GraphQL Linter

A fast, opinionated linter for GraphQL SDL (Schema Definition Language) with first-class Apollo Federation support.

graphql-linter validates your .graphql and .graphqls files for syntax errors, schema design best practices, and correct usage of Apollo Federation directives — all from a single, dependency-free binary.

Table of contents

• Why GraphQL Linter?
• Features
• Installation
• Quick start
• Usage
• Configuration
• Rules
• Suppressing findings
• Pre-commit hook
• Development
• Contributing
• License

Why GraphQL Linter?

The widely used graphql-schema-linter does not support Apollo Federation, and the request to add it has been open since 2020.

graphql-linter fills that gap. It honours the graphql-schema-linter rule set that teams already rely on and adds validation for Apollo Federation directives and composition on top. Because it ships as a single static Go binary, there is no Node.js toolchain to install and it drops cleanly into CI pipelines and pre-commit hooks.

Features

• Drop-in rule parity — implements the rules from graphql-schema-linter.
• Apollo Federation aware — recognizes and validates federation directives (@key, @external, @requires, @provides, @shareable, @override, @inaccessible, @tag, and more) and flags invalid directives or typos.
• Schema hygiene checks — enforces descriptions, naming conventions, alphabetical sorting, deprecation reasons, and Relay connection specs.
• Clear diagnostics — reports the rule, file, line number, and context for every finding.
• Flexible suppressions — silence specific findings per file, line, and rule through a config file.
• Single binary — no runtime dependencies; runs anywhere Go binaries run.

Installation

Pre-built binary

ARCH=$(uname -m | awk '{if ($1=="x86_64") print "amd64"; else if ($1=="arm64" || $1=="aarch64") print "arm64"; else { print "Unsupported architecture: " $1 > "/dev/stderr"; exit 1 }}')
OS=$(uname | tr '[:upper:]' '[:lower:]')
VERSION=v0.1.0
curl --fail -L "https://github.com/schubergphilis/graphql-linter/releases/download/${VERSION}/graphql-linter-${VERSION}-${OS}-${ARCH}" \
  -o graphql-linter && \
  chmod +x graphql-linter && \
  ./graphql-linter --version | grep "${VERSION}"

Pre-built binaries are published for linux/amd64, linux/arm64, and darwin/arm64. See the releases page for all available builds.

Go

go install github.com/schubergphilis/graphql-linter/cmd/graphql-linter@v0.1.0 && \
  graphql-linter --version

From source

git clone https://github.com/schubergphilis/graphql-linter.git
cd graphql-linter
go build -o graphql-linter ./cmd/graphql-linter

Quick start

Lint every GraphQL file in a directory:

graphql-linter -targetPath ./schema

Lint a single file:

graphql-linter -targetPath ./schema/user.graphqls

The linter walks the target path recursively, skipping node_modules, vendor, .git, and any dot-directory. It exits non-zero when unsuppressed findings are detected, making it CI-ready out of the box.

Usage

graphql-linter [flags]

Flags

Flag	Description
-targetPath	Directory or file containing the GraphQL schemas to check. Defaults to the project root.
-configPath	Path to the configuration file. Defaults to .graphql-linter.yml in the project root.
-verbose	Enable verbose output.
-version	Print version information and exit.

Examples

# Lint with a custom configuration file
graphql-linter -configPath ./config/.graphql-linter.yml -targetPath ./schema

# Verbose run
graphql-linter -targetPath ./schema -verbose

# Show help
graphql-linter --help

When running from a checkout of this repository you can invoke the linter directly with go run:

go run ./cmd/graphql-linter -targetPath test/testdata/graphql/base/invalid

Configuration

When -configPath is not set, the linter looks for a .graphql-linter.yml file in the project root. Use -configPath to point at a different file. If no configuration is found, the built-in defaults below are used.

---
# Global behaviour
settings:
  # Treat warnings as errors.
  strictMode: true
  # Validate Apollo Federation directives.
  validateFederation: true
  # Require descriptions on schema elements.
  checkDescriptions: true

# Findings to silence (see "Suppressing findings" below)
suppressions:
  - file: schema/user.graphqls
    line: 42
    rule: types-have-descriptions
    value: User
    reason: Documented in the federation gateway instead.

