Directives

Define custom directives with all standard GraphQL locations, arguments, and repeatable support.

February 4, 2026

Directives provide a way to annotate GraphQL schema elements with additional metadata. NeoArc Studio supports all standard GraphQL directive locations, allowing you to define and document custom directives for authentication, caching, validation, and more.

Directive Properties

Property	Required	Description
id	Yes	Unique identifier
name	Yes	Directive name (without @ prefix)
description	No	Explanation of the directive's purpose
locations	Yes	Array of valid GraphQL locations
arguments	No	Array of directive arguments
isRepeatable	No	Whether multiple applications are allowed
isBuiltIn	No	Marks built-in directives like @deprecated

Directive Locations

GraphQL defines locations across two categories where directives can be applied:

Built-in Directives

GraphQL provides three built-in directives:

Directive	Locations	Purpose
@deprecated	FIELD_DEFINITION, ARGUMENT_DEFINITION, INPUT_FIELD_DEFINITION, ENUM_VALUE	Mark elements as deprecated with optional reason
@skip	FIELD, FRAGMENT_SPREAD, INLINE_FRAGMENT	Conditionally skip field during execution
@include	FIELD, FRAGMENT_SPREAD, INLINE_FRAGMENT	Conditionally include field during execution

{
  "id": "directive-deprecated",
  "name": "deprecated",
  "description": "Marks an element as deprecated with optional reason and migration guidance.",
  "locations": [
    "FIELD_DEFINITION",
    "ARGUMENT_DEFINITION",
    "INPUT_FIELD_DEFINITION",
    "ENUM_VALUE"
  ],
  "arguments": [
    {
      "name": "reason",
      "typeName": "String",
      "nullable": true,
      "defaultValue": "No longer supported",
      "description": "Deprecation reason and migration guidance"
    }
  ],
  "isRepeatable": false,
  "isBuiltIn": true
}

Custom Directive Examples

Directive Arguments

Directive arguments allow configuration when the directive is applied:

Property	Required	Description
name	Yes	Argument name
typeName	Yes	GraphQL scalar type (String, Int, Float, Boolean, ID)
nullable	No	Whether the argument can be omitted
defaultValue	No	Default value if omitted
description	No	Argument explanation

Repeatable Directives

Set isRepeatable: true when a directive can be applied multiple times to the same element:

{
  "id": "directive-tag",
  "name": "tag",
  "description": "Adds a categorisation tag to a field or type.",
  "locations": ["FIELD_DEFINITION", "OBJECT"],
  "arguments": [
    {
      "name": "name",
      "typeName": "String",
      "nullable": false
    }
  ],
  "isRepeatable": true
}

Repeatable example in SDL:

type Product @tag(name: "commerce") @tag(name: "catalogue") {
  id: ID!
}

Applying Directives

Directives defined in the API can be applied to:

Operations - Via the operation's directives property
Arguments - Via individual argument directive arrays
Interfaces - Via interface and interface field directive arrays

{
  "name": "email",
  "typeName": "String",
  "nullable": false,
  "directives": [
    {
      "directiveId": "directive-sensitive",
      "arguments": {
        "reason": "Contains user email address"
      }
    }
  ]
}