Create Lambda GraphQL App

A CLI tool to quickly scaffold a new Node.js GraphQL project for AWS Lambda, using AWS SAM for deployment.

✨ Features

• GraphQL Ready: Starts you with a working GraphQL schema and resolver.
• AWS Lambda: Pre-configured for deployment to AWS Lambda.
• AWS SAM: Uses AWS Serverless Application Model (SAM) for defining and deploying your serverless application.
• ES Modules: Uses modern ES modules syntax.
• Local Development: Test your Lambda functions locally with sam local start-api.
• Linting: Comes with ESLint configured for code quality.
• VS Code Integration: Includes a launch.json for easy debugging from VS Code.
• Interactive CLI: An interactive CLI to customize your project setup.
• Organized Structure: A clean and scalable project structure.
• Extensible: Easily add new handlers with a single command.
• Modular Templates: Internal templates for YAML and GraphQL schemas are now more modular and functional.

🧠 Tech Stack

• Runtime: Node.js 20.x
• Framework: None (vanilla Node.js)
• Deployment: AWS SAM
• GraphQL: graphql npm package
• Linting: ESLint

⚙️ Installation

No global installation needed. Just run it via npx:

npx create-lambda-graphql-app

🚀 Usage

🆕 Creating a New Project

To create a new project, simply run:

npx create-lambda-graphql-app cool-project-name

The CLI will guide you through the setup process — asking for the project name, folder structure, and initial handler creation.

📁 Project Structure

Your generated project will look like this:

├── .vscode/
│   └── launch.json
├── local-test/
│   └── your-handler/
│       ├── local-test.json
│       ├── local-test.mjs
├── handlers/
│   └── your-handler/
│       ├── index.mjs
│       ├── constants/
│       ├── dal/
│       ├── dao/
│       ├── exceptions/
│       ├── helpers/
│       ├── transformers/
│       └── validators/
├── schema/
│   └── schema.graphql
├── mapping/
│   └── request.vtl
│   └── response.vtl
├── template.yaml
├── .env
├── .npmignore
├── .gitignore
├── package.json
└── ...

Folder Breakdown

• handlers/: Each folder is an independent Lambda function.
• schema/schema.graphql: Your GraphQL schema definition.
• template.yaml: The AWS SAM template that defines your Lambda functions and API.

🧩 Add a Handler to Existing Project

You can add a new handler anytime without breaking your existing project.

npx create-lambda-graphql-app add <handler-name>

This command will:

1. Prompt for a handler name.
2. Create all standard subfolders (constants, dao, helpers, etc.).
3. Update template.yaml with the new function.
4. Update the GraphQL schema with new mutations/queries.

🧰 Local Development

To run locally:

sam build
sam local start-api

☁️ Deployment

Deploy to AWS using the SAM CLI:

sam build
sam deploy --guided

You’ll be prompted for the stack name, AWS region, and other configuration details.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome!
If you find a bug or want to suggest a feature, feel free to open an issue or submit a PR.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

💬 Author

Developed with ❤️ by Jamal
GitHub: @unsuredev
NPM: create-lambda-graphql-app