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API Reference: Landing page plugins


This API reference documents built-in plugins that add a landing page to Apollo Server's base URL, enabling visitors to interact with the server from their browser.

This includes plugins for:

  • The default landing page for non-production environments (ApolloServerPluginLandingPageLocalDefault)
  • The default landing page for production (ApolloServerPluginLandingPageProductionDefault)
  • Using GraphQL Playground as a landing page (ApolloServerPluginLandingPageGraphQLPlayground)
  • Disabling the landing page entirely

These plugins work by implementing the renderLandingPage plugin event, which serves an HTML page whenever a browser includes an accept: text/html header. Aside from these, you can also create a custom plugin that renders a custom landing page.

Default behavior

If you don't manually install any plugin that implements renderLandingPage, Apollo Server does the following by default:

  • In non-production environments (NODE_ENV is not production), Apollo Server installs ApolloServerPluginLandingPageLocalDefault.
  • In production environments (NODE_ENV is production), Apollo Server installs ApolloServerPluginLandingPageProductionDefault.

In either case, Apollo Server provides no configuration options to the plugin. You only need to install one of these plugins manually if you want to override its default configuration.

Configuring default landing pages

To configure these default plugins while still using the same NODE_ENV-based logic, import them from @apollo/server/plugin/landingPage/default and pass them to the ApolloServer constructor in the plugins array:

import { ApolloServer } from '@apollo/server';
import { ApolloServerPluginLandingPageLocalDefault, ApolloServerPluginLandingPageProductionDefault } from '@apollo/server/plugin/landingPage/default';
const server = new ApolloServer({
typeDefs,
resolvers,
plugins: [
// Install a landing page plugin based on NODE_ENV
process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production'
? ApolloServerPluginLandingPageProductionDefault({
graphRef: 'my-graph-id@my-graph-variant',
footer: false,
})
: ApolloServerPluginLandingPageLocalDefault({ footer: false }),
],
});
import { ApolloServer } from '@apollo/server';
import { ApolloServerPluginLandingPageLocalDefault, ApolloServerPluginLandingPageProductionDefault } from '@apollo/server/plugin/landingPage/default';
const server = new ApolloServer({
typeDefs,
resolvers,
plugins: [
// Install a landing page plugin based on NODE_ENV
process.env.NODE_ENV === 'production'
? ApolloServerPluginLandingPageProductionDefault({
graphRef: 'my-graph-id@my-graph-variant',
footer: false,
})
: ApolloServerPluginLandingPageLocalDefault({ footer: false }),
],
});

Available configuration options are listed in each plugin's reference below.

Default non-production landing page

In non-production environments, Apollo Server 4's landing page is an embedded version of Apollo Sandbox (served at http://localhost:4000 by default):

Apollo Sandbox

This landing page is designed for use in local development, where NODE_ENV is not set to production.

Apollo Sandbox is a special mode of Apollo Studio used for local development, which doesn't require an Apollo account. Sandbox includes the Apollo Studio Explorer, a powerful web IDE that enables you to build and run operations against your server (or any other reachable server).

Options

Name /
Type
Description
version

string

By default, this plugin uses the latest version of the landing page published to Apollo's CDN. If you'd like to pin the current version, you can specify it here.

The current latest version is available at this link.

boolean

If you aren't using the embedded Apollo Sandbox (i.e., you are using {embed: false}), the landing splash page displays a footer that links to the documentation telling you how to configure it. To remove this footer, pass footer: false.

document

string

A GraphQL document (e.g., query or mutation) to populate in the Studio Sandbox Explorer's editor on load.

If you omit this, the Explorer initially loads an example query based on your schema.

variables

Record<string, any>

An object containing initial variable values to populate in the Explorer on load.

If provided, these variables should apply to the initial query you provide in document.

headers

Record<string, string>

An object containing initial HTTP header values to populate in the Explorer on load.

collectionId & operationId

string

The ID of a collection, paired with an operation ID to populate in the Sandbox on load. You can find these values from a registered graph in Studio by clicking the ... menu next to an operation in the Explorer of that graph and selecting View operation details.

includeCookies

boolean

If true, the embedded Apollo Studio Explorer includes cookies in its GraphQL requests to your server.

The default value is false, unless the user changes the setting in the Explorer UI.

If you omit this, the Explorer defaults includeCookies to false.

embed

boolean | ApolloServerPluginEmbedded LandingPageLocalConfigOptions

If true or an options object, the Apollo Server landing page renders an embedded version of Apollo Sandbox at its GraphQL endpoint URL. This is the default behavior.

If you set this option to false, your server's landing page is a splash page containing a copyable command-line snippet showing how to run operations via curl alongside a link to Apollo Sandbox.

embed options

These are the fields you can include in the embed option you pass to the ApolloServerPluginLandingPageLocalDefault:

Name /
Type
Description
runTelemetry

boolean

If false, the embedded Explorer rendered by Apollo Server doesn't initialize error or event tracking.

initialState

Object

An object containing additional display options related to the visual state of the embedded Explorer on page load.

For supported subfields, see initialState options.

endpointIsEditable

boolean

By default, the embedded Sandbox has a URL input box that is editable by users.

Set endpointIsEditable to false to prevent users of your Apollo Server instance from changing the endpoint URL.

initialState options

These are the fields you can include in the initialState option you pass to embed under ApolloServerPluginLandingPageLocalDefault:

Name /
Type
Description
pollForSchemaUpdates

boolean

If true, the embedded Sandbox periodically polls your initialEndpoint for schema updates.

