Explaining Subgraph schemas
Introduction
Chainstack just announced its newest addition to the platformโChainstack Subgraphs. It allows developers to index and consume blockchain data with peace of mind.
To tailor a subgraph to your specific needs, it is essential to understand how its data is stored. A typical schema looks like this:
type Token @entity {
id: Bytes!
name: String!
symbol: String
decimals: Int
}
Schema is defined in schema.graphql file and is auto-generated when you run the graph init command. It is essential for subgraph deployment. You can create multiple schema files with different names, just make sure to add them in subgraph.yaml.
This article provides a general overview of subgraph schemas. Most of the examples are simplified versions of Messariโs subgraphs. For more in-depth information on how to use a subgraph, you can also check out these great articles in this category.
Entity
All data entries in a subgraph should be an entity and marked with @entity in the schema. Without explicitly declaring, it causes a compilation error. Entities can be related to other entities. For example:
type Token @entity {
id: Bytes!
name: String!
symbol: String
}
type TransferEvent @entity {
id: Bytes!
token: Token!
amount: BigInt!
}
In this case, a TransferEvent entity has a Token entity in its field. It is a one-to-many relationship. We will go into different types of relationships later.
Mutable vs immutable
In general, there are two types of entities: immutable and mutable.
type Token @entity {
id: Bytes!
name: String!
symbol: String
owner: [owner]
}
type Owner @entity{
id: Bytes!
balance: Int
}
type TransferEvent @entity(immutable: true) {
id: Bytes!
token: Token!
amount: BigInt!
from: Owner!
to: Owner!
}
In this example, TransferEvent entity is defined as immutable. Immutable entities are much faster to write and query so always define an entity as immutable if possible.
By default, all entities are mutable meaning that they can be changed during execution. Immutable entities, as the name suggested, canโt be modified once it is created. It can only be modified if only the changes happen in the same block in which it is created.
When you define your schema, you should have a clear idea of how your subgraph stores data. For example, the Owner entity and Token entity are always updated when a transfer happens; therefore they should not be immutable entities. TransferEvent is the transaction details, and is considered finalized once it is confirmed; it is very unlikely to be modified therefore should be an immutable entity.
Types
The Graph supports 6 data types:
Bytesโ hexadecimal string. Commonly used for hashes and addresses.Stringโ values ofstringtypeBooleanโ values ofbooleantypeIntโ integer values in GraphQL are limited to 32 bytes. This type can be used to storeint8,uint8,int16,uint16,int24,uint24, andint32data.BigIntโ this type can store integers that are beyond 32 bytes, such asuint32,int64,uint64untilint256anduint256.BigDecimalโ handling decimals on Ethereum can be tricky. The Graph supports high-precision decimals represented as a significand and exponent. The exponent range is from -6,143 to +6,144. Rounded to 34 significant digits.
In addition, the developer can also define their own enum types. For example:
enum TokenType {
UNKNOWN
ERC20
ERC721
}
type Token @entity {
id: Bytes!
type: TokenType!
name: String!
symbol: String
decimals: Int
}
Optional and required fields
The fields in an entity can either be optional or required. A required field is indicated with โ!โ.
In this example, id and name are mandatory for Token entity. If any of these fields are missing during indexing, an error occurs.
type Token @entity {
id: Bytes!
name: String!
symbol: String
decimals: Int
}
Please take note that the id field is mandatory for all entities. It must be unique and it serves as the primary key. The id field must be either byte or string type.
If your subgraph is indexing transactions, you can use the transaction hash as id. For a token, this id can be either the tokenโs smart contract address or a unique string. Below are some ideas for uniqueย IDย values:
event.params.id.toHex()event.transaction.from.toHex()event.transaction.hash.toHex() + "-" + event.logIndex.toString()
Relationships
An entity may relate to one or more other entities.
One-to-one
Below is an example pair of one-to-one entities referencing each other:
type TransferEvent @entity(immutable: true) {
id: Bytes!
blockNumber: BigInt!
timestamp: BigInt!
transferDetail: TransferEventDetail
}
type TransferEventDetail @entity(immutable: true) {
id: Bytes!
transactionDetail: TransferEvent
token: Token!
amount: BigInt!
from: Owner!
to: Owner!
