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| 1 | +--- |
| 2 | +title: "GraphQL.js Docs Updates, April - May 2025" |
| 3 | +tags: ["blog"] |
| 4 | +date: 2025-06-26 |
| 5 | +byline: Sarah Sanders |
| 6 | +--- |
| 7 | + |
| 8 | +> The GraphQL Foundation offers [Community Grants](https://graphql.org/foundation/community-grant/) to help incentivize key |
| 9 | +> technical and community initiatives. As part of the grant, applicants commit to write a blog post report describing their |
| 10 | +> work and its impact on the GraphQL community. The following report was written by grant recipient Sarah Sanders in June |
| 11 | +> 2025, summarizing the documentation updates she contributed to the GraphQL.js reference guides during her project. |
| 12 | +
|
| 13 | +## About the project |
| 14 | + |
| 15 | +The [GraphQL.js](https://github.com/graphql/graphql-js) library is the reference implementation of the GraphQL specification |
| 16 | +in JavaScript, and it's widely used both directly and indirectly by many GraphQL tools and servers. While the implementation |
| 17 | +itself is robust and actively maintained, the supporting documentation had room to grow—especially when it came to helping |
| 18 | +developers understand _how_ GraphQL.js reflects the spec and _how_ to use its APIs in real projects. |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | +With that in mind, I applied for a GraphQL Foundation Community Grant to work on improving the GraphQL.js documentation. |
| 21 | +My goal was to make the guides more approachable for newcomers, more accurate for advanced users, and more aligned with the |
| 22 | +specification for everyone. |
| 23 | + |
| 24 | +## What I worked on |
| 25 | + |
| 26 | +This project involved a full audit of the existing GraphQL.js guides, followed by targeted updates to improve clarity, |
| 27 | +structure, and completeness. I focused on areas that were either under-documented or potentially confusing, and worked to |
| 28 | +ensure the guides explained not just _what_ GraphQL.js does, but _why_ and _how_ it does it. |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +Some key improvements include: |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +- Clearer explanations of schema construction and how types are defined in GraphQL.js |
| 33 | +- Improved guidance on how execution and validation flow maps to the spec |
| 34 | +- Expanded sections on custom scalars and other advanced patterns |
| 35 | +- New guides on testing and production-readiness |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | +All updates are live on the [GraphQL.js docs site](https://www.graphql-js.org/docs/). |
| 38 | + |
| 39 | +## What's next |
| 40 | + |
| 41 | +I hope these updates help more developers learn and use GraphQL.js effectively, and serve as a foundation for future improvements |
| 42 | +to the reference documentation. There’s still more we can do and I’d love to see others in the community build on this work. |
| 43 | + |
| 44 | +This project was a rewarding chance to contribute meaningfully to the GraphQL ecosystem, and I’m thankful to the maintainers |
| 45 | +who reviewed, discussed, and supported the updates throughout the process. If you’re considering a documentation or |
| 46 | +community contribution, I encourage you to explore the [GraphQL Foundation’s Community Grant Program](https://graphql.org/foundation/community-grant/). It’s a great way to go deep, give back, and help others along the way. |
| 47 | + |
| 48 | +Feel free to reach out if you’re thinking about submitting a proposal. I’m happy to share what I learned! You can |
| 49 | +reach me via [GitHub](https://github.com/sarahxsanders) or [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-s-42913121a/). |
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