Setting Up Apollo Server

What you'll walk away with

Explain the core ideas behind Setting Up Apollo Server
Run the sample GraphQL query or code and verify its output
Apply the technique correctly to the Tutorial Platform and production scenarios

Build the mental model

Apollo Server is a Node.js library implementing the GraphQL spec; giving it `typeDefs` (an SDL string) and `resolvers` (an object map) is enough for a working server. The `startStandaloneServer` helper handles HTTP server setup, CORS, and body parsing with sensible defaults, making it the easiest entry point for getting started — production deployments more often integrate with Express or Fastify.

Connect it to a real scenario

Write the Tutorial Platform API with `typeDefs` (a Tutorial type and tutorials query) and `resolvers` (a function reading from an in-memory or database repository), and run it on port 4000. After `npm run dev`, open Apollo Sandbox in the browser to test the query live.

typeDefs plus resolvers make a minimal working server
startStandaloneServer is a getting-started helper
Production more often integrates with Express or Fastify

Try the working example

typescript

import { ApolloServer } from '@apollo/server';
import { startStandaloneServer } from '@apollo/server/standalone';

const typeDefs = `#graphql
  type Tutorial {
    id: ID!
    title: String!
  }

  type Query {
    tutorials: [Tutorial!]!
  }
`;

const resolvers = {
  Query: {
    tutorials: () => tutorialRepository.findAll(),
  },
};

const server = new ApolloServer({ typeDefs, resolvers });
const { url } = await startStandaloneServer(server, { listen: { port: 4000 } });
console.log(`Tutorial Platform API ready at ${url}`);

You should see

You can run a local Apollo Server and issue a query from Apollo Sandbox.

5-minute try-it

Add a `tutorial(id: ID!): Tutorial` field to the `Query` type and write its resolver function.

One important caution

A typo mismatch between a type name in `typeDefs` (`Tutorial`) and the corresponding key in `resolvers` means the server silently falls back to a default resolver instead of calling yours — a hard-to-spot bug.

Apollo Server — Getting Started — GraphQL

Easy traps

A typo mismatch between a type name in `typeDefs` (`Tutorial`) and the corresponding key in `resolvers` means the server silently falls back to a default resolver instead of calling yours — a hard-to-spot bug.
Validate sample queries and mutations on a local or test server with recoverable data before applying them to production.

Exercise

Add a `tutorial(id: ID!): Tutorial` field to the `Query` type and write its resolver function.

You'll know it worked when: You can run a local Apollo Server and issue a query from Apollo Sandbox.