pomelchenko/yii2-graphql

facebook graphql server side for yii2 php framework

0.16.1 2025-12-03 15:34 UTC

Requires

• php: >=7.4.0
• ecodev/graphql-upload: ^6
• laminas/laminas-diactoros: ^2.17
• webonyx/graphql-php: ^14
• yiisoft/yii2: ~2.0.10

Requires (Dev)

• phpstan/phpstan: ^2.1
• phpunit/phpunit: ^9.6
• squizlabs/php_codesniffer: ^3.10
• yidas/yii2-composer-bower-skip: ^2.0

BSD-3-Clause

• Pavel Omelchenko
• QingShan li

• yii2
• graphql

README

Using Facebook GraphQL PHP server implementation. Extends graphql-php to apply to YII2.

Languages: English | Русский | 中文

Originally created by tsingsun; continued development in this fork.

Features

• Configuration includes simplifying the definition of standard graphql protocols.
• Based on the full name defined by the type, implementing on-demand loading and lazy loading, and no need to define all type definitions into the system at load.
• Mutation input validation support.
• Provide controller integration and authorization support.

Install

Using composer

composer require pomelchenko/yii2-graphql

Requires PHP ≥ 7.4 and is tested against webonyx/graphql-php 14.x and ecodev/graphql-upload 6.1.x.

Development

Run PHP_CodeSniffer and PHPStan locally before opening PRs:

composer lint

# See all warnings (line length, legacy bootstrap, etc.)
composer lint:strict

# Static analysis
composer stan

Type

The type system is the core of GraphQL, which is embodied in GraphQLType. By deconstructing the GraphQL protocol and using the graph-php library to achieve fine-grained control of all elements, it is convenient to extend the class according to its own needs

The main elements of GraphQLType

The following elements can be declared in the $attributes property of the class, or as a method, unless stated otherwise. This also applies to all elements after this.

Element	Type	Description
name	string	Required Each type needs to be named, with unique names preferred to resolve potential conflicts. The property needs to be defined in the $attributes property.
description	string	A description of the type and its use. The property needs to be defined in the $attributes property.
fields	array	Required The included field content is represented by the fields() method.
resolveField	callback	function($value, $args, $context, GraphQL\Type\Definition\ResolveInfo $info) For the interpretation of a field. For example: the fields definition of the user property, the corresponding method is resolveUserField(), and $value is the passed type instance defined by type.

Query

GraphQLQuery and GraphQLMutation inherit GraphQLField. The element structure is consistent, and if you would like a reusable Field, you can inherit it. Each query of Graphql needs to correspond to a GraphQLQuery object

The main elements of GraphQLField

Element	Type	Description
type	ObjectType	For the corresponding query type. The single type is specified by GraphQL::type, and a list by Type::listOf(GraphQL::type).
args	array	The available query parameters, each of which is defined by Field.
resolve	callback	function($value, $args, $context, GraphQL\Type\Definition\ResolveInfo $info) $value is the root data, $args is the query parameters, $context is the yii\web\Application object, and $info resolves the object for the query. The root object is handled in this method.

Mutation

Definition is similar to GraphQLQuery, please refer to the above.

Inline query definitions

If you prefer not to create a dedicated GraphQLQuery class, schema entries may also be declared as plain arrays using the same structure that webonyx/graphql-php expects. Provide the type, args, and resolver (closure, callable array, etc.) directly in the configuration. GraphQL::type() can be referenced even before Yii::$app is instantiated, so simply pass the resulting Type:

'schema' => [
    'query' => [
        'me' => [
            'type' => GraphQL::type(UserType::class),
            'args' => [
                'id' => ['type' => Type::id()],
            ],
            'resolve' => [UserResolver::class, 'resolveMe'],
        ],
    ],
],

This is useful for simple fields or when you already have reusable resolver classes. For more complex logic you can still rely on dedicated GraphQLQuery/GraphQLMutation classes so that type(), args(), resolve() and rules() remain encapsulated.

Simplified Field Definition

Simplifies the declarations of Field, removing the need to defined as an array with the type key.

Standard Definition

//...
'id' => [
    'type' => Type::id(),
],
//...

Simplified Definition

//...
'id' => Type::id(),
//...

