---
title: Apollo Client
categories:
  - Databases
tags: [graphql]
---

# Apollo Client

Apollo Client is the client-side counterpart to
[Apollo Server](/Databases/GraphQL/Apollo/Apollo_Server.md). We use it for
managing queries and mutations from the frontend to our Apollo GraphQL server.
It is specifically designed to work with React.

> We will be working with the
> [schema](/Databases/GraphQL/Apollo/Apollo_Server.md#example-schema) we defined
> when working on the server

## Initializing the client

We initialise the client and set-up in memory caching to reduce network
requests:

```js
const client = new ApolloClient({
  uri: "http://localhost:4000",
  cache: new InMemoryCache(),
});
```

> The `uri` property must match the location of our Apollo server.

## Utilising the provider

Apollo provides a top level application context that we can wrap our React app
in. This will provide access to the client object from anywhere within the app,
eg:

```jsx
ReactDOM.render(
  <ApolloProvider client={client}>
    <GlobalStyles />
    <Pages />
  </ApolloProvider>,
  document.getElementById("root")
);
```

## Running a query

### Queries as entry points

From the client point of view, the queries in the schema are _entry points_.
Although the queries exist in the schema, this alone is not sufficient for them
to be entry points. Remember a schema is just a specification or contract
between the frontend and the backend, it is not itself executable code.

Therefore, for each query in the schema we must write a frontend implementation.
We do this with **query constants**. The frontend implementation has a backend
analogue: the
[resolver](/Databases/GraphQL/Apollo/Apollo_Server.md#implementing-resolvers)
that is invoked when the frontend issues a query. The schema standardises this
relationship so that every query on the client must have a corresponding
resolver on the backend.

### Query constants

To run a query against our server we must define a query contant first. We use a
`gql` literal again:

```js
import { gql } from "@apollo/client";
const TRACKS = gql`
  query GetTracks {
    tracksForHome {
      id
      title
      thumbnail
      length
      modulesCount
      author {
        name
        photo
      }
    }
  }
`;
```

The convention is to name the query constant in `ALL_CAPS`.

> Note that the name of the query on the client doesn't have to match the query
> type defined in the schema (there is no `GetTracks` in the schema), this is
> just a client-side designator. However it should reference the schema on the
> second line (`tracksForHome`).

### `useQuery` hook

The `useQuery` hook provides a straightforward wrapper for sending queries and
receiving data back from the server.

When a component renders, `useQuery` returns an object from the Apollo Client
that contains loading, error, and data properties.

```jsx
const { loading, error, data } = useQuery(TRACKS);

const Tracks = () => {
  const { loading, error, data } = useQuery(TRACKS);

  if (loading) return "Loading...";

  if (error) return `Error! ${error.message}`;

  return <Layout grid>{JSON.stringify(data)}</Layout>;
};
```

- We destructure the `loading, error, data` variables that are returned from the
  hook
- We pass in our query constant as an argument.
- In the example we just render the serialized data but we could of course pass
  the data as a prop and map through it in an embedded child component.