[iOS] I can't use array of Uploads in nested structures, looking for a client-side solution

Client SDKs
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1

Basically, I have a upload query that is:

type CustomUploadStructure { 
    id: String!
    upload: Upload!
}

mutation uploadMethod($accessKey: String, $uploadFiles: [CustomUploadStructure!])

From what i’ve seen, this can’t be done on iOS; but i’m looking for options.
What I was trying to do was to deconstruct the mutation obj array on and trying to rebuild it, but i believe I can’t do this with graphql alone.

mutation clientUploadMethod($accessKey: String, $uploadIds: [String!]!, $uploads: [Upload!]!) {
    response: serverUploadMethod(
        accessKey: $accessKey, $uploadFiles: { id: $uploadIds, upload: $uploads } # this gives error
    )
}

Is there anything that can do done solve it on client side?

2

Hi @celtaheaven :wave: - we generally don’t recommend using GraphQL for file uploads but we do have documentation that demonstrates how we support it - Mutations - Apollo GraphQL Docs. Honestly I’d look at using other means for the upload and use your mutation to set the location of where the files were uploaded to.

3

Thanks for the answer Calvin. Well, I’m asking my team to do accordingly with the docs as its possible.
But considering that it’s not a recommendation to upload directly from Apollo, I believe there should be a very explicit warning in the documentation, to aware this is not the recommended practice.

Still, thank you!

4

But considering that it’s not a recommendation to upload directly from Apollo

It’s not that Apollo iOS is the problem. Uploading via GraphQL is a terrible workflow and there are better solutions.

I believe there should be a very explicit warning in the documentation, to aware this is not the recommended practice.

The linked documentation opens with the text below, I think it’s a fair warning.

An Important Caveat About File Uploads

Apollo recommends only using GraphQL file uploading for proof-of-concept applications. While there is a spec we presently support for making multipart-form requests with GraphQL, we’ve found that, in practice, it’s much simpler to use more purpose-built tools for file upload.

Apollo recommends using more traditional methods to upload your files, such as REST multipart-form uploads or SDK’s that support file uploads, such as AmazonS3.

Hope you find a reliable solution that works for your project.