Install graphql-cli with Homebrew

Project links

• Homepage
• Upstream docs
• Package manager page

Commands and aliases

• graphql

Project history

The package originated in the Prisma/Graphcool-era GraphQL tooling ecosystem and later moved into The Guild's maintenance orbit along with graphql-config, graphql-import, and graphql-binding. Prisma's handoff announcement explicitly named graphql-cli among the libraries transferred to The Guild.

The Guild then rebooted GraphQL CLI as an extensible, plugin-oriented tool. The project documentation for version 4 describes a restructured setup based around `.graphqlrc.yml`, a unified GraphQL Config file, and per-command packages.

Adoption history

GraphQL CLI's adoption was tied to the JavaScript GraphQL ecosystem's need for a single command that could initialize projects, read schemas and documents, run code generation, and host schema-inspection workflows.

Version 4.0 changed the configuration model from older `.graphqlconfig` and endpoint/schemaPath assumptions toward `.graphqlrc.yml` and the newer GraphQL Config shape. Version 4.1 added starter-template improvements and stronger integration with GraphQL Code Generator and GraphQL Inspector.

How it is used

The main command is `graphql`. Users initialize a project with `graphql init` or `npx graphql-cli init`, then keep schema and document paths in `.graphqlrc.yml`.

The plugin model lets commands such as code generation live in separate packages and read the same GraphQL Config. The migration guide is important for older users because it documents removed commands and changed configuration names.

Why package nerds care

GraphQL CLI is a snapshot of a specific GraphQL tooling moment: Prisma-era tools, The Guild maintenance, GraphQL Config standardization, and an attempt to make a single extensible CLI sit above many competing GraphQL stacks.

For package maintainers, it is notable as a Homebrew formula for a Node CLI whose upstream ecosystem also expects npm or yarn global installation. That split often exposes how JavaScript CLIs move between language package managers and system package managers.

Timeline

• 2019: Prisma announced transfer of graphql-cli and related libraries to The Guild.
• 2019: The Guild described a rewritten, extensible GraphQL CLI.
• 2020: GraphQL CLI 4.0 was released with a restructured project setup.
• 2020: GraphQL CLI 4.1 added template and ecosystem-tooling integration improvements.

Related projects

• GraphQL Config supplies the configuration model used by GraphQL CLI.
• GraphQL Code Generator and GraphQL Inspector are explicitly integrated into the GraphQL CLI 4.1 workflow.
• Prisma, GraphQL Import, and GraphQL Binding are part of the same historical handoff described by Prisma and The Guild.

Sources

• https://github.com/Urigo/graphql-cli
• https://github.com/Urigo/graphql-cli/blob/master/README.md
• https://github.com/Urigo/graphql-cli/blob/master/docs/MIGRATION.md
• https://github.com/Urigo/graphql-cli/releases
• https://the-guild.dev/graphql/hive/blog/graphql-cli-is-back
• https://the-guild.dev/graphql/hive/blog/whats-new-in-graphql-cli-4.1.0
• https://www.prisma.io/blog/the-guild-takes-over-oss-libraries-vvluy2i4uevs