Skillshub apollo-router

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/ComeOnOliver/skillshub
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/ComeOnOliver/skillshub "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/skills/apollographql/skills/apollo-router" ~/.claude/skills/comeonoliver-skillshub-apollo-router && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: skills/apollographql/skills/apollo-router/SKILL.md
source content

Apollo Router Config Generator

Apollo Router is a high-performance graph router written in Rust for running Apollo Federation 2 supergraphs. It sits in front of your subgraphs and handles query planning, execution, and response composition.

This skill generates version-correct configuration. Router v1 and v2 have incompatible config schemas in several critical sections (CORS, JWT auth, connectors). Always determine the target version before generating any config.

Step 1: Version Selection

Ask the user before generating any config:

Which Apollo Router version are you targeting?

  [1] Router v2.x (recommended — current LTS, required for Connectors)
  [2] Router v1.x (legacy — end-of-support announced, security patches only)
  [3] Not sure — help me decide

If the user picks [3], display:

Quick guide:

  • Pick v2 if: you're starting fresh, using Apollo Connectors for REST APIs,
    or want backpressure-based overload protection.
  • Pick v1 if: you have an existing deployment and haven't migrated yet.
    Note: Apollo ended active support for v1.x. The v2.10 LTS (Dec 2025)
    is the current baseline. Migration is strongly recommended.

  Tip: If you have an existing router.yaml, you can auto-migrate it:
    router config upgrade router.yaml

Store the selection as

ROUTER_VERSION=v1|v2
to gate all subsequent template generation.

Step 2: Environment Selection

Ask: Production or Development?

  • Production: security-hardened defaults (introspection off, sandbox off, homepage off, subgraph errors hidden, auth required, health check on)
  • Development: open defaults (introspection on, sandbox on, errors exposed, text logging)

Load the appropriate base template from:

  • templates/{version}/production.yaml
  • templates/{version}/development.yaml

Step 3: Feature Selection

Ask which features to include:

  • JWT Authentication
  • CORS (almost always yes for browser clients)
  • Operation Limits
  • Traffic Shaping / Rate Limiting
  • Telemetry (Prometheus, OTLP tracing, JSON logging)
  • APQ (Automatic Persisted Queries)
  • Connectors (REST API integration — Router v2 only; GA key is
    connectors
    , early v2 preview key was
    preview_connectors
    )
  • Subscriptions
  • Header Propagation

Step 4: Gather Parameters

For each selected feature, collect required values.

  • Use section templates from
    templates/{version}/sections/
    for
    auth
    ,
    cors
    ,
    headers
    ,
    limits
    ,
    telemetry
    , and
    traffic-shaping
    .
  • For Connectors in v2, use
    templates/v2/sections/connectors.yaml
    as the source.
  • For APQ and subscriptions, copy the snippet from the selected base template (
    templates/{version}/production.yaml
    or
    templates/{version}/development.yaml
    ) or from references.
  • Only offer Connectors when
    ROUTER_VERSION=v2
    .

CORS

  • List of allowed origins (never use
    "*"
    for production)

JWT Authentication

  • JWKS URL
  • Issuer(s) — note: v1 uses singular
    issuer
    , v2 uses plural
    issuers
    array

Connectors (v2 only)

  • Subgraph name and source name (used as
    connectors.sources.<subgraph>.<source>
    )
  • Optional
    $config
    values for connector runtime configuration
  • If migrating old v2 preview config, rename
    preview_connectors
    to
    connectors

Operation Limits

Present the tuning guidance:

Operation depth limit controls how deeply nested a query can be.

  Router default: 100 (permissive — allows very deep queries)
  Recommended starting point: 50

  Lower values (15–25) are more secure but will reject legitimate queries
  in schemas with deep entity relationships or nested fragments.
  Higher values (75–100) are safer for compatibility but offer less
  protection against depth-based abuse.

  Tip: Run your router in warn_only mode first to see what depths your
  real traffic actually uses, then tighten:
    limits:
      warn_only: true

What max_depth would you like? [default: 50]

The same principle applies to

max_height
,
max_aliases
, and
max_root_fields
.

Telemetry

  • OTEL collector endpoint (default:
    http://otel-collector:4317
    )
  • Prometheus listen port (default:
    9090
    )
  • Trace sampling rate (default:
    0.1
    = 10%)

Traffic Shaping

  • Client-facing rate limit capacity (default: 1000 req/s)
  • Router timeout (default: 60s)
  • Subgraph timeout (default: 30s)

Step 5: Generate Config

  1. Load the correct version template from
    templates/{version}/
  2. Assemble section templates for supported sectioned features, then merge base-template snippets for APQ/subscriptions as needed
  3. Inject user-provided parameters
  4. Add a comment block at the top stating the target version

Step 6: Validate

Run the post-generation checklist:

  • All env vars referenced in config are documented
  • CORS origins don't include wildcards (production)
  • Rate limiting is on
    router:
    (client-facing), not only
    all:
    (subgraph)
  • JWT uses
    issuers
    (v2) not
    issuer
    (v1), or vice versa
  • If production: introspection=false, sandbox=false, subgraph_errors=false
  • Health check is enabled
  • Homepage is disabled (production)
  • Run:
    router config validate <file>
    if Router binary is available

Required Validation Gate (always run)

After generating or editing any

router.yaml
, you MUST:

  1. Run
    validation/checklist.md
    and report pass/fail for each checklist item.
  2. Run
    router config validate <path-to-router.yaml>
    if Router CLI is available.
  3. If Router CLI is unavailable, state that explicitly and still complete the checklist.
  4. Do not present the configuration as final until validation is completed.

