refetchQueries not working when using string array after mutation

Intended outcome: After a create mutation, I want to refetch the list query to have the newly added item be displayed in the list, making use of the variables which the list query is run with previously.

As per the documentation, this should be doable:

Please note that if you call refetchQueries with an array of strings, then Apollo Client will look for any previously called queries that have the same names as the provided strings. It will then refetch those queries with their current variables.

Actual outcome: When using the operation name as string in the refetchQueries array, no query is refetched, nothing is updated and no network activity is visible.

Versions

  System:
    OS: macOS Mojave 10.14.6
  Binaries:
    Node: 10.16.3 - ~/.nvm/versions/node/v10.16.3/bin/node
    Yarn: 1.19.0 - /usr/local/bin/yarn
    npm: 6.9.0 - ~/.nvm/versions/node/v10.16.3/bin/npm
  Browsers:
    Chrome: 77.0.3865.90
    Safari: 13.0.1
  npmPackages:
    @apollo/react-hooks: ^3.1.0 => 3.1.1
    apollo-cache-inmemory: ^1.6.3 => 1.6.3
    apollo-cache-persist: ^0.1.1 => 0.1.1
    apollo-client: ^2.6.4 => 2.6.4
    apollo-link: ^1.2.13 => 1.2.13
    apollo-link-context: ^1.0.19 => 1.0.19
    apollo-link-error: ^1.1.12 => 1.1.12
    apollo-link-http: ^1.5.16 => 1.5.16
    apollo-link-logger: ^1.2.3 => 1.2.3
    react-apollo: ^3.1.2 => 3.1.2

[3nvi]

I have witnessed exactly the same behaviour! It works fine when I refetch after I delete an item but not when I create one.

In case anyone is still interested, this behavior happens because when you delete something, the component holding the original query didn’t get unmounted (normally because you just show a popup), while when creating a new item you redirect to another screen (i.e. create item page) unmounting the page holding the original query.

Apollo maintains a list of observable queries at any given time, which is based on which components are currently mounted that defined a query (i.e. through <Query>...</Query> or useQuery). When a component gets unmounted - at least in the React world - , Apollo removes it from the list of observable queries by calling QueryManager.tearDownQuery when the component unmounts. During refetchQueries , when given a Query name string, apollo searches only the observable queries and because it can’t find it, it doesn’t execute a refeetch. If you provide a { query: ..., variables: .. } as a refetch value, Apollo bypasses this search and always executes the query you’ve given it, as if it was a completely new query (since it has the doc and the variables it needs to execute it)

I don’t know if @hwillson would like to give us more context as to whether there is a way around this (except from not using the React or by making sure that we unmount as little as possible on crucial refetches).

In short:

refetchQueries will only work with strings if the component that defined the original query is not unmounted. On the contrary, it will always work when using the { query... , variables: ... } style.

[reinvanimschoot]

The whole purpose of using a string is that you should NOT have to provide the exact object as Apollo should automatically refetch the query with the current query variables.