Orionjs schemas automatically integrate with GraphQL, providing a seamless type-safe experience from your database to your API.

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Basic Integration

When you define a schema with schemaWithName(), it can be used directly in GraphQL resolvers:

import {schemaWithName, InferSchemaType} from '@orion-js/schema'
import {createQuery, Resolvers} from '@orion-js/graphql'

export const UserSchema = schemaWithName('UserSchema', {
  _id: {type: String},
  name: {type: String},
  email: {type: String, optional: true},
  createdAt: {type: Date}
})

export type UserType = InferSchemaType<typeof UserSchema>

@Resolvers()
class UserResolvers {
  @Query()
  getUser = createQuery({
    params: {
      userId: {type: String}
    },
    returns: UserSchema,
    resolve: async ({userId}) => {
      // Query implementation
      return user // This will be validated against UserSchema
    }
  })
}

Orionjs will automatically:

  1. Generate the GraphQL type for UserSchema
  2. Validate the resolver’s return value against the schema
  3. Convert any special types (like dates) to the appropriate GraphQL format

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GraphQL Schema Customization

You can customize how a schema appears in GraphQL:

import {schemaWithName} from '@orion-js/schema'

export const ProductSchema = schemaWithName('ProductSchema', {
  _id: {type: String},
  
  name: {
    type: String,
    label: 'Product Name',
    description: 'The display name of the product', // Appears in GraphQL documentation
    graphQLName: 'displayName' // Override the field name in GraphQL
  },
  
  internalCode: {
    type: String,
    private: true // This field won't be exposed in GraphQL
  },
  
  price: {type: Number}
})

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Generated GraphQL Types

The following table shows how schema types map to GraphQL types:

Schema TypeGraphQL TypeNotes
StringStringPlain text
NumberFloatDefault numeric type
'integer'IntWhole numbers
BooleanBooleanTrue/false values
DateDateCustom scalar type
SchemaObject TypeNested object definition
[Type][Type]List of items
EnumEnumCustom enum type

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Using Schemas for GraphQL Inputs

Schemas can be used for input validation:

import {schemaWithName, InferSchemaType} from '@orion-js/schema'
import {createMutation, Resolvers} from '@orion-js/graphql'

export const CreateUserInput = schemaWithName('CreateUserInput', {
  name: {type: String, min: 2},
  email: {type: String},
  role: {type: String, allowedValues: ['admin', 'user']}
})

export type CreateUserInputType = InferSchemaType<typeof CreateUserInput>

@Resolvers()
class UserResolvers {
  @Mutation()
  createUser = createMutation({
    params: CreateUserInput,
    returns: UserSchema,
    resolve: async (params: CreateUserInputType) => {
      // The input has been validated against CreateUserInput schema
      return await createUser(params)
    }
  })
}

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Custom GraphQL Type Resolvers

For complex field types, you can add custom resolvers:

import {schemaWithName} from '@orion-js/schema'
import {createModelResolver, ModelResolvers} from '@orion-js/graphql'

export const UserSchema = schemaWithName('UserSchema', {
  _id: {type: String},
  name: {type: String},
  // More fields...
})

@ModelResolvers(UserSchema)
class UserGraphQLResolvers {
  @ModelResolver()
  fullName = createModelResolver({
    returns: String,
    resolve: async (user) => {
      return `${user.firstName} ${user.lastName}`
    }
  })
}