Install graphqurl with Homebrew, Nix, dnf, MacPorts, zypper

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• gq
• graphqurl

Project history

Hasura built graphqurl to make GraphQL endpoint interaction feel closer to curl while preserving GraphQL-specific affordances such as introspection, query autocomplete, subscriptions, and schema export.

The v1.0 announcement emphasized reducing bundle size by moving away from Apollo Client for basic query and subscription work, positioning graphqurl as a lighter tool for users who wanted GraphQL requests without broader client-side caching machinery.

Adoption history

graphqurl's adoption is closely tied to Hasura users and to developers who need a terminal-friendly way to inspect or exercise arbitrary GraphQL endpoints. It is packaged by Homebrew and several other package managers under names such as `graphqurl` or `gq`.

Its README and npm package highlight two surfaces: a CLI for shell workflows and a Node/browser library through `createClient`. That dual identity made it useful both as a quick manual testing tool and as a small dependency for scripts.

How it is used

The common CLI pattern is `gq ENDPOINT -H 'Authorization: Bearer <token>' -q 'query { ... }'`. Users can also omit the query and use TAB-driven autocomplete based on schema introspection.

For schema work, `gq <endpoint> --introspect` can emit GraphQL SDL or JSON. For realtime APIs, graphqurl can execute subscriptions and stream responses to stdout. Earlier documented workflows also exposed a local GraphiQL UI; the GitHub README notes that GraphiQL support was removed from version 2.0.0 onward.

Why package nerds care

graphqurl is the GraphQL answer to the perennial packaging question: why do I need a whole SDK to send one API request? It packages the 80 percent terminal workflow into a single executable while still understanding GraphQL concepts curl cannot infer.

It is also interesting because package managers expose both the long package name and the short `gq` executable, making it show up in CLI namespace conversations alongside generic HTTP clients, GraphQL IDEs, and API-specific CLIs.

Timeline

• Initial package era: graphqurl appeared as a Hasura-maintained CLI and JavaScript client for GraphQL endpoint access.
• v1.0: Hasura announced a lighter implementation and promoted CLI queries, local GraphiQL, subscriptions, browser/Node use, and schema export.
• v2.0.0: The project removed GraphiQL UI support, with the README directing users to v1.0.3 for that feature.

Related projects

• Hasura GraphQL Engine is the ecosystem project most closely associated with graphqurl.
• curl is the conceptual model for graphqurl's terminal user experience.
• GraphiQL is an adjacent UI workflow that graphqurl supported in earlier versions.
• GraphQL Inspector and GraphQL CLI sit nearby as schema-management tools rather than request clients.

Sources

• https://github.com/hasura/graphqurl
• https://github.com/hasura/graphqurl#readme
• https://github.com/hasura/graphqurl/releases
• https://hasura.io/blog/graphqurl-v1-curl-for-graphql
• https://www.npmjs.com/package/graphqurl