apollo-router-plugin-creator

★ 91

by apollographql · part of apollographql/skills

Guide for writing Apollo Router native Rust plugins. Use this skill when: (1) users want to create a new router plugin, (2) users want to add service hooks (router_service, supergraph_service, execution_service, subgraph_service), (3) users want to modify an existing router plugin, (4) users need to understand router plugin patterns or the request lifecycle. (5) triggers on requests like "create a new plugin", "add a router plugin", "modify the X plugin", or "add subgraph_service hook".

🔥🔥🔥✓ VerifiedFreeQuick setup

#git

🔌 This skill ships inside the Apollo GraphQL Skills plugin — install the plugin and you also get an MCP server.

This is the playbook your agent receives when the skill activates — you don't need to read it to use the skill, but it's here to audit before installing.

Apollo Router Plugin Creator

Create native Rust plugins for Apollo Router.

Request Lifecycle

┌────────┐             ┌────────────────┐                                   ┌────────────────────┐               ┌───────────────────┐       ┌─────────────────────┐
│ Client │             │ Router Service │                                   │ Supergraph Service │               │ Execution Service │       │ Subgraph Service(s) │
└────┬───┘             └────────┬───────┘                                   └──────────┬─────────┘               └─────────┬─────────┘       └──────────┬──────────┘
     │                          │                                                      │                                   │                            │
     │      Sends request       │                                                      │                                   │                            │
     │──────────────────────────▶                                                      │                                   │                            │
     │                          │                                                      │                                   │                            │
     │                          │  Converts raw HTTP request to GraphQL/JSON request   │                                   │                            │
     │                          │──────────────────────────────────────────────────────▶                                   │                            │
     │                          │                                                      │                                   │                            │
     │                          │                                                      │  Initiates query plan execution   │                            │
     │                          │                                                      │───────────────────────────────────▶                            │
     │                          │                                                      │                                   │                            │
     │                          │                                                      │                               ┌par [Initiates sub-operation]───────┐
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │                            │   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │  Initiates sub-operation   │   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │────────────────────────────▶   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │                            │   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               ├[Initiates sub-operation]╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┤
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │                            │   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │  Initiates sub-operation   │   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │────────────────────────────▶   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │                            │   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               ├[Initiates sub-operation]╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┤
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │                            │   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │  Initiates sub-operation   │   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │────────────────────────────▶   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               │   │                            │   │
     │                          │                                                      │                               └────────────────────────────────────┘
     │                          │                                                      │                                   │                            │
     │                          │                                                      │  Assembles and returns response   │                            │
     │                          │                                                      ◀╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌│                            │
     │                          │                                                      │                                   │                            │
     │                          │            Returns GraphQL/JSON response             │                                   │                            │
     │                          ◀╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌│                                   │                            │
     │                          │                                                      │                                   │                            │
     │  Returns HTTP response   │                                                      │                                   │                            │
     ◀╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌│                                                      │                                   │                            │
     │                          │                                                      │                                   │                            │
┌────┴───┐             ┌────────┴───────┐                                   ┌──────────┴─────────┐               ┌─────────┴─────────┐       ┌──────────┴──────────┐
│ Client │             │ Router Service │                                   │ Supergraph Service │               │ Execution Service │       │ Subgraph Service(s) │
└────────┘             └────────────────┘                                   └────────────────────┘               └───────────────────┘       └─────────────────────┘

Service Hooks

Service Overview

Service	Description
`router_service`	Runs at the very beginning and very end of the HTTP request lifecycle.For example, JWT authentication is performed within the RouterService.Define router_service if your customization needs to interact with HTTP context and headers. It doesn't support access to the body property
`supergraph_service`	Runs at the very beginning and very end of the GraphQL request lifecycle.Define supergraph_service if your customization needs to interact with the GraphQL request or the GraphQL response. For example, you can add a check for anonymous queries.
`execution_service`	Handles initiating the execution of a query plan after it's been generated.Define execution_service if your customization includes logic to govern execution (for example, if you want to block a particular query based on a policy decision).
`subgraph_service`	Handles communication between the router and your subgraphs.Define subgraph_service to configure this communication (for example, to dynamically add HTTP headers to pass to a subgraph).Whereas other services are called once per client request, this service is called once per subgraph request that's required to resolve the client's request. Each call is passed a subgraph parameter that indicates the name of the corresponding subgraph.