}
One-to-many
Below is a one-to-many relation example:
type Token @entity {
id: Bytes!
name: String!
symbol: String
}
type TransferEvent @entity {
id: Bytes!
token: Token!
amount: BigInt!
}
Many-to-many
Many-to-many relations are usually defined as an array in both entities. Taking ERC-20 token as an example, a token may have many owners, so the Token entity should keep an owner list. An owner can potentially hold more than one token so the Owner entity also keeps a list of tokens. The schema:
type Token @entity {
id: Bytes!
name: String!
symbol: String
owners: [owner!]!
}
type Owner @entity{
id: Bytes!
tokens: [Token!]! @derivedFrom(field: "owner")
}
Reverse lookups
In the above example, a new keyword @derivedFrom is used, it is called reverse lookup.
When a field is defined as @derivedFrom, it is never actually created during indexing. Instead, it is referencing another field in the other entity.
In the above case, when an ownerโs tokens field is queried, GraphQL looks into the owners field of the Token entity to find all the tokens with a particular owner in its owners field and returns that as a result.
Indexing SHIB token
Here is an example of subgraph indexing for Shiba Inu coin, which includes transfer events and owners' account balances. This example is built with graph CLI version 0.45.1.
Firstly, run graph init with contract address: 0x95aD61b0a150d79219dCF64E1E6Cc01f0B64C4cE.
Change the subgraph.yaml to the following:
specVersion: 0.0.5
schema:
file: ./schema.graphql
dataSources:
- kind: ethereum
name: Contract
network: mainnet
source:
address: "0x95aD61b0a150d79219dCF64E1E6Cc01f0B64C4cE"
abi: Contract
startBlock: 10569013
mapping:
kind: ethereum/events
apiVersion: 0.0.7
language: wasm/assemblyscript
entities:
- Account
- Transfer
abis:
- name: Contract
file: ./abis/Contract.json
eventHandlers:
- event: Transfer(indexed address,indexed address,uint256)
handler: handleTransfer
file: ./src/contract.ts
Then we modify the schema.graphql in the following manner:
type Transfer @entity(immutable: true) {
"id will be tx hash"
id: String!
hash: Bytes!
to: Account!
from: Account!
amount: BigInt!
blockNumber: BigInt!
timestamp: BigInt!
}
type Account @entity {
"id will be account address"
id: Bytes!
amount: BigInt!
}
Here we index two entities, the Account entity keeps all the balance of SHIB token holderโs account balances. The Transfer entity keeps a record of all transactions that are related to SHIB token. Here we use transaction hash as its ID.
Next, to generate schema.ts in the generated directory run:
graph codegen
Then navigate to the src directory to define our event mapping.
import { Bytes, BigInt, ethereum, log } from "@graphprotocol/graph-ts";
import {
Transfer as TransferEvent
} from "../generated/Contract/Contract"
import { Account, Transfer} from "../generated/schema"
export function handleTransfer(event: TransferEvent): void {
let transfer = new Transfer(
event.transaction.hash.toHex()
)
transfer.hash = event.transaction.hash
transfer.from = event.params.from
transfer.to = event.params.to
transfer.amount = event.params.value
transfer.blockNumber = event.block.number
transfer.timestamp = event.block.timestamp
transfer.save()
var sender = Account.load(transfer.from)
var receiver = Account.load(transfer.to)
if (receiver == null){
receiver = new Account(transfer.to)
receiver.amount = transfer.amount
receiver.save()
}
else{
receiver.amount = receiver.amount.plus(transfer.amount)
receiver.save()
}
if(sender != null){
sender.amount = sender.amount.minus(transfer.amount)
sender.save()
}
}
Thatโs it. Finally, run npm install and graph build to compile the code and deploy it to Chainstack Subgraphs with the deployment command which can be found in your Chainstack console.
When deployment completes, open the GraphQL UI URL in your browser to see the result.
Conclusion
To make the most out of subgraphs, it is important to understand how data is stored. In this article, we covered the basics of subgraph schemas, including entities, mutable vs. immutable types, optional and required fields, relationships, and indexing examples for the SHIB token. By following these guidelines, developers can create customized subgraphs that suit their specific needs and ensure efficient and accurate indexing of blockchain data.
See also
About the author
Updated 11 days ago