1Overview

The URI scalar type represents a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) as defined by RFC 3986. It is intended for scenarios where a field must contain a valid URI, which includes both URLs (locators) and URNs (names), such as resource identifiers, namespace identifiers, or any standardized resource reference.

Unlike the URL scalar which specifically requires a locator with a scheme and hierarchical structure, URI accepts the broader set of URI formats including relative references and URNs. Unlike the built-in String scalar which accepts any text, URI provides validation to ensure the value conforms to the URI specification.

2Recommended name

The recommended name for this scalar is URI.

3Result spec

A URI scalar must serialize to a string representation of a valid URI conforming to RFC 3986.

A valid URI may be:

• An absolute URI with scheme (e.g., https://example.com, urn:isbn:0451450523)
• A relative reference (e.g., /path/to/resource, ../parent/resource)
• A URI with optional authority, path, query, and fragment components

4Input spec

A URI scalar accepts string values representing valid URIs conforming to RFC 3986, both as GraphQL literals and as JSON input values.

Implementations should validate:

• String is a valid URI per RFC 3986
• String does not contain invalid characters (e.g., unescaped spaces)
• String follows proper URI syntax rules

mutation {
  createResource(uri: "urn:uuid:f81d4fae-7dec-11d0-a765-00a0c91e6bf6") {
    id
  }
}

mutation {
  addLink(uri: "/relative/path/to/resource") {
    id
  }
}

{
  "uri": "https://example.com/article"
}

{
  "resourceId": "urn:isbn:0451450523"
}

{
  "relativeUrl": "../parent/page"
}

5References

• RFC 3986 — Uniform Resource Identifier (URI): Generic Syntax