Quail

Convention over Configuration

Define a resource class with a simple DSL and Quail auto-generates GraphQL types, queries, mutations, and subscriptions from your ActiveRecord models.

Turbo streamed GraphQL Subscriptions

Declare subscribe_on in a resource and Quail wires up GraphQL subscriptions powered by Rails ActionCable.

Rails-native Tooling

Generators, rake tasks, Railtie integration, and patterns that feel like home. Your models stay clean; the GraphQL layer lives in its own space.

AGENTS.md Ready

Documentation ships with llms.txt support, making it easy for AI coding agents to read and understand Quail without any extra effort.

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See It in Action

1. Install Quail and scaffold your GraphQL layer

   rails generate quail:install

   This creates:

   app/
   ├── channels/
   │   └── graphql_channel.rb          # ActionCable for subscriptions
   ├── controllers/
   │   └── graphql_controller.rb       # Ready-to-go controller
   └── graphql/
       ├── app_schema.rb               # Your GraphQL schema
       ├── mutations/                  # Custom mutation classes
       ├── queries/                    # Custom query resolvers
       ├── resources/                  # Where your resource files live
       ├── subscriptions/              # Custom subscription classes
       └── types/                      # Custom GraphQL types
   config/
   └── initializers/
       └── quail.rb                    # Configuration

2. Create a model and generate its resource

   rails g model Article title:string body:text published_at:datetime author:references
   rails db:migrate
   rails generate quail:resource Article

3. Define what to expose in the resource

   app/graphql/resources/article_resource.rb

   class ArticleResource
     include Quail::Resource # Activates the DSL and registers this resource
   
     # Expose these columns as GraphQL fields
     attributes :id, :title, :body, :published_at
   
     # Wire up associations — types resolve automatically
     has_many :comments
     belongs_to :author
   
     # Only these fields are accepted in create/update mutations
     writable_attributes :title, :body
   
     # Push real-time updates over ActionCable
     subscribe_on :create, :update
   end

4. Dump the schema to see what Quail generated

   rails quail:dump

schema.graphql

type Article {
  id: ID!
  title: String!
  body: String!
  publishedAt: ISO8601DateTime
  comments: [Comment!]!
  author: Author!
}

type ArticleConnection {
  edges: [ArticleEdge!]!
  nodes: [Article!]!
  pageInfo: PageInfo!
}

type Query {
  article(id: ID!): Article
  articles(first: Int, after: String, last: Int, before: String): ArticleConnection!
}

type Mutation {
  articleCreate(input: ArticleCreateInput!): Article
  articleUpdate(input: ArticleUpdateInput!): Article
  articleDelete(input: ArticleDeleteInput!): Article
}

type Subscription {
  articleCreated: Article!
  articleUpdated: Article!
}

Query Example

query {
  articles(first: 5) {
    edges {
      node {
        id
        title
        author { name }
      }
    }
    pageInfo {
      hasNextPage
      endCursor
    }
  }
}

Mutation Example

mutation {
  articleCreate(input: { title: "Hello Quail", body: "GraphQL made easy." }) {
    id
    title
    createdAt
  }
}

One resource file. Full CRUD, pagination, and real-time subscriptions — no boilerplate.

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