Subscriptions

GraphQL subscriptions push events to a connected client whenever data changes. Archie publishes an event when a row is inserted, updated, or deleted on a watched table; a subscribed client receives the event over a WebSocket. You configure subscriptions in two stages:

Define the subscription — what to watch — by calling a mutation under the system namespace.
Connect to the WebSocket endpoint with the subscription’s id; events flow over that connection until you disconnect.

Subscriptions use the wss:// protocol. The endpoint is per-environment — see Environments.

wss://<your-graphql-endpoint>/subscriptions?project_id=<projectId>

Defining a subscription

Subscriptions are first-class records. Create them with system { createSubscription }, update them with system { updateSubscription }, and remove them with system { deleteSubscription }.

Create

mutation CreateSubscription($input: SubscriptionInput!) {
  system {
    createSubscription(input: $input) {
      id
      name
      active
    }
  }
}

{
  "input": {
    "name": "students_create",
    "description": "Subscribe to new student records",
    "active": true,
    "tables": [
      {
        "table": "students",
        "operations": ["CREATE"],
        "fields": ["id", "first_name", "email"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

The response contains the subscription id. Hold on to it — that’s how you reference the subscription on a WebSocket connection and how you update or delete it later.

Update

mutation UpdateSubscription($input: SubscriptionInput!) {
  system {
    updateSubscription(input: $input) {
      id
      name
    }
  }
}

{
  "input": {
    "id": "id_subscription",
    "name": "students_all",
    "active": true,
    "tables": [
      {
        "table": "students",
        "operations": ["CREATE", "UPDATE", "DELETE"],
        "fields": ["id", "first_name"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Delete

mutation DeleteSubscription($id: String!) {
  system {
    deleteSubscription(id: $id)
  }
}

Watching multiple tables

A single subscription can watch any number of tables, each with its own operations and field set:

{
  "input": {
    "name": "orders_and_payments",
    "active": true,
    "tables": [
      {
        "table": "orders",
        "operations": ["CREATE", "UPDATE"],
        "fields": ["id", "status", "total"]
      },
      {
        "table": "payments",
        "operations": ["CREATE"],
        "fields": ["id", "amount", "order_id"]
      }
    ]
  }
}

Filtered subscriptions

To receive events only for records matching a condition, attach conditions to a table block. Conditions stack with logical AND.

Operator	Example
`EQ`	`status = "active"`
`NEQ`	`type != "admin"`
`GT`	`age > 18`
`LT`	`price < 100`
`GTE`	`score >= 80`
`LTE`	`attempts <= 3`
`CONTAINS`	`name contains "john"`
`STARTSWITH`	`email startsWith "admin"`
`ENDSWITH`	`domain endsWith ".com"`

{
  "input": {
    "name": "students_25_to_50",
    "active": true,
    "tables": [
      {
        "table": "students",
        "operations": ["CREATE"],
        "fields": ["id", "first_name", "email", "age"],
        "conditions": [
          { "field": "age", "operator": "GTE", "value": "25" },
          { "field": "age", "operator": "LTE", "value": "50" }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

You can mix multiple tables with their own conditions in the same subscription:

{
  "input": {
    "name": "active_business_events",
    "active": true,
    "tables": [
      {
        "table": "students",
        "operations": ["CREATE"],
        "fields": ["id", "first_name", "age"],
        "conditions": [
          { "field": "age", "operator": "GTE", "value": "30" }
        ]
      },
      {
        "table": "courses",
        "operations": ["UPDATE"],
        "fields": ["id", "code", "price"],
        "conditions": [
          { "field": "price", "operator": "LTE", "value": "500" }
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
}

On the WebSocket side

Once the subscription exists, connect to the WebSocket endpoint and reference the subscription id. Most GraphQL client libraries (Apollo, urql, graphql-ws) handle the connection lifecycle for you — you provide the WebSocket URL and an authentication token, and they deliver events to a callback. Events arrive as JSON payloads matching the fields declared on each table block, plus the operation type (CREATE, UPDATE, DELETE). Toggle active: false to pause delivery without deleting the subscription.

Permissions

Subscriptions honor the read permissions defined in Role-Based Access. A connected client only receives events for records and fields it’s allowed to read; everything else is filtered out before delivery.

Authentication

WebSocket connections require the same authentication tokens as queries and mutations — issued by an authentication provider configured in App Services → Authentication Providers. Pass the token through the connection params your GraphQL client supports.

FAQ

When should I use a subscription instead of polling?

Use a subscription when you need event-driven UI updates — collaborative editing, live dashboards, chat — and the upstream change rate is low to moderate. For high-volume or batched changes, polling at a controlled interval is often simpler and cheaper.

Do subscriptions work in browsers without WebSocket support?

Modern browsers all support WebSockets. If you’re targeting an environment without WebSocket support, fall back to polling the REST API or use webhooks for server-to-server delivery.

What's the difference between a subscription and a webhook?

A subscription pushes events over a WebSocket to a long-lived client connection. A webhook pushes events over HTTP to a server URL you control. Subscriptions are best for client UIs; webhooks are best for backend systems integrating with your data.

What happens if I miss events while disconnected?

Subscriptions are not durable queues — events fire while the WebSocket is connected. For at-least-once delivery to a backend, use webhooks, which retry on failure.

Home

Blueprint

Design

Frontend

Backend

Assets

Defining a subscription

Create

Update

Delete

Watching multiple tables

Filtered subscriptions

On the WebSocket side

Permissions

Authentication

FAQ

​Defining a subscription

​Create

​Update

​Delete

​Watching multiple tables

​Filtered subscriptions

​On the WebSocket side

​Permissions

​Authentication

​FAQ

Defining a subscription

Create

Update

Delete

Watching multiple tables

Filtered subscriptions

On the WebSocket side

Permissions

Authentication

FAQ