explaingit

hasura/graphql-engine

Analysis updated 2026-06-20

31,967TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TLDR

Point it at your database and it instantly creates a GraphQL API with access control and real-time subscriptions, no backend code to write.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Hasura))
    What it does
      Auto-generated GraphQL API
      Access control rules
      Real-time subscriptions
      Event triggers
    Databases
      PostgreSQL
      MongoDB
      ClickHouse
      SQL Server
    Deployment
      Docker container
      Hasura Cloud
    Audience
      Frontend developers
      Full-stack teams
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What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Instantly expose a PostgreSQL database as a GraphQL API for a React or mobile app without writing any server code.

USE CASE 2

Add real-time live subscriptions so your frontend automatically updates when data in the database changes.

USE CASE 3

Define row-level access rules in the Hasura dashboard so users can only query their own records.

USE CASE 4

Trigger webhooks or run serverless functions automatically when new rows are inserted or updated in the database.

What is it built with?

HaskellTypeScriptGraphQLDocker

How does it compare?

hasura/graphql-enginemicrosoft/playwright-mcpniklasvh/html2canvas
Stars31,96732,08831,846
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScriptTypeScript
Setup difficultymoderatemoderateeasy
Complexity3/53/52/5
Audiencedeveloperdeveloperdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires a running PostgreSQL database and Docker to start the Hasura engine.

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

Hasura GraphQL Engine solves a very common problem for developers: you have data sitting in a database, and you need to expose it to a frontend app or mobile client quickly and safely. Normally you would have to write a backend server by hand, defining every endpoint and every query. Hasura skips all of that, you point it at your database and it automatically generates a fully featured GraphQL API on top of it within minutes. GraphQL is a modern way for applications to request exactly the data they need from a server, rather than receiving fixed pre-shaped responses. Hasura gives you this GraphQL interface instantly, without writing any server code. It also adds fine-grained access control, meaning you can define rules like "a user can only read their own records" directly in Hasura's dashboard, and it enforces those rules on every query. Beyond simple data fetching, Hasura supports realtime subscriptions so that the frontend can receive live updates whenever the database changes, and it can trigger webhooks (automatic HTTP calls to your own code) whenever a database event occurs, such as a new row being inserted. This makes it easy to build reactive, event-driven applications. Version 3 of the engine extends support to multiple databases including PostgreSQL, MongoDB, ClickHouse, and Microsoft SQL Server, and allows developers to add custom business logic in TypeScript, Python, or Go via connector SDKs. You would use Hasura when you want to build a web or mobile app quickly, need a flexible data API without writing repetitive backend code, or want realtime data features. The core engine is primarily written in Haskell (server) and TypeScript (console and tooling), and it runs as a Docker container or hosted service on Hasura's cloud platform.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I have a PostgreSQL database with a users table and a posts table. Walk me through connecting it to Hasura and querying posts with their author details in a single GraphQL request.
Prompt 2
How do I set up Hasura access control so that a logged-in user can only read and update rows in the orders table where user_id matches their own ID?
Prompt 3
Show me how to subscribe to real-time updates in a React component using Hasura GraphQL subscriptions and Apollo Client.
Prompt 4
I want to run a custom Node.js function when a new order is inserted in my database. How do I set up a Hasura event trigger to call my webhook?

Frequently asked questions

What is graphql-engine?

Point it at your database and it instantly creates a GraphQL API with access control and real-time subscriptions, no backend code to write.

What language is graphql-engine written in?

Mainly TypeScript. The stack also includes Haskell, TypeScript, GraphQL.

What license does graphql-engine use?

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is graphql-engine to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is graphql-engine for?

Mainly developer.

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