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Version: v24.1

Quick Start

Welcome to Dgraph! This guide will get you up and running in minutes. You'll learn how to start Dgraph, load sample data, and run your first queries.

Prerequisites​

  • Docker installed and running
  • A terminal window
  • About 5 minutes

Step 1: Start Dgraph​

Run Dgraph using the official Docker image:

docker run --detach --name dgraph-play \
  -v $(pwd):/dgraph \
  -p "8080:8080" \
  -p "9080:9080" \
  dgraph/standalone:v24.1.4

This command:

  • Starts Dgraph in the background (--detach)
  • Names the container dgraph-play for easy management
  • Mounts your current directory to /dgraph in the container
  • Exposes ports 8080 (HTTP) and 9080 (gRPC)

Verify it's running:

curl http://localhost:8080/health | jq

You should see a healthy status response. If you don't have jq installed, you can remove it from the command.

Step 2: Load Sample Data​

Download the sample dataset (movie data):

wget https://github.com/dgraph-io/dgraph-benchmarks/raw/refs/heads/main/data/1million.rdf.gz
wget https://raw.githubusercontent.com/dgraph-io/dgraph-benchmarks/refs/heads/main/data/21million.schema

Load the data into Dgraph:

docker exec -it dgraph-play dgraph live \
  -f 1million.rdf.gz \
  -s 21million.schema

This loads over 1 million movie-related facts into your database. The process takes about 15-30 seconds.

Step 3: Open Ratel UI​

Ratel is Dgraph's visual query interface. Start it with:

docker run --rm -it -p 8000:8000 dgraph/ratel:latest

Then:

  1. Open http://localhost:8000 in your browser
  2. Enter http://localhost:8080 as the Dgraph connection string
  3. Click Connect

You're now connected! Click Continue to access the console.

Step 4: Run Your First Query​

In Ratel's Query tab, paste this DQL query:

{
  film(func: has(genre), first: 3) {
    name@*
    genre { 
      name: name@. 
    }
    starring {
      performance.actor {
        name: name@.
      }
      performance.character {
        name: name@.
      }
    }
  }
}
Ratel Console

Click Run to execute the query. This finds movies with genres and displays their details, including actors and characters.

What this query does:

  • Finds nodes that have a genre predicate
  • Returns the first 3 results
  • Retrieves movie names, genres, and starring information

Step 5: Explore the Results​

View your results in two ways:

  1. JSON tab - See the raw data structure
  2. Graph tab - Visualize the relationships

Switch to the Graph tab to see how movies, genres, actors, and characters are connected.

image

What's Next?​

Congratulations! You've successfully:

  • ✅ Started a Dgraph instance
  • ✅ Loaded real-world data
  • ✅ Run your first graph query
  • ✅ Explored results visually

Continue learning: