GraphQL Yoga Has a Free Server — The Easiest Way to Build GraphQL APIs

Apollo Server has too many opinions. Express-graphql is abandoned. GraphQL Yoga is the sweet spot — batteries included but not bloated.

What is GraphQL Yoga?

GraphQL Yoga is a full-featured GraphQL server by The Guild (creators of GraphQL Codegen, Envelop, and GraphQL Mesh). It works everywhere — Node.js, Deno, Bun, Cloudflare Workers, AWS Lambda — with built-in subscriptions, file uploads, and error handling.

Why GraphQL Yoga

1. Minimal Setup

import { createServer } from 'node:http';
import { createSchema, createYoga } from 'graphql-yoga';

const yoga = createYoga({
  schema: createSchema({
    typeDefs: /* GraphQL */ `
      type Query {
        hello(name: String): String!
        users: [User!]!
      }
      type User {
        id: ID!
        name: String!
        email: String!
      }
    `,
    resolvers: {
      Query: {
        hello: (_, { name }) => `Hello ${name || 'World'}!`,
        users: () => db.users.findMany(),
      },
    },
  }),
});

const server = createServer(yoga);
server.listen(4000, () => console.log('Server is running on http://localhost:4000/graphql'));

2. Deploy Anywhere

// Next.js App Router
import { createYoga } from 'graphql-yoga';
const yoga = createYoga({ schema, graphqlEndpoint: '/api/graphql' });
export { yoga as GET, yoga as POST };

// Cloudflare Workers
export default { fetch: yoga };

// AWS Lambda
export const handler = yoga;

// Deno
Deno.serve(yoga);

// Bun
Bun.serve({ fetch: yoga });

3. Built-in Subscriptions (WebSocket + SSE)

const schema = createSchema({
  typeDefs: `
    type Subscription {
      countdown(from: Int!): Int!
      newMessage: Message!
    }
  `,
  resolvers: {
    Subscription: {
      countdown: {
        async *subscribe(_, { from }) {
          for (let i = from; i >= 0; i--) {
            await new Promise(r => setTimeout(r, 1000));
            yield { countdown: i };
          }
        },
      },
    },
  },
});

4. File Uploads

const schema = createSchema({
  typeDefs: `
    scalar File
    type Mutation {
      uploadFile(file: File!): String!
    }
  `,
  resolvers: {
    Mutation: {
      uploadFile: async (_, { file }) => {
        const buffer = await file.arrayBuffer();
        await fs.writeFile(`uploads/${file.name}`, Buffer.from(buffer));
        return `Uploaded ${file.name} (${file.size} bytes)`;
      },
    },
  },
});

5. Envelop Plugin System

import { useDisableIntrospection } from '@envelop/disable-introspection';
import { useDepthLimit } from '@envelop/depth-limit';
import { useResponseCache } from '@graphql-yoga/plugin-response-cache';

const yoga = createYoga({
  schema,
  plugins: [
    useDisableIntrospection(), // Security
    useDepthLimit({ maxDepth: 10 }), // Prevent deep queries
    useResponseCache({ ttl: 5000 }), // Cache responses
  ],
});

GraphQL Yoga vs Apollo Server vs Mercurius

	Yoga	Apollo Server	Mercurius
Size	Lightweight	Heavy	Lightweight
Subscriptions	Built-in (SSE+WS)	Separate package	Built-in
File uploads	Built-in	Via apollo-upload	Plugin
Deploy targets	Any runtime	Node.js focused	Fastify only
Plugin system	Envelop	Apollo plugins	Fastify plugins
Maintained by	The Guild	Apollo	Fastify team

Getting Started

npm install graphql-yoga graphql

The Bottom Line

GraphQL Yoga is GraphQL done right. Lightweight, runs anywhere, with batteries included. If you're starting a new GraphQL API, this is the best starting point.

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