GraphQL id=null yet Neo4J <id> exists

[r_chevalier335]

When mutating using graphql playground id=null is returned, yet the Neo4j browser shows a value for "id". What am I missing here?

[William_Lyon]

Hi @r.chevalier335 - what does your GraphQL typedef look like for the type in question? And the GraphQL query?

Are you referring to the Neo4j internal node id, or a property named id that you are setting the value of explicitly? Neo4j internal node ids are exposed in the GraphQL integration as field _id and show up in Neo4j browser as <id>.

[r_chevalier335]

Thanks for responding Will.

No, I didn't explicitly set an id value. I was expecting the Neo4j id to be returned. I've done a bit of reading and understand that the Neo4j id might not be reliable, and it's better to explicitly make my own. Is that true?

[William_Lyon]

Yes, Neo4j internal ids should not be used in external systems as the internal ids can be reclaimed and reused later on.

So in general yes better to create a UUID or something and set it explicitly. If you're using neo4j-graphql.js a UUID will be generated and set automatically for any ID! field if not specified in the create mutation.

You can also use apoc.create.uuid to generate a UUID when creating nodes.

[ahmedhosny]

Hello William -

If you're using neo4j-graphql.js a UUID will be generated and set automatically for any ID! field if not specified in the create mutation.

I noticed this behavior when creating new nodes. However, I noticed this is not happening in the case of creating new relationships. I am using the community edition, and thought to add an ID! to the relationship type. In this case, it seems I am expected to provide the ID myself. I guess I am also wondering if I ever need to select a relationship by ID rather than simply match to its nodes.

My schema looks something like this.

# For company and product, Id's are generated automatically when not provided at creation time.
type Company {
  companyId: ID! 
  name: String!
  makes: [Makes]
}
type Product {
  productId: ID! 
  name: String!
  madeBy: [Makes]
}

# Here, ID is required (in addition to from and to)
type Makes @relation(name: "MAKES") {
  makesId: ID!
  from: Company
  to: Product
  source: String!
}

I call it like so

mutation AddCompanyMakes($companyId: ID!, $productId: ID!) {
  AddCompanyMakes(
    from: { companyId: $companyId }
    to: { productId: $productId }
    data: { source: "test" } # makesId REQUIRED HERE
  ) {
    from {
      companyId
    }
    to {
      productId
    }
    source
  }
}

[r_chevalier335]

Awesome. This is very helpful. Thanks William.

[r_chevalier335]

I've had partial success. Still unable to delete and update. Any help is appreciated.

Here is my schema:
type Thing {
_id: ID!
name: String
}

type Query {
things: [Thing]!
thing(_id: ID!): Thing
}

type Mutation {
createThing(name: String): Thing
updateThing(_id: ID!, name: String!): Thing
deleteThing(_id: ID!): Thing
}

Here are my queries/mutations and results:

---

ALL THINGS - Works

---

query{things{
_id
name
}
}
RETURNS:
{
"data": {
"things": [
{
"_id": "4",
"name": "Thing 1"
},
{
"_id": "67",
"name": "Thing 2"
},
{
"_id": "68",
"name": "Thing 3"
},
{
"_id": "69",
"name": "Thing 3"
},
{
"_id": "70",
"name": "Thing 3"
},

---

ONE THING - Works

---

query{thing(_id:"4"){
_id
name
}
}
RETURNS:
{
"data": {
"thing": {
"_id": "4",
"name": "Thing 1"
}
}
}

---

CREATE A THING - Works

---

mutation{createThing(
name: "Thing 99993"
)
{
_id
name
}
}
RETURNS:
{
"data": {
"createThing": {
"_id": "77",
"name": "Thing 99993"
}
}
}

---

UPDATE A THING - Nope

---

mutation{updateThing(
_id: "4"
name: "Update Node 1"
){
_id
name
}
}
RETURNS:
{
"data": {
"updateThing": null
}
}

---

DELETE A THING - Nope It says the parameter is missing but I provided it.???

---

mutation {deleteThing(_id: "4"){
_id
name
}
}
RETURNS:
{
"errors": [
{
"message": "Expected parameter(s): _id",
"locations": [
{
"line": 2,
"column": 3
}
],
"path": [
"deleteThing"
],
"extensions": {
"code": "INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR",
"exception": {
"code": "Neo.ClientError.Statement.ParameterMissing",
"name": "Neo4jError",
"stacktrace": [
"Neo4jError: Expected parameter(s): _id",
"",
" at captureStacktrace (/home/rchevalier/dev/grand-stack/api/node_modules/neo4j-driver/lib/v1/result.js:199:15)",
" at new Result (/home/rchevalier/dev/grand-stack/api/node_modules/neo4j-driver/lib/v1/result.js:65:19)",
" at _newRunResult (/home/rchevalier/dev/grand-stack/api/node_modules/neo4j-driver/lib/v1/transaction.js:354:10)",
" at Object.run (/home/rchevalier/dev/grand-stack/api/node_modules/neo4j-driver/lib/v1/transaction.js:238:14)",
" at Transaction.run (/home/rchevalier/dev/grand-stack/api/node_modules/neo4j-driver/lib/v1/transaction.js:104:26)",
" at /home/rchevalier/dev/grand-stack/api/node_modules/neo4j-graphql-js/dist/index.js:91:25",
" at TransactionExecutor._safeExecuteTransactionWork (/home/rchevalier/dev/grand-stack/api/node_modules/neo4j-driver/lib/v1/internal/transaction-executor.js:134:22)",
" at TransactionExecutor._executeTransactionInsidePromise (/home/rchevalier/dev/grand-stack/api/node_modules/neo4j-driver/lib/v1/internal/transaction-executor.js:122:32)",
" at /home/rchevalier/dev/grand-stack/api/node_modules/neo4j-driver/lib/v1/internal/transaction-executor.js:61:15",
" at new Promise ()"
]
}
}
}
],
"data": {
"deleteThing": null
}
}

[mckenzma]

I posted a question and then immediately realized my error.

[mckenzma]

How is it supposed to work when you want to set the id using apoc.create.uuid using a mutation?

I am getting the following type of error message in my GRANDstack app:

Should I use the apoc.create.uuid or should I set id?