# hayes/pothos

Pothos GraphQL is library for creating GraphQL schemas in typescript using a strongly typed code first approach

Repository: https://github.com/hayes/pothos
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/pothos
Homepage: https://pothos-graphql.dev
Language: TypeScript
License: ISC
License Family: permissive
Topics: graphql, typescript
Last push: 2026-08-25T22:31:20+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 95/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 87, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2518, "days_push": 8, "days_rel": 8, "gap_med": 0, "n_releases_24m": 418}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2611, forks 183 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:04.340367+00:00)

## What it is
Pothos is a plugin-based GraphQL schema builder for TypeScript that uses a strongly typed, code-first approach with no code generation required. It offers a rich plugin ecosystem (auth, validation, Prisma, Relay, dataloader, tracing) and is used in production at companies like Airbnb and Netflix.

## Use cases
- build a type-safe GraphQL schema in TypeScript
- create a GraphQL API without code generation
- solve n+1 query problems in GraphQL resolvers
- add field-level authorization to a GraphQL API
- build Relay-style cursor pagination connections
- validate GraphQL inputs with Zod
- migrate from Nexus to a maintained schema builder

## When to choose
- you want best-in-class TypeScript type safety for GraphQL schemas
- you prefer code-first schema definitions over SDL-first with codegen
- you need Prisma, Drizzle, or Relay integration with efficient query resolution
- you want a plugin ecosystem that extends the builder API seamlessly

## When to avoid
- your project is in JavaScript without TypeScript
- you prefer SDL-first schema design with generated types
- you need a language other than TypeScript/Node.js
- you want a batteries-included GraphQL server rather than a schema builder

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: active
- function: graphql, api-framework, middleware, auth, form-handling, tracing
- domain: web-development, backend, apis, developer-tools
- platform: cross-platform
- tags: schema-builder, code-first, type-safety, plugin-system, prisma, dataloader, relay, no-codegen, nodejs, typescript

## Member repositories
- hayes/pothos (main) score 95

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:04.340367+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:20:51.870796+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/hayes/pothos (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:04.340367+00:00, sha 4b32b223b9ad)
  - homepage: https://pothos-graphql.dev (fetched 2026-08-29T10:03:55.433904+00:00, sha 9f3bbc91cccc)
  - site_page: https://pothos-graphql.dev/docs (fetched 2026-08-29T10:03:55.443537+00:00, sha af7c73a4dd5d)
  - site_page: https://pothos-graphql.dev/docs/sponsors (fetched 2026-08-29T10:03:55.445472+00:00, sha da8ed8535702)
  - site_page: https://pothos-graphql.dev/docs/resources (fetched 2026-08-29T10:03:55.447074+00:00, sha b32be4721c71)
  - site_page: https://pothos-graphql.dev/docs/guide (fetched 2026-08-29T10:03:55.448605+00:00, sha 158c8d842be7)
  - site_page: https://pothos-graphql.dev/docs/plugins (fetched 2026-08-29T10:03:55.450001+00:00, sha 51b905fc9539)
  - site_page: https://pothos-graphql.dev/docs/migrations (fetched 2026-08-29T10:03:55.451414+00:00, sha 86f4f3d98243)
  - site_page: https://pothos-graphql.dev/docs/design (fetched 2026-08-29T10:03:55.452895+00:00, sha 15737b49243d)
  - site_page: https://pothos-graphql.dev/docs/llms (fetched 2026-08-29T10:03:55.454237+00:00, sha bafbb410a441)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.