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Remove ambiguity about operationName=null in GET requests #385

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Merged
martinbonnin merged 3 commits into from
Apr 23, 2026
Merged

Remove ambiguity about operationName=null in GET requests #385

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0f4a690
Do not allow operationName=null in GET
martinbonnin Apr 17, 2026
11b000c
Escape `null`
benjie Apr 23, 2026
d4e2d19
format
martinbonnin Apr 23, 2026
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18 changes: 9 additions & 9 deletions spec/GraphQLOverHTTP.md
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Expand Up @@ -237,9 +237,6 @@ Note: An HTTP request that encodes parameters of the same names but of the wrong
type, or that omits required parameters, is not a well-formed _GraphQL-over-HTTP
request_.

Note: Specifying `null` for optional request parameters is equivalent to not
specifying them at all.
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@martinbonnin martinbonnin Apr 17, 2026

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This is moved to the "JSON encoding" section. As it was, it would also apply to the "GET" section and contradict the fact that operationName=null represents an operation with the name "null" (such as query null { __typename }).


Note: So long as it is a string, {query} does not have to parse or validate to
be part of a well-formed _GraphQL-over-HTTP request_.

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -285,19 +282,19 @@ the document as specified in

The {operationName} parameter, if present, must be a string.

Each of the {variables} and {extensions} parameters, if used, MUST be encoded as
a JSON string.
Each of the {variables} and {extensions} parameters, if present and not the
empty string, MUST be encoded as a JSON string.
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@martinbonnin martinbonnin Apr 17, 2026

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  • used -> present for consistency
  • explicit the possibility of using empty string in GET requests


The {operationName} parameter, if supplied and not the empty string, represents
The {operationName} parameter, if present and not the empty string, represents
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@martinbonnin martinbonnin Apr 17, 2026

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"present" for consistency

the name of the operation to be executed within the {query} as a string.

Specifying the empty string for optional request parameters is equivalent to not
specifying them at all.

Note: In the final URL all of these parameters will appear in the query
component of the request URL as URL-encoded values due to the WHATWG
URLSearchParams encoding specified above.

Setting the value of the {operationName} parameter to the empty string is
equivalent to omitting the {operationName} parameter.

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@martinbonnin martinbonnin Apr 17, 2026

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Make the rule more generic. Allow setting the empty string for variables and extensions.

Note: By the above, `operationName=null` represents an operation with the name
`"null"` (such as `query null { __typename }`). If a literal `null` is desired,
either omit {operationName} or set it to the empty string.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -384,6 +381,9 @@ object.
Servers receiving a request with additional properties MUST ignore properties
they do not understand.

Specifying `null` for optional request parameters is equivalent to not
specifying them at all.

### Example

If we wanted to execute the following GraphQL query:
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