Query validators

GraphQL uses query validators to check if Query AST is valid and can be executed. Every GraphQL server implements standard query validators. For example, there is an validator that tests if queried field exists on queried type, that makes query fail with "Cannot query field on type" error if it doesn't.

Ariadne supports extending this server behaviour by including custom query validators.

Query cost validator

Query cost validation allows server owners to limit maximal allowed cost (or complexity) of GraphQL query. This forces malicious clients to run multiple HTTP requests which in turn allows server owners to limit or filter off their traffic through HTTP server settings.

First, query cost validator needs to be enabled on GraphQL server using validation_rules option:

from ariadne.asgi import GraphQL
from ariadne.validation import cost_validator

schema = make_executable_schema() # make_executable_schema call with type definitions, resolvers, etc. ect.

graphql = Graphql(
    schema,
    validation_rules=[cost_validator(maximum_cost=5)]
)

Next step is assigning costs values to schema fields. This can be done in Python or in the schema.

Setting fields costs in schema

To set fields costs in schema, first add cost directive definition to it:

directive @cost(complexity: Int, multipliers: [String!], useMultipliers: Boolean) on FIELD | FIELD_DEFINITION

To make your schema future proof, directive's definition is available as import from Ariadne:

from ariadne.validation import cost_directive

schema = make_executable_schema([type_defs, cost_directive], ...)

Now you can use this directive to assign costs to selected fields. For example, you can set cost of accessing poster field on Post type as 3 like this:

type Post {
    id: ID
    name: String
    poster: User @cost(complexity: 3)
}

If you want to, you can make cost depend on the value of one or more of Int arguments that field accepts:

type Query {
    news(promoted: Int, regular: Int): Post @cost(complexity: 1, multipliers: ["promoted", "regular"])
}

In the above example, final complexity will be multiplied by both promoted and regular values.

You can also use useMultipliers to remove query cost multiplication for specified field without removing @cost from it:

type Query {
    news(promoted: Int): Post @cost(complexity: 1, multipliers: ["promoted"], useMultipliers: false)
}

Setting fields costs in Python

Fields costs can be set using Python dict passed as an option to cost_validator:

cost_map = {
    "Query": {
        "news": {"complexity": 1, "multipliers": ["promoted", "regular"]},
    },
    "Post": {
        "poster": {"complexity": 3},
    },
}

graphql = Graphql(
    type_defs,
    validation_rules=[cost_validator(maximum_cost=5, cost_map=cost_map)]
)

Setting default field cost and complexity

cost_validator supports two additional options to make configuring costs less verbose:

• default_complexity: int - Default value for field complexity if its omitted from @cost or price_map. Defaults to 1.
• default_cost: int - Default base value for field cost. Defaults to 0.

Configuring cost_validator dynamically

Because validation_rules option can be a callable (eg. function), it can be used to dynamically configure query costs validation based on GraphQL context or even parsed query itself:

def get_validation_rules(context_value, document, data):
    user = context_value.get("user")
    if user:
        if user.is_admin:
            return None
        if user.is_high_ltv:
            return [cost_validator(maximum_cost=15)]
    
    return [cost_validator(maximum_cost=5)]


graphql = Graphql(
    schema,
    validation_rules=get_validation_rules
)

Exposing query variables to cost_validator

Cost validator will raise an error if query containing variables is made, but variable values are not made available to the validator. Use dynamic configuration to avoid this:

type_defs = gql(
    """
    type Query {
        hello(id: Int!): String!
    }
    """
)


def get_validation_rules(context_value, document, data):
    return [cost_validator(maximum_cost=5, variables=data.get("variables"))]


schema = make_executable_schema(type_defs)

graphql = Graphql(
    schema,
    validation_rules=get_validation_rules,
)

Complexity of lists of items

Query cost validation runs before query execution. This makes it impossible for field cost to depend on real number of returned children.

To deal with that you should use either multipliers, dynamic query cost configuration or make field's cost high enough in advance.

Implementing custom validator

All custom query validators should extend the ValidationRule base class importable from the graphql.validation.rules module.

Query validators are visitor classes. They are instantiated at the time of query validation with one required argument (context: ASTValidationContext).

In order to perform validation, your validator class should define one or more of enter_* and leave_* methods. For possible enter/leave items as well as details on function documentation, please see contents of the visitor module.

To make validation fail, you should call validator's report_error method with the instance of GraphQLError describing failure reason.

Here is an example query validator that visits field definitions in GraphQL query and fails query validation if any of those fields are introspection fields:

from graphql import GraphQLError
from graphql.language import FieldNode
from graphql.validation import ValidationRule


def is_introspection_field(field_name: str):
    return field_name.lower() in [
        "__schema",
        "__directive",
        "__directivelocation",
        "__type",
        "__field",
        "__inputvalue",
        "__enumvalue",
        "__typekind",
    ]


class IntrospectionDisabledRule(ValidationRule):
    def enter_field(self, node: FieldNode, *_args):
        field_name = node.name.value
        if not is_introspection_key(field_name):
            return

        self.report_error(
            GraphQLError(
                f"Cannot query '{field_name}': introspection is disabled.", node,
            )
        )