed in Nextra 4, since sidebar title will take from first h1 */}

# Getting Started With GraphQL.js

## Prerequisites

Before getting started, you should have Node.js 22 or newer installed. For this
guide, we won't use any language features that require transpilation, but we
will use some ES6 features like [Promises](http://web.dev/articles/promises/),
classes, and arrow functions, so if you aren't familiar with them you might want
to read up on them first.

> Alternatively you can start from [this StackBlitz](https://stackblitz.com/edit/stackblitz-starters-znvgwr) - if you choose
> this route you can skip to [Basic Types](./basic-types.mdx).

GraphQL.js v17 is the current stable release. GraphQL.js v16 remains available
for projects that still need older Node.js versions.

## Setting Up Your Project

To create a new project and install the latest stable release (v17) in your
current directory:

```sh npm2yarn
npm init -y
npm install graphql --save
```

After running these commands, you'll have:

- `package.json` - your project configuration file
- `node_modules/` - directory where npm packages are installed

Next, you need to configure your project to support ES6 import/export syntax.
Update your `package.json` to include `"type": "module"`:

```json
{
  "type": "module",
  "name": "graphql-starter",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  ...
}
```

To install the latest v16 release instead, use the v16 package tag:

```sh npm2yarn
npm install graphql@16 --save
```

## Writing Code

To handle GraphQL queries, we need a schema that defines the `Query` type, and we need an API root with a function called a "resolver" for each API endpoint. For an API that just returns "Hello world!", create a file named `server.js` in your project root (the same directory as your `package.json`):

<Tabs items={['SDL', 'Code']}>
  <Tabs.Tab>

```javascript
import { graphql, buildSchema } from 'graphql';

// Construct a schema, using GraphQL schema language
const schema = buildSchema(`type Query { hello: String } `);

// The rootValue provides a resolver function for each API endpoint
const rootValue = {
  hello() {
    return 'Hello world!';
  },
};

// Run the GraphQL query '{ hello }' and print out the response
graphql({
  schema,
  source: '{ hello }',
  rootValue,
}).then((response) => {
  console.log(response);
});
```

</Tabs.Tab>
<Tabs.Tab>

```javascript
import {
  graphql,
  GraphQLSchema,
  GraphQLObjectType,
  GraphQLString,
} from 'graphql';

// Construct a schema
const schema = new GraphQLSchema({
  query: new GraphQLObjectType({
    name: 'Query',
    fields: {
      hello: {
        type: GraphQLString,
        resolve: () => 'Hello world!',
      },
    },
  }),
});

graphql({
  schema,
  source: '{ hello }',
}).then((response) => {
  console.log(response);
});
```

</Tabs.Tab>
</Tabs>

If you run this with:

```sh
node server.js
```

You should see the GraphQL response printed out:

```json
{
  "data": {
    "hello": "Hello world!"
  }
}
```

Congratulations - you just executed a GraphQL query!

For practical applications, you'll probably want to run GraphQL queries from an API server, rather than executing GraphQL with a command line tool. To use GraphQL for an API server over HTTP, check out [Running an Express GraphQL Server](./running-an-express-graphql-server).