The default value is true.

sharedHeaders

Record<string, string>

Headers that are applied by default to every operation executed by the embedded Sandbox. Users can disable the application of these headers, but they can't modify their values.

The embedded Sandbox always includes these headers in its introspection queries to your initialEndpoint.

Example:

initialState: {
sharedHeaders: {
authorization: "Bearer abc123";
}
}

Default production landing page

The ApolloServerPluginLandingPageProductionDefault shows a minimalist landing page:

Apollo Server default landing page

This landing page is designed for use in production. It provides a copyable command-line snippet showing how to run operations with your server. By default, the only visible reference to Apollo is a footer explaining how to customize the page. You can also configure it to add a link to query your graph with the Apollo Explorer. You can choose to embed the Apollo Explorer on your endpoint if you pass the embed option.

Options

Name /
Type
Description
version

string

By default, this plugin uses the latest version of the landing page published to Apollo's CDN. If you'd like to pin the current version, you can specify it here.

The current latest version is available at this link.

boolean

By default, the landing page displays a footer that links to the documentation telling you how to configure it. To remove this footer, pass footer: false.

graphRef

string

If provided, the landing page includes a link (with opt-in auto-redirect) to the Apollo Studio page for the graph with the corresponding graph ref. An example graph ref is my-graph@my-variant.

To enable this link, you need to provide graphRef here even if you already provide it elsewhere for usage reporting and other purposes. This is because if your server is publicly accessible, you might not want to display the graph ref publicly.

document

string

A GraphQL document (eg, query or mutation) to populate in the Studio Explorer's editor on load.

If you omit this, the Explorer initially loads an example query based on your schema.

variables

Record<string, any>

An object containing initial variable values to populate in the Explorer on load.

If provided, these variables should apply to the initial query you provide in document.

headers

Record<string, string>

An object containing initial HTTP header values to populate in the Explorer on load.

embed

boolean | ApolloServerPluginEmbedded LandingPageProductionConfigOptions

If true or you provide an options object, the Apollo Server landing page renders an embedded version of the Apollo Sandbox at its GraphQL endpoint URL. This enables visitors to query the endpoint directly and use additional Studio features if signed in with their Apollo account.

To embed the Apollo Sandbox, you must also provide Apollo Server with the graph ref of the Studio graph to use, usually via the APOLLO_GRAPH_REF environment variable.

The default value is false, in which case the landing page displays a basic curl command.

You can configure the Explorer embedded on your Apollo Server endpoint with display and functional options. For supported options, see embed options.

collectionId & operationId

string

The ID of a collection, paired with an operation ID to populate in the Explorer on load. You can find these values from a registered graph in Studio by clicking the ... menu next to an operation in the Explorer of that graph and selecting View operation details.

includeCookies

boolean

A boolean used to set whether Studio Explorer should include cookies in its GraphQL requests to your server.

If you omit this, the Explorer defaults includeCookies to false.

embed options

These are the fields you can include in the embed option you pass to the ApolloServerPluginLandingPageProductionDefault:

Name /
Type
Description
displayOptions

Object

An object containing additional display options related to the visual state of the embedded Explorer on page load.

For supported subfields, see displayOptions options.

persistExplorerState

boolean

If true, the embedded Explorer uses localStorage to persist its state (including operations, tabs, variables, and headers) between user sessions. This state is automatically populated in the Explorer on page load.

If false, the embedded Explorer loads with an example query based on your schema (unless you provide document).

The default value is false.

embed.displayOptions options

These are the fields you can include in the displayOptions option you pass to the embedded Explorer plugin:

Name /
Type
Description
docsPanelState

"open" | "closed"

If open, the Explorer's Documentation panel (the left column) is initially expanded. If closed, the panel is initially collapsed.

The default value is open.

showHeadersAndEnvVars

true | false

If true, the embedded Explorer includes the panels for setting request headers and environment variables. If false, those panels are not present.

The default value is true.

theme

"dark" | "light"

If dark, the Explorer's dark theme is used. If light, the light theme is used.

The default value is dark.

runTelemetry

boolean

If false, the embedded Explorer rendered by Apollo Server doesn't initialize error or event tracking.

GraphQL Playground landing page

By default, Apollo Server 2 provided a GraphQL Playground landing page. For migration purposes, we've published the @apollo/server-plugin-landing-page-graphql-playground package, a GraphQL Playground plugin compatible with Apollo Server 4. However, we aren't supporting this plugin with documentation or security updates since the GraphQL Playground project is officially retired and we do not recommend its continued use. Instead, we recommend migrating to the actively maintained Apollo Sandbox (the default landing page in Apollo Server 4) at your earliest convenience.

Disabling the landing page

The ApolloServerPluginLandingPageDisabled plugin serves no landing page from Apollo Server's base URL. Install it to disable the default landing page in some or all environments:

import { ApolloServer } from '@apollo/server';
import { ApolloServerPluginLandingPageDisabled } from '@apollo/server/plugin/disabled';
const server = new ApolloServer({
typeDefs,
resolvers,
plugins: [ApolloServerPluginLandingPageDisabled()],
});
import { ApolloServer } from '@apollo/server';
import { ApolloServerPluginLandingPageDisabled } from '@apollo/server/plugin/disabled';
const server = new ApolloServer({
typeDefs,
resolvers,
plugins: [ApolloServerPluginLandingPageDisabled()],
});

This plugin takes no arguments.

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