Building a client application - Amazon AppSync
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Building a client application

You can connect to your Amazon AppSync GraphQL API using any GraphQL client, but we highly recommend the Amplify client. Amplify not only autogenerates strongly typed client SDKs for your GraphQL API but also offers support for real-time data and enhanced GraphQL query capabilities in client applications. For web applications, Amplify can produce a JavaScript client. For those targeting cross-platform or mobile environments, Amplify caters to Android, iOS, and React Native. To delve deeper into client code generation for these platforms, consult the Amplify documentation. Here's a guide to kickstart your journey with a JavaScript React application:

Note

You need to install and configure both npm and the Amazon CLI before getting started. If you're using the Amplify v6 client, follow this guide.

To get started:

  1. On your local machine, navigate to your project's directory. Install the Amplify library using the command below:

    npm install aws-amplify

  2. Download your configuration file and place it in your project folder. Your configuration file will typically contain a config variable with some settings (endpoint, Region, authorization mode, etc.) defined. For example, it may look like this:

    const config =  {
    API: {
        GraphQL: {
          endpoint: 'https://abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz.appsync-api.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/graphql',
          region: 'us-west-2',
          defaultAuthMode: 'apiKey',
          apiKey: ''
        }
    }
};

export default config;

  3. In your code, import the Amplify Library and your configuration to set up Amplify:

    import { Amplify } from 'aws-amplify';
import config from './aws-exports.js';

Amplify.configure(config);

    Alternatively, use the snippet in your API configuration to set up Amplify directly:

    import { Amplify } from 'aws-amplify';

Amplify.configure({
  API: {
    GraphQL: {
      endpoint: 'https://abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz.appsync-api.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/graphql',
      region: 'us-west-2',
      defaultAuthMode: 'apiKey',
      apiKey: ''
    }
  }
});

  4. Using the Amplify toolchain, you have the option to autogenerate operations based on your schema, which saves you the effort of manual scripting. In your application's root directory, use the following CLI command:

    npx @aws-amplify/cli codegen add --apiId <id goes here> --region <region goes here>

    This will download your API's schema and, by default, generate client helper code into the src/graphql folder. After every API deployment, you can rerun the following command to generate updated GraphQL statements and types:

    npx @aws-amplify/cli codegen

  5. You can now generate models for Android, Swift, Flutter, and JavaScript DataStore. Use the following command to download your schema:

    aws appsync get-introspection-schema --api-id <id goes here> --region <region goes here> --format SDL schema.graphql

    Then, run the following command from your application's root directory:

    npx @aws-amplify/cli codegen models \
--model-schema schema.graphql \
--target [android|ios|flutter|javascript|typescript] \
--output-dir ./