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Add support for directives on directive definitions #1206

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7167aa9
Add support for directives on directives
IvanGoncharov Dec 2, 2021
40fc00a
Change the directive definition syntax to have applied directives aft…
BoD Dec 2, 2025
5595ab3
Add directive extensions
BoD Nov 27, 2025
0ef5222
Make @deprecated applicable to DIRECTIVE_DEFINITION
BoD Nov 27, 2025
d2c5424
Update introspection
BoD Nov 27, 2025
610d8db
Reformat with prettier
BoD Dec 18, 2025
a257894
Directives are not types
BoD Dec 19, 2025
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6 changes: 5 additions & 1 deletion spec/Appendix C -- Grammar Summary.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -260,6 +260,7 @@ TypeSystemExtension :

- SchemaExtension
- TypeExtension
- DirectiveExtension

SchemaDefinition : Description? schema Directives[Const]? {
RootOperationTypeDefinition+ }
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -377,7 +378,9 @@ InputObjectTypeExtension :
- extend input Name Directives[Const] [lookahead != `{`]

DirectiveDefinition : Description? directive @ Name ArgumentsDefinition?
`repeatable`? on DirectiveLocations
Directives[Const]? `repeatable`? on DirectiveLocations

DirectiveExtension : extend directive @ Name Directives[Const]

DirectiveLocations :

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -413,6 +416,7 @@ TypeSystemDirectiveLocation : one of
- `ENUM_VALUE`
- `INPUT_OBJECT`
- `INPUT_FIELD_DEFINITION`
- `DIRECTIVE_DEFINITION`

## Schema Coordinate Syntax

Expand Down
7 changes: 5 additions & 2 deletions spec/Appendix D -- Specified Definitions.md
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Expand Up @@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ directive @skip(if: Boolean!) on FIELD | FRAGMENT_SPREAD | INLINE_FRAGMENT

directive @deprecated(
reason: String! = "No longer supported"
) on FIELD_DEFINITION | ARGUMENT_DEFINITION | INPUT_FIELD_DEFINITION | ENUM_VALUE
) on FIELD_DEFINITION | ARGUMENT_DEFINITION | INPUT_FIELD_DEFINITION | ENUM_VALUE | DIRECTIVE_DEFINITION

directive @specifiedBy(url: String!) on SCALAR

Expand All @@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ type __Schema {
queryType: __Type!
mutationType: __Type
subscriptionType: __Type
directives: [__Directive!]!
directives(includeDeprecated: Boolean! = false): [__Directive!]!
}

type __Type {
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ type __Directive {
isRepeatable: Boolean!
locations: [__DirectiveLocation!]!
args(includeDeprecated: Boolean! = false): [__InputValue!]!
isDeprecated: Boolean!
deprecationReason: String
}

enum __DirectiveLocation {
Expand All @@ -114,5 +116,6 @@ enum __DirectiveLocation {
ENUM_VALUE
INPUT_OBJECT
INPUT_FIELD_DEFINITION
DIRECTIVE_DEFINITION
}
```
29 changes: 26 additions & 3 deletions spec/Section 3 -- Type System.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -40,6 +40,7 @@ TypeSystemExtension :

- SchemaExtension
- TypeExtension
- DirectiveExtension

Type system extensions are used to represent a GraphQL type system which has
been extended from some previous type system. For example, this might be used by
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -2033,7 +2034,7 @@ Following are examples of result coercion with various types and values:
## Directives

DirectiveDefinition : Description? directive @ Name ArgumentsDefinition?
`repeatable`? on DirectiveLocations
Directives[Const]? `repeatable`? on DirectiveLocations

DirectiveLocations :

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -2069,6 +2070,7 @@ TypeSystemDirectiveLocation : one of
- `ENUM_VALUE`
- `INPUT_OBJECT`
- `INPUT_FIELD_DEFINITION`
- `DIRECTIVE_DEFINITION`

A GraphQL schema describes directives which are used to annotate various parts
of a GraphQL document as an indicator that they should be evaluated differently
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -2242,13 +2244,13 @@ condition is false.
```graphql
directive @deprecated(
reason: String! = "No longer supported"
) on FIELD_DEFINITION | ARGUMENT_DEFINITION | INPUT_FIELD_DEFINITION | ENUM_VALUE
) on FIELD_DEFINITION | ARGUMENT_DEFINITION | INPUT_FIELD_DEFINITION | ENUM_VALUE | DIRECTIVE_DEFINITION
```

The `@deprecated` _built-in directive_ is used within the type system definition
language to indicate deprecated portions of a GraphQL service's schema, such as
deprecated fields on a type, arguments on a field, input fields on an input
type, or values of an enum type.
type, values of an enum type, or directives.

Deprecations include a reason for why it is deprecated, which is formatted using
Markdown syntax (as specified by [CommonMark](https://commonmark.org/)).
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -2321,3 +2323,24 @@ input UserUniqueCondition @oneOf {
organizationAndEmail: OrganizationAndEmailInput
}
```