Signatures:

fn router_service(&self, service: router::BoxService) -> router::BoxService
fn supergraph_service(&self, service: supergraph::BoxService) -> supergraph::BoxService
fn execution_service(&self, service: execution::BoxService) -> execution::BoxService
fn subgraph_service(&self, name: &str, service: subgraph::BoxService) -> subgraph::BoxService

Individual Hooks (Tower Layers)

Use ServiceBuilder to compose these hooks within any service:

Hook	Purpose	Sync/Async
`map_request(fn)`	Transform request before proceeding	Sync
`map_response(fn)`	Transform response before returning	Sync
`checkpoint(fn)`	Validate/filter, can short-circuit	Sync
`checkpoint_async(fn)`	Async validation, can short-circuit	Async
`buffered()`	Enable service cloning (needed for async)	-
`instrument(span)`	Add tracing span around service	-
`rate_limit(num, period)`	Control request throughput	-
`timeout(duration)`	Set operation time limit	-

Choosing a Service Hook

By data needed:

HTTP headers only → router_service
GraphQL query/variables → supergraph_service
Query plan → execution_service
Per-subgraph control → subgraph_service

By timing:

Before GraphQL parsing → router_service request
After parsing, before planning → supergraph_service request
After planning, before execution → execution_service request
Before/after each subgraph call → subgraph_service
Final response to client → router_service response

See references/service-hooks.md for implementation patterns.

Common Patterns

For implementation patterns and code examples, see references/service-hooks.md:

Enable/disable pattern
Request/response transformation (map_request, map_response)
Checkpoint (early return/short-circuit)
Context passing between hooks
Async operations (checkpoint_async, buffered)
Error response builders

Examples

Apollo Router Examples

Located in the Apollo Router plugins directory:

Plugin	Service Hook	Pattern	Description
`forbid_mutations.rs`	`execution_service`	checkpoint	Simple gate on query plan
`expose_query_plan.rs`	execution + supergraph	Context passing	Multi-service coordination
`cors.rs`	`router_service`	HTTP layer	CORS handling at HTTP level
`headers/`	`subgraph_service`	Layer composition	Complex header manipulation

For full code examples and testing patterns, see references/examples.md.

Resources

references/service-hooks.md - Detailed service hook implementations
references/existing-plugins.md - Index of existing plugins
references/examples.md - Full code examples and testing patterns
Apollo Router plugins: https://github.com/apollographql/router/tree/dev/apollo-router/src/plugins

Copy & paste — that's it

npx skills add apollographql/skills --skill "apollo-router-plugin-creator" --full-depth

Run this in your project — your agent picks the skill up automatically.

Quick Start

Step 1: Create Plugin File

Create a new file src/plugins/my_plugin.rs with required imports:

use std::ops::ControlFlow;
use apollo_router::plugin::{Plugin, PluginInit};
use apollo_router::register_plugin;
use apollo_router::services::{router, subgraph, supergraph};
use schemars::JsonSchema;
use serde::Deserialize;
use tower::{BoxError, ServiceBuilder, ServiceExt};

const PLUGIN_NAME: &str = "my_plugin";

Step 2: Define Configuration Struct

Every plugin needs a configuration struct with Deserialize and JsonSchema derives. The JsonSchema enables configuration validation in editors:

#[derive(Debug, Clone, Default, Deserialize, JsonSchema)]
struct MyPluginConfig {
  /// Enable the plugin
  enabled: bool,
  // Add other configuration fields as needed
}

Step 3: Define Plugin Struct

#[derive(Debug)]
struct MyPlugin {
  configuration: MyPluginConfig,
}

Step 4: Implement Plugin Trait

Implement the Plugin trait with the required Config type and new constructor:

#[async_trait::async_trait]
impl Plugin for MyPlugin {
  type Config = MyPluginConfig;

  async fn new(init: PluginInit<Self::Config>) -> Result<Self, BoxError> {
    Ok(MyPlugin { configuration: init.config })
  }

  // Add service hooks based on your needs (see "Choosing a Service Hook" section)
}

Step 5: Add Service Hooks

Choose which service(s) to hook based on your requirements, see Service Overview for details.

Example service hook:

fn supergraph_service(&self, service: supergraph::BoxService) -> supergraph::BoxService {
  if !self.configuration.enabled {
    return service;
  }

  ServiceBuilder::new()
    .map_request(|req| { /* transform request */ req })
    .map_response(|res| { /* transform response */ res })
    .service(service)
    .boxed()
}

Step 6: Register Plugin

At the bottom of your plugin file, register it with the router:

register_plugin!("acme", "my_plugin", MyPlugin);

Step 7: Add Module to mod.rs

In src/plugins/mod.rs, add your module:

pub mod my_plugin;

Step 8: Configure in YAML

Enable your plugin in the router configuration:

plugins:
  acme.my_plugin:
    enabled: true

Prerequisites

It is advised to have the rust-best-practices skill installed for writing idiomatic Rust code when developing router plugins. If installed, follow those best practices when generating or modifying plugin code.