A fully commented reference configuration is available in .graphql-linter.yml.example.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
strictMode	true	Treat warnings as errors.
validateFederation	true	Validate Apollo Federation directives.
checkDescriptions	true	Require descriptions on types, fields, and enums.

Rules

Schema rules

These mirror the graphql-schema-linter rule set:

• arguments-have-descriptions
• defined-types-are-used
• deprecations-have-a-reason
• descriptions-are-capitalized
• enum-values-all-caps
• enum-values-have-descriptions
• enum-values-sorted-alphabetically
• fields-are-camel-cased
• fields-have-descriptions
• input-object-fields-sorted-alphabetically
• input-object-values-are-camel-cased
• input-object-values-have-descriptions
• interface-fields-sorted-alphabetically
• relay-connection-types-spec
• relay-connection-arguments-spec
• relay-page-info-spec
• type-fields-sorted-alphabetically
• types-are-capitalized
• types-have-descriptions

Federation rules

When validateFederation is enabled, the linter also verifies Apollo Federation usage, including:

• Only valid federation directives are used on types and fields (@key, @external, @requires, @provides, @extends, @shareable, @inaccessible, @override, @composeDirective, @interfaceObject, @tag, @deprecated, @specifiedBy, @oneOf).
• Directive typos are detected and closest-match suggestions are offered.
• Composition-level validation of federated types.

Suppressing findings

Individual findings can be suppressed in the configuration file. Every field is optional and acts as a filter: an omitted field matches anything, so narrow the suppression by combining fields. Always include a reason for auditability, even though it is not enforced.

suppressions:
  - file: test/testdata/graphql/base/invalid/07-enum-values-sorted-alphabetically.graphql
    line: 12
    rule: defined-types-are-used
    value: PageInfo
    reason: PageInfo is intentionally unused in this test schema.

Field	Matching behaviour
file	Matches when the schema path ends with this value; omit to match any file.
line	Matches this line number; omit (or 0) to match any line.
rule	Matches this rule identifier; omit to match any rule.
value	Matches a specific symbol (type, field, enum value); omit to match any value.
reason	Free-form justification for the suppression (recommended, not enforced).

Pre-commit hook

graphql-linter ships a pre-commit hook so schemas are linted automatically before every commit.

Add the following to the .pre-commit-config.yaml in your repository:

repos:
  - repo: https://github.com/schubergphilis/graphql-linter
    # Replace with the latest released tag; run `pre-commit autoupdate` to bump.
    rev: v0.1.4
    hooks:
      - id: graphql-linter

Then install and run it:

pre-commit install
pre-commit run graphql-linter --all-files

The hook is triggered whenever a .graphql or .graphqls file is staged. It lints the whole project (so cross-file Apollo Federation composition is validated) and fails the commit when linting errors are found.

Configuration and suppressions are picked up from the .graphql-linter.yml file in the repository root, as described above.

Development

This project follows a Clean Architecture layout (presentation → application → data) and uses Task for common workflows.

# Run the full test suite
task remote:test

# Run integration and component tests
task remote:test-integration
task remote:test-component

# Lint and format
task remote:lint
task remote:format
task remote:fix-linting-issues

# Regenerate mocks (mockery)
task remote:mock-generate

# Regenerate test data fixtures
go run ./cmd/graphql-testdata-generator

Project layout

cmd/
  graphql-linter/             CLI entry point
  graphql-testdata-generator/ Test fixture generator
internal/
  app/graphql-linter/
    presentation/             CLI parsing and I/O
    application/              Linting orchestration and reporting
    data/                     Config, schema parsing, rule execution
      base/rules/             Schema rules
      federation/rules/       Apollo Federation rules
  pkg/                        Shared helpers and constants
test/                         Component tests and GraphQL fixtures

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! To propose a change:

1. Fork the repository and create a feature branch.
2. Add or update tests for your change.
3. Ensure task remote:test and task remote:lint pass.
4. Open a pull request describing the motivation and behaviour change.

Please keep pull requests focused and include test coverage for new rules or fixes.

License

Released under the MIT License. Copyright (c) 2025 Schuberg Philis.