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hasura/graphql-engine

📈 Trending31,966TypeScriptAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5ActiveLicenseSetup · hard

TLDR

Instantly turn your database into a live GraphQL API with built-in access control, realtime updates, and webhooks, no backend code required.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Hasura GraphQL Engine))
    What it does
      Auto-generates GraphQL API
      Realtime subscriptions
      Webhook triggers
      Access control rules
    Supported databases
      PostgreSQL
      MongoDB
      ClickHouse
      SQL Server
    Use cases
      Build apps fast
      Reactive frontends
      Event-driven systems
    Tech stack
      Haskell server
      TypeScript console
      Docker deployment

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Build a web or mobile app backend in minutes by connecting to an existing database without writing server code.

USE CASE 2

Add realtime data synchronization to your frontend so users see live updates whenever the database changes.

USE CASE 3

Trigger custom business logic automatically when database events occur, like sending an email when a new order is inserted.

USE CASE 4

Enforce row-level access control rules so each user can only query and modify their own data.

Tech stack

HaskellTypeScriptGraphQLPostgreSQLMongoDBDocker

Getting it running

Difficulty · hard Time to first run · 1h+

Requires Docker, PostgreSQL or MongoDB setup, and Haskell/TypeScript build toolchain; multiple infrastructure pieces needed for a working demo.

Open source under the Elastic License and Server Side Public License (SSPL); free for development and self-hosted use, with commercial licensing available.

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
How do I set up Hasura GraphQL Engine to expose my PostgreSQL database as a GraphQL API?
Prompt 2
Show me how to configure realtime subscriptions in Hasura so my frontend gets live updates when data changes.
Prompt 3
How do I set up a webhook in Hasura to call my custom function whenever a new record is inserted?
Prompt 4
What's the best way to implement row-level access control in Hasura so users can only see their own data?
Prompt 5
How do I add custom business logic in TypeScript to Hasura using the connector SDK?
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Generated 2026-05-18 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.