### Directive Extensions

DirectiveExtension : extend directive @ Name Directives[Const]
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@mjmahone mjmahone May 15, 2026

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This is interesting: should we be able to extend a directive with new arguments? We can extend a type with new fields that themselves have new arguments.

There is even a special Schema Coordinate for directive arguments.

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@BoD BoD May 16, 2026

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Good question!

In my opinion, I think yes it would probably make sense in principle to have that ability, even if for consistency alone.
That being said, I would rather tackle this in a separate change later, and based on demand for it.

Curious to know what others think!

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@mjmahone mjmahone May 19, 2026

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I don't think it would be controversial, but it does make sense to stack into two PRs to make discussion specifically about argument extension more focused.


Directive extensions are used to represent a directive which has been extended
from some previous directive. For example, this might be used by a GraphQL tool
or service which adds directives to an existing directive.

**Type Validation**

Directive extensions have the potential to be invalid if incorrectly defined.

1. The previous directive must already be defined.
2. Any non-repeatable directives provided must not already apply to the previous
directive.
3. Any directives provided must not contain the use of a Directive which
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references the previous directive directly.
4. Any directives provided must not contain the use of a Directive which
references the previous directive indirectly by referencing a Type or
Directive which transitively includes a reference to the previous Directive.
12 changes: 11 additions & 1 deletion spec/Section 4 -- Introspection.md
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -138,7 +138,7 @@ type __Schema {
queryType: __Type!
mutationType: __Type
subscriptionType: __Type
directives: [__Directive!]!
directives(includeDeprecated: Boolean! = false): [__Directive!]!
}

type __Type {
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -205,6 +205,8 @@ type __Directive {
isRepeatable: Boolean!
locations: [__DirectiveLocation!]!
args(includeDeprecated: Boolean! = false): [__InputValue!]!
isDeprecated: Boolean!
deprecationReason: String
}

enum __DirectiveLocation {
Expand All @@ -227,6 +229,7 @@ enum __DirectiveLocation {
ENUM_VALUE
INPUT_OBJECT
INPUT_FIELD_DEFINITION
DIRECTIVE_DEFINITION
}
```

Expand All @@ -248,6 +251,8 @@ Fields\:
must be included in this set.
- `directives` must return the set of all directives available within this
schema including all built-in directives.
- Accepts the argument `includeDeprecated` which defaults to {false}. If
{true}, deprecated directives are also returned.

### The \_\_Type Type

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -499,6 +504,7 @@ supported. All possible locations are listed in the `__DirectiveLocation` enum:
- {"ENUM_VALUE"}
- {"INPUT_OBJECT"}
- {"INPUT_FIELD_DEFINITION"}
- {"DIRECTIVE_DEFINITION"}

Fields\:

Expand All @@ -512,3 +518,7 @@ Fields\:
{true}, deprecated arguments are also returned.
- `isRepeatable` must return a Boolean that indicates if the directive may be
used repeatedly at a single location.
- `isDeprecated` returns {true} if this directive should no longer be used,
otherwise {false}.
- `deprecationReason` returns the reason why this directive is deprecated, or
null if this directive is not deprecated.