Yii Implementation

General configuration

JsonParser configuration required

'components' => [
    'request' => [
        'parsers' => [
            'application/json' => \yii\web\JsonParser::class,
        ],
    ],
];

Module support

Can easily be implemented by extending yii\graphql\GraphQLModule (or implementing GraphQLModuleInterface and using the trait). The trait is responsible for initialization.

class MyModule extends \yii\graphql\GraphQLModule
{
}

In your application configuration file:

'modules'=>[
    'moduleName ' => [
        'class' => 'path\to\module'
        //graphql config
        'schema' => [
            'query' => [
                'user' => \app\graphql\query\UsersQuery::class
            ],
            'mutation' => [
                'login'
            ],
            // you do not need to set the types if your query contains interfaces or fragments
            // the key must same as your defined class
            'types' => [
                'Story' => \yiiunit\extensions\graphql\objects\types\StoryType::class
            ],
        ],
    ],
];

Use the controller to receive requests by using yii\graphql\GraphQLAction

class MyController extends Controller
{
    function actions()
    {
        return [
            'index' => [
                'class' => \yii\graphql\GraphQLAction::class,
            ],
        ];
    }
}

Component Support

also you can include the trait with your own components,then initialization yourself.

'components' => [
    'componentsName' => [
        'class' => 'path\to\components'
        //graphql config
        'schema' => [
            'query' => [
                'user' => \app\graphql\query\UsersQuery::class
            ],
            'mutation' => [
                'login'
            ],
            // you do not need to set the types if your query contains interfaces or fragments
            // the key must same as your defined class
            'types'=>[
                'Story' => \yiiunit\extensions\graphql\objects\types\StoryType::class,
            ],
        ],
    ],
];

Input validation

Validation rules are supported. In addition to graphql based validation, you can also use Yii Model validation, which is currently used for the validation of input parameters. The rules method is added directly to the mutation definition.

public function rules() 
{
    return [
        ['password', 'boolean'],
    ];
}

Mutation validation helper

GraphQLMutation ships with the yii\graphql\traits\ShouldValidate trait. Whenever your mutation defines rules() (same format as a regular Yii model), the trait wraps the resolver and calls DynamicModel::validateData() before resolve() executes. If validation fails, an InvalidParamException is thrown automatically and the resolver is not executed.

use yii\graphql\base\GraphQLMutation;
use GraphQL\Type\Definition\Type;

class UpdatePasswordMutation extends GraphQLMutation
{
    public function type()
    {
        return Type::boolean();
    }

    public function args()
    {
        return [
            'password' => ['type' => Type::nonNull(Type::string())],
        ];
    }

    public function rules()
    {
        return [
            ['password', 'string', 'min' => 12],
        ];
    }

    public function resolve($root, $args)
    {
        // Arguments are already validated here.
        // ...
        return true;
    }
}

Custom validators, inline callbacks, and any other Yii rule syntax are fully supported, so you can reuse existing validation logic without duplicating it inside resolvers.

Authorization verification

Since graphql queries can be combined, such as when a query merges two query, and the two query have different authorization constraints, custom authentication is required. I refer to this query as "graphql actions"; when all graphql actions conditions are configured, it passes the authorization check.

Authenticate

In the behavior method of controller, the authorization method is set as follows

function behaviors() 
{
    return [
        'authenticator' => [
            'class' => \yii\graphql\filter\auth\CompositeAuth::class,
            'authMethods' => [
                \yii\filters\auth\QueryParamAuth::class,
            ],
            'except' => ['hello'],
        ],
    ];
}

If you want to support IntrospectionQuery authorization, the corresponding graphql action is __schema

Authorization

If the user has passed authentication, you may want to check the access for the resource. You can use GraphqlAction's checkAccess method in the controller. It will check all graphql actions.

class GraphqlController extends Controller
{
    public function actions() 
    {
        return [
            'index' => [
                'class' => \yii\graphql\GraphQLAction::class,
                'checkAccess'=> [$this,'checkAccess'],
            ]
        ];
    }

    /**
     * authorization
     * @param $actionName
     * @throws \yii\web\ForbiddenHttpException
     */
     public function checkAccess($actionName)
     {
         $permissionName = $this->module->id . '/' . $actionName;
         $pass = Yii::$app->getAuthManager()->checkAccess(Yii::$app->user->id, $permissionName);
         if (!$pass) {
             throw new \yii\web\ForbiddenHttpException('Access Denied');
         }
    }
}

Multipart upload support

GraphQLAction detects operations/map payloads and delegates parsing to ecodev/graphql-upload. Ensure multipart/form-data requests include those keys so uploaded files are injected into GraphQL variables.

