Implementing a GraphQL Apollo Client in a Next.js project involves a series of steps to set up the necessary packages, configure the client, and integrate it with your components. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Create a Next.js Project: If you haven’t already, set up a Next.js project using create-next-app or your preferred method:

npx create-next-app graphql-app 
cd graphql-app

Install Dependencies: Install the necessary packages for GraphQL and Apollo Client:

npm install @apollo/client graphql

Set Up Apollo Client: In the root of your project, create a new file named apolloClient.js. This file will contain the configuration for your Apollo Client:

import { ApolloClient, InMemoryCache } from '@apollo/client';

const client = new ApolloClient({
  uri: 'https://swapi-graphql.netlify.app/.netlify/functions/index', // Replace with your API URL
  cache: new InMemoryCache(),
});

export default client;

Wrap Pages with ApolloProvider: In your pages/_app.js file, wrap your component with ApolloProvider to make the Apollo Client available to all components:

import { ApolloProvider } from '@apollo/client';
import client from '../apolloClient'; 

function MyApp({ Component, pageProps }) {
  return (
    <ApolloProvider client={client}>
      <Component {...pageProps} />
    </ApolloProvider>
  );
}

export default MyApp;

Query Data in Components: You can now start querying data in your components using GraphQL. For example, let’s create a component that fetches a list of items:

import { useQuery } from '@apollo/client';
import { gql } from '@apollo/client';

const GET_ITEMS = gql`
query Query {
    allFilms {
      films {
        title
        director
        releaseDate
        speciesConnection {
          species {
            name
            classification
            homeworld {
              name
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  }
`;

function ItemList() {
  const { loading, error, data } = useQuery(GET_ITEMS);
// loading as boolean 
  if (loading) return <p>Loading...</p>;
// if have error that 'll get populated as message 
  if (error) return <p>Error: {error.message}</p>;



  return (
    <div>
    {JSON.stringify(data)}
    </div>
  );
}

export default ItemList;

Use the Component: Finally, you can use the ItemList component in one of your pages:

import ItemList from '../components/ItemList';

function HomePage() {
  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Items</h1>
      <ItemList />
    </div>
  );
}

export default HomePage;

Remember to replace 'GRAPHQL_API_URL' with the actual URL of your GraphQL server. Also, adapt the queries, mutations, and components according to your specific project requirements. With these steps, you should have successfully implemented a GraphQL Apollo Client in your Next.js project.

Conclusion : With GraphQL, you can precisely request only the data your components need, reducing over-fetching and improving efficiency. Apollo Client’s caching mechanisms further enhance this efficiency by minimizing redundant network requests and providing a consistent and reliable data source at the end thanks to reading this article happy coding ...

GitHub repo : — abhijitkumarIN/graphql-app (github.com)