# Enums

GraphQL enums can be defined by placing a `@gqlEnum` docblock directly before a:

-   TypeScript enum declaration
-   Type alias of a union of string literals

```ts
/**
 * A description of my enum.
 * @gqlEnum <optional name of the enum, if different from type name>
 */
enum MyEnum {
  /** A description of my variant */
  OK = "OK",
  /** A description of my other variant */
  ERROR = "ERROR",
}
```

Note that the values of the enum are used as the GraphQL enum values, and must be string literals.

To mark a variants as deprecated, use the `@deprecated` JSDoc tag directly before it:

```ts
/** @gqlEnum */
enum MyEnum {
  OK = "OK"
  /** @deprecated Please use OK instead. */
  OKAY = "OKAY"
  ERROR = "ERROR"
}
```

We also support defining enums using a union of string literals, however there are some limitations to this approach:

-   You cannot add descriptions to enum values
-   You cannot mark enum values as deprecated

This is due to the fact that TypeScript does not see JSDoc comments as "attaching" to string literal types.

```ts
/** @gqlEnum */
type MyEnum = "OK" | "ERROR";
```