Apollo Client recipes

Share GraphQL subscriptions through Apollo's client.

Framework

Connection

GraphQL over WebSocketGraphQL over SSE

GraphQL over SSE · React Router

Before you start

Start with an existing React Router app. Keep its renderer, routes and plugins. These files add one live view; Spinetab does not create your API.

Your schema exposes Subscription.queue: Queue! with Queue.open: Int!. Each event contains the complete queue value. Serve the graphql-sse distinct protocol at /graphql/stream. Queries and mutations, if used, go to /graphql. This is a GraphQL endpoint, not a plain SSE or WebSocket feed.

The examples use same-origin URLs and declare anonymous: true: no token is supplied, although cookies still flow. For a separate API origin, use its URL and configure CORS or your application's proxy. For private data, add credentials and user scopes; never put a secret in these files.

1. Install

pnpm add spinetab graphql@^17.0.2 graphql-sse@^2.6.1 @apollo/client@^4.3.1 rxjs@^7.8.2

Keep your framework's existing dependencies. See compatible versions if upgrading an older app.

2. Configure your app

Merge this addition into your configuration; preserve existing plugins and options. Restart the dev server afterwards. The plugin bundles the worker and discovers the adapters imported below.

import { reactRouter } from "@react-router/dev/vite";
import { spinetab } from "spinetab/vite";
import { defineConfig } from "vite";

export default defineConfig({
  plugins: [reactRouter(), spinetab()],
  optimizeDeps: { entries: ["app/**/*.{ts,tsx}"] },
});

3. Connect and render

Save these files together in app/recipe/.

The provider supplies Apollo's client to its subscription hook. Keep an existing app provider/client when extending an Apollo app rather than introducing a second cache.

reconcile: "latest" fits this full-state contract: the next complete event restores the displayed value after a gap. Use a refresh/merge policy for deltas or partial GraphQL results. Reconnecting alone does not reconstruct missed state.

import { createSpinetab } from "spinetab";

export const spinetab = createSpinetab({ anonymous: true });

export type Queue = { open: number };
export type QueueView = { open?: number; problem?: string };

import { graphqlSse } from "spinetab/graphql-sse";

export const endpoint = graphqlSse("/graphql/stream");

import { gql, type TypedDocumentNode } from "@apollo/client";
import type { Queue } from "./queue-types";

export const QUEUE: TypedDocumentNode<{ queue: Queue }> = gql`
  subscription Queue { queue { open } }
`;

import { ApolloClient, HttpLink, InMemoryCache } from "@apollo/client";
import { spinetabSplit } from "spinetab/apollo";
import { endpoint } from "./endpoint";
import { spinetab } from "./live";

export function makeClient() {
  return new ApolloClient({
    cache: new InMemoryCache(),
    link: spinetabSplit(spinetab, endpoint, new HttpLink({ uri: "/graphql" }), {
      reconcile: "latest",
    }),
  });
}

import { useSubscription } from "@apollo/client/react";
import { QUEUE } from "./document";

export default function Queue() {
  const { data, error } = useSubscription(QUEUE);
  if (error) return <p role="alert">{error.message}</p>;
  if (!data) return <p role="status">Loading queue…</p>;
  return (
    <p>
      <output>{data.queue.open}</output> open
    </p>
  );
}

import { ApolloProvider } from "@apollo/client/react";
import { useState } from "react";
import { makeClient } from "./client";
import Queue from "./Queue";

export default function Recipe() {
  const [client] = useState(makeClient);
  return (
    <ApolloProvider client={client}>
      <Queue />
    </ApolloProvider>
  );
}

4. Mount the view

import Recipe from "../recipe/Recipe";
export default function QueuePage() {
  return (
    <main>
      <Recipe />
    </main>
  );
}

import { type RouteConfig, route } from "@react-router/dev/routes";

export default [route("queue", "routes/queue.tsx")] satisfies RouteConfig;

Keep your existing routes and root Outlet. The dependency-scan entries include route imports on a cold first visit. Declarative/Data Mode apps use the Vite recipe instead.

Check the result

Open /queue in two tabs of the same browser profile. Both should show advancing queue values. Matching subscriptions share upstream work when SharedWorker is available; fallback runs independently in each tab. Remove one view and the other should keep updating. Removing the last view releases its subscription; connection closure can follow the adapter's idle delay.

API options and advanced recovery · Authentication