Does FastAPI Work With GraphQL?
FastAPI and GraphQL work together seamlessly—use Strawberry or Ariadne to add GraphQL endpoints to your FastAPI application.
Quick Facts
How FastAPI Works With GraphQL
FastAPI is a perfect host for GraphQL APIs because it handles HTTP requests, dependency injection, and async operations natively. The most popular approach is using Strawberry, a modern Python GraphQL library that integrates directly with FastAPI via decorators and middleware. Alternatively, Ariadne provides a schema-first approach. Both libraries mount their GraphQL endpoint as a standard FastAPI route, giving you the best of both worlds: GraphQL's query flexibility and FastAPI's speed, automatic OpenAPI documentation for non-GraphQL endpoints, built-in validation, and excellent async support.
The developer experience is straightforward. You define your GraphQL schema using Python type hints (with Strawberry) or SDL, then mount the GraphQL app as a sub-router. FastAPI handles routing, request validation, and CORS automatically. You can mix REST and GraphQL endpoints in the same application, leverage FastAPI's dependency injection for database connections and authentication, and benefit from automatic interactive docs for your REST APIs while using GraphQL Playground or similar tools for your GraphQL endpoint.
Architecturally, this is ideal for gradual migration from REST to GraphQL or for supporting both API styles simultaneously. The async nature of both frameworks ensures high performance, and you can share middleware, authentication, and business logic across both endpoint types.
Best Use Cases
Quick Setup
pip install fastapi strawberry-graphql uvicornfrom fastapi import FastAPI
from strawberry.asgi import GraphQL
import strawberry
@strawberry.type
class Query:
@strawberry.field
def hello(self, name: str) -> str:
return f"Hello {name}"
schema = strawberry.Schema(query=Query)
app = FastAPI()
graphql_app = GraphQL(schema)
app.add_route("/graphql", graphql_app)
app.add_websocket_route("/graphql", graphql_app)
# Run: uvicorn main:app --reload
# Visit: http://localhost:8000/graphqlKnown Issues & Gotchas
GraphQL playground or Strawberry GraphiQL may not appear if CORS isn't configured for your frontend origin
Fix: Add CORSMiddleware to FastAPI app with appropriate origins, credentials, and methods before mounting GraphQL router
Debugging async resolvers can be tricky when mixing FastAPI dependency injection with GraphQL context
Fix: Use Strawberry's context parameter and pass FastAPI's request object explicitly to resolvers; avoid relying on implicit state
N+1 query problems are more common in GraphQL; FastAPI's auto-docs won't show GraphQL schema details
Fix: Implement DataLoader for batch queries; use Strawberry's query complexity analysis middleware
Alternatives
- •Apollo Server with Express.js—industry standard but less integrated async support than FastAPI
- •Django with Graphene—batteries-included but heavier than FastAPI for GraphQL-focused APIs
- •Node.js with TypeGraphQL and Express—excellent type safety but less performance for I/O-heavy workloads
Resources
Related Compatibility Guides
Explore more compatibility guides