Using Node.js to connect to a Neptune DB instance - Amazon Neptune

Using Node.js to connect to a Neptune DB instance

If you can, always use the latest version of the Apache TinkerPop JavaScript Gremlin client, gremlin, that your engine version supports. Newer versions contain numerous bug fixes that improve the stability, performance and usability of the client. The version of gremlin to use will typically align with the TinkerPop versions described in the table for the Java Gremlin client.

The following section walks you through the running of a Node.js sample that connects to an Amazon Neptune DB instance and performs a Gremlin traversal.

You must follow these instructions from an Amazon EC2 instance in the same virtual private cloud (VPC) as your Neptune DB instance.

Before you begin, do the following:

  • Verify that Node.js version 8.11 or higher is installed. If it is not, download and install Node.js from the Nodejs.org website.

To connect to Neptune using Node.js

  1. Enter the following to install the gremlin-javascript package:

    npm install gremlin

  2. Create a file named gremlinexample.js and open it in a text editor.

  3. Copy the following into the gremlinexample.js file. Replace your-neptune-endpoint with the address of your Neptune DB instance.

    For information about finding the address of your Neptune DB instance, see the Connecting to Amazon Neptune Endpoints section.

    const gremlin = require('gremlin');
const DriverRemoteConnection = gremlin.driver.DriverRemoteConnection;
const Graph = gremlin.structure.Graph;

dc = new DriverRemoteConnection('wss://your-neptune-endpoint:8182/gremlin',{});

const graph = new Graph();
const g = graph.traversal().withRemote(dc);

g.V().limit(1).count().next().
    then(data => {
        console.log(data);
        dc.close();
    }).catch(error => {
        console.log('ERROR', error);
        dc.close();
    });

  4. Enter the following command to run the sample:

    node gremlinexample.js

The preceding example returns the count of a single vertex in the graph by using the g.V().limit(1).count().next() traversal. To query for something else, replace it with another Gremlin traversal with one of the appropriate ending methods.

Note

The final part of the Gremlin query, next(), is required to submit the traversal to the server for evaluation. If you don't include that method or another equivalent method, the query is not submitted to the Neptune DB instance.

The following methods submit the query to the Neptune DB instance:

  • toList()

  • toSet()

  • next()

  • nextTraverser()

  • iterate()

Use next() if you need the query results to be serialized and returned, or iterate() if you don't.

Important

This is a standalone Node.js example. If you are planning to run code like this in an AWS Lambda function, see Lambda function examples for details about using JavaScript efficiently in a Neptune Lambda function.