Step 7: Conditional Next Steps Handoff

After answering any Apollo Router request (config generation, edits, validation, or general Router guidance), decide whether the user already has runnable prerequisites:

  • GraphOS-managed path:
    APOLLO_KEY
    +
    APOLLO_GRAPH_REF
    , or
  • Local path: a composed
    supergraph.graphql
    plus reachable subgraphs

If prerequisites are already present, do not add extra handoff text.

If prerequisites are missing or unknown, end with a concise Next steps handoff (1-3 lines max) that is skill-first and command-free:

  1. Suggest the
    rover
    skill to compose or fetch the supergraph schema.
  2. Suggest continuing with
    apollo-router
    once the supergraph is ready to validate and run with the generated config.
  3. If subgraphs are missing, suggest
    apollo-server
    ,
    graphql-schema
    , and
    graphql-operations
    skills to scaffold and test.

Do not include raw shell commands in this handoff unless the user explicitly asks for commands.

Quick Start (skill-first)

  1. Use this
    apollo-router
    skill to generate or refine
    router.yaml
    for your environment.
  2. Choose a runtime path:
    • GraphOS-managed path: provide
      APOLLO_KEY
      and
      APOLLO_GRAPH_REF
      (no local supergraph composition required).
    • Local supergraph path: use
      graphql-schema
      +
      apollo-server
      to define/run subgraphs, then use
      graphql-operations
      for smoke tests, then use the
      rover
      skill to compose or fetch
      supergraph.graphql
      .
  3. Use this
    apollo-router
    skill to validate readiness (
    validation/checklist.md
    ) and walk through runtime startup inputs.

Default endpoint remains

http://localhost:4000
when using standard Router listen defaults.

If the user asks for executable shell commands, provide them on request. Otherwise keep Quick Start guidance skill-oriented.

Running Modes

ModeCommandUse Case
Local schema
router --supergraph ./schema.graphql
Development, CI/CD
GraphOS managed
APOLLO_KEY=... APOLLO_GRAPH_REF=my-graph@prod router
Production with auto-updates
Development
router --dev --supergraph ./schema.graphql
Local development
Hot reload
router --hot-reload --supergraph ./schema.graphql
Schema changes without restart

Environment Variables

VariableDescription
APOLLO_KEY
API key for GraphOS
APOLLO_GRAPH_REF
Graph reference (
graph-id@variant
)
APOLLO_ROUTER_CONFIG_PATH
Path to
router.yaml
APOLLO_ROUTER_SUPERGRAPH_PATH
Path to supergraph schema
APOLLO_ROUTER_LOG
Log level (off, error, warn, info, debug, trace)
APOLLO_ROUTER_LISTEN_ADDRESS
Override listen address

Reference Files

CLI Reference

router [OPTIONS]

Options:
  -s, --supergraph <PATH>    Path to supergraph schema file
  -c, --config <PATH>        Path to router.yaml configuration
      --dev                  Enable development mode
      --hot-reload           Watch for schema changes
      --log <LEVEL>          Log level (default: info)
      --listen <ADDRESS>     Override listen address
  -V, --version              Print version
  -h, --help                 Print help

Ground Rules

  • ALWAYS determine the target Router version (v1 or v2) before generating config
  • DEFAULT to v2 for new projects
  • ALWAYS include a comment block at top of generated config stating the target version
  • ALWAYS use
    --dev
    mode for local development (enables introspection and sandbox)
  • ALWAYS disable introspection, sandbox, and homepage in production
  • PREFER GraphOS managed mode for production (automatic updates, metrics)
  • USE
    --hot-reload
    for local development with file-based schemas
  • NEVER expose
    APOLLO_KEY
    in logs or version control
  • USE environment variables (
    ${env.VAR}
    ) for all secrets and sensitive config
  • PREFER YAML configuration over command-line arguments for complex setups
  • TEST configuration changes locally before deploying to production
  • WARN if user enables
    allow_any_origin
    or wildcard CORS in production
  • RECOMMEND
    router config upgrade router.yaml
    for v1 → v2 migration instead of regenerating from scratch
  • MUST run
    validation/checklist.md
    after every router config generation or edit
  • MUST run
    router config validate <file>
    when Router CLI is available
  • MUST report when CLI validation could not run (for example, Router binary missing)
  • MUST append a brief conditional handoff when runtime prerequisites are missing or unknown
  • MUST make this handoff skill-first and avoid raw shell commands unless the user explicitly requests commands
  • MUST keep Quick Start guidance skill-first and command-free unless the user explicitly requests commands
  • MUST state that Rover is required only for the local supergraph path; GraphOS-managed runtime does not require local Rover composition
  • USE
    max_depth: 50
    as the default starting point, not 15 (too aggressive) or 100 (too permissive)
  • RECOMMEND
    warn_only: true
    for initial limits rollout to observe real traffic before enforcing