GraphQL Cheat Sheet

GraphQL cheat sheet with real commands and snippets for setup, core workflows, debugging, and production-safe automation patterns. If you are working across tools, pair this with the MongoDB Cheat Sheet and Prisma Cheat Sheet.

Setup and Connection

Goal: Connect to database shell or endpoint

# Run connection or version command
curl -X POST http://localhost:4000/graphql -H 'Content-Type: application/json' -d '{"query":"{ __typename }"}'

Schema and Data Modeling

Goal: Create a table/index/schema foundation

# Schema definition snippet
type User {
  id: ID!
  email: String!
  createdAt: String!
}

type Query {
  users: [User!]!
}

Core Queries and Mutations

Goal: Run practical read/write operations

# Query with variables
query UserById($id: ID!) {
  user(id: $id) {
    id
    email
    createdAt
  }
}

Performance and Optimization

Goal: Add indexes and inspect query plans

# Mutation for create operation
mutation CreateUser($email: String!) {
  createUser(input: { email: $email }) {
    id
    email
  }
}

Automation and Backups

Goal: Create backup and restore routines

# Export data snapshot before risky migrations
pg_dump "$DATABASE_URL" > backup.sql || mysqldump appdb > backup.sql || true

# Compress backup artifact for storage
gzip -f backup.sql || true

# Verify backup file exists and has content
ls -lh backup.sql.gz || ls -lh backup.sql

Debugging and Troubleshooting

Goal: Inspect slow-query symptoms

# Check active connections/sessions
psql -c "SELECT now();" || mysql -e "SELECT NOW();" || true

# Inspect query plans for heavy statements
psql -c "EXPLAIN SELECT 1;" || mysql -e "EXPLAIN SELECT 1;" || true

# Search migration files for destructive statements
rg "DROP TABLE|TRUNCATE|DELETE FROM" prisma migrations sql -n

Common Gotchas

• Use transactions for multi-step GraphQL data changes that must stay consistent.
• Create indexes for frequent WHERE and JOIN columns, then verify with query plans.
• Back up production data before schema migrations.
• Separate read-only credentials from write credentials in app environments.
• Monitor connection pool limits to avoid timeout spikes under load.

Related Sheets

• MongoDB Cheat Sheet — daily MongoDB commands and production-ready examples.
• Prisma Cheat Sheet — daily Prisma commands and production-ready examples.
• MySQL Cheat Sheet — transactional SQL workflows for MySQL.