Testing

Run the test suite locally or via Docker:

docker compose up -d --build
docker compose exec app composer install
docker compose exec app composer test
docker compose exec app composer test-coverage

This exercises the GraphQL facade, controller action, upload middleware, and custom types to guard against regressions when dependencies are upgraded.

GitLab release pipeline

When this repository is mirrored into GitLab (Settings → Repository → Mirroring repositories) and the Trigger pipelines when updates are mirrored option is enabled, the bundled .gitlab-ci.yml automatically runs whenever a tag arrives. The single publish_package job uses the GitLab Packages API plus the job token to update your private Composer registry entry based on CI_COMMIT_TAG.

Steps to keep releases automated:

1. Configure mirroring (or push from GitHub Actions) so GitLab sees every new tag.
2. Enable the “trigger pipelines” flag on the mirror or push directly so GitLab CI starts for mirrored updates.
3. Create/push a semantic tag like v0.15.2; once the mirror updates, the pipeline publishes that version to the Composer registry without extra manual jobs or variables.

Demo

Creating queries based on graphql protocols

Each query corresponds to a GraphQLQuery file.

class UserQuery extends GraphQLQuery
{
    public function type()
    {
        return GraphQL::type(UserType::class);
    }

    public function args()
    {
        return [
            'id'=>[
                'type' => Type::nonNull(Type::id())
            ],
        ];
    }

    public function resolve($value, $args, $context, ResolveInfo $info)
    {
        return DataSource::findUser($args['id']);
    }
}

Define type files based on query protocols

class UserType extends GraphQLType
{
    protected $attributes = [
        'name'=>'user',
        'description'=>'user is user'
    ];

    public function fields()
    {
        $result = [
            'id' => [
                'type'=>Type::id()
            ],
            'email' => Types::email(),
            'email2' => Types::email(),
            'photo' => [
                'type' => GraphQL::type(ImageType::class),
                'description' => 'User photo URL',
                'args' => [
                    'size' => Type::nonNull(GraphQL::type(ImageSizeEnumType::class)),
                ]
            ],
            'firstName' => [
                'type' => Type::string(),
            ],
            'lastName' => [
                'type' => Type::string(),
            ],
            'lastStoryPosted' => GraphQL::type(StoryType::class),
            'fieldWithError' => [
                'type' => Type::string(),
                'resolve' => function() {
                    throw new \Exception("This is error field");
                }
            ]
        ];
        return $result;
    }

    public function resolvePhotoField(User $user,$args)
    {
        return DataSource::getUserPhoto($user->id, $args['size']);
    }

    public function resolveIdField(User $user, $args)
    {
        return $user->id.'test';
    }

    public function resolveEmail2Field(User $user, $args)
    {
        return $user->email2.'test';
    }
}

Query instance

'hello' => '
    query hello {
        hello
    }
',
'singleObject' => '
    query user {
        user(id:"2") {
            id
            email
            email2
            photo(size:ICON) {
                id
                url
            }
            firstName
            lastName
        }
    }
',
'multiObject' => '
    query multiObject {
        user(id: "2") {
            id
            email
            photo(size:ICON) {
                id
                url
            }
        }
        stories(after: "1") {
            id
            author{
                id
            }
            body
        }
    }
',
'updateObject' => '
    mutation updateUserPwd{
        updateUserPwd(id: "1001", password: "123456") {
            id,
            username
        }
    }
'

Exception Handling

You can config the error formater for graph. The default handle uses yii\graphql\ErrorFormatter, which optimizes the processing of Model validation results.

'modules' => [
    'moduleName' => [
       'class' => 'path\to\module'
       'errorFormatter' => [\yii\graphql\ErrorFormatter::class, 'formatError'],
    ],
];

Future

• ActiveRecord tool for generating query and mutation class.
• Some of the special syntax for graphql, such as @Directives, has not been tested