Neo4j Aura Graph Analytics Skill

When to Use

• Running GDS algorithms in Aura Graph Analytics GDS Sessions
• Creating GdsSessions or using AuraGraphDataScience
• Remote projecting connected Neo4j data with gds.graph.project.remote(...)
• Using AuraDB Cypher API projection with { memory: ... } or { sessionId: ... }
• Processing graph data from non-Neo4j sources (Pandas, Spark, CSV)
• On-demand / pipeline workloads — ephemeral sessions, pay per session-minute
• Full isolation from the live database during analytics

When NOT to Use

• Aura Pro with embedded GDS plugin → neo4j-gds-skill
• Self-managed Neo4j with embedded GDS plugin → neo4j-gds-skill
• Writing Cypher queries → neo4j-cypher-skill
• Snowflake Graph Analytics → neo4j-snowflake-graph-analytics-skill

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Deployment Decision Table

| Deployment | Use | |---|---| | Aura Free | ❌ AGA not available | | Aura Pro | neo4j-gds-skill (embedded plugin) | | AuraDB + Python client sessions | this skill | | AuraDB + Cypher API | this skill for AGA-specific projection/session notes; neo4j-cypher-skill for query authoring | | Self-managed Neo4j + AGA session | this skill | | Self-managed Neo4j + embedded plugin | neo4j-gds-skill | | Non-Neo4j data (Pandas, Spark) | this skill (standalone mode) |

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Defaults

• graphdatascience >= 1.15 required; >= 1.18 for Spark
• Prefer v2 endpoints: gds.v2.graph.project(...), gds.v2.page_rank.*, gds.v2.graph.node_properties.*
• Use snake_case parameters end-to-end; never mix v2 with camelCase params
• Use v1 if v2 endpoint missing/incompatible; label fallback
• Call gds.v2.verify_session_connectivity() after session creation
• Connected sessions: call gds.v2.verify_db_connectivity() when source DB access required
• Estimate memory before large sessions
• Set TTL; default 1h idle, max 7d
• Close session when done: gds.delete() or sessions.delete(name) stops billing
• Use AuraAPICredentials.from_env() — never hardcode credentials

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Installation

pip install "graphdatascience>=1.15"

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Key Patterns

Step 1 — Authenticate

import os
from graphdatascience.session import AuraAPICredentials, GdsSessions

sessions = GdsSessions(api_credentials=AuraAPICredentials.from_env())
# Reads: AURA_CLIENT_ID, AURA_CLIENT_SECRET, AURA_PROJECT_ID (optional)
# Create API credentials in Aura Console → Account → API credentials

If member of multiple projects: set AURA_PROJECT_ID or pass project_id=.

Step 2 — Estimate Memory

from graphdatascience.session import AlgorithmCategory, SessionMemory

memory = sessions.estimate(
    node_count=1_000_000,
    relationship_count=5_000_000,
    algorithm_categories=[
        AlgorithmCategory.CENTRALITY,
        AlgorithmCategory.NODE_EMBEDDING,
        AlgorithmCategory.COMMUNITY_DETECTION,
    ],
)
# Returns SessionMemory tier, e.g. SessionMemory.m_8GB
# Fixed tiers: m_2GB … m_256GB — see references/limitations.md

Step 3 — Create Session

Mode A — AuraDB connected:

from graphdatascience.session import DbmsConnectionInfo, SessionMemory, CloudLocation
from datetime import timedelta

db_connection = DbmsConnectionInfo(
    username=os.environ["NEO4J_USERNAME"],
    password=os.environ["NEO4J_PASSWORD"],
    aura_instance_id=os.environ["AURA_INSTANCEID"],  # from Aura Console URL
)

gds = sessions.get_or_create(
    session_name="my-analysis",
    memory=memory,
    db_connection=db_connection,
    ttl=timedelta(hours=2),
)
gds.v2.verify_session_connectivity()
gds.v2.verify_db_connectivity()

Mode B — Self-managed Neo4j:

db_connection = DbmsConnectionInfo(
    uri=os.environ["NEO4J_URI"],          # e.g. "bolt://my-server:7687"
    username=os.environ["NEO4J_USERNAME"],
    password=os.environ["NEO4J_PASSWORD"],
)
gds = sessions.get_or_create(
    session_name="my-analysis-sm",
    memory=SessionMemory.m_8GB,
    db_connection=db_connection,
    ttl=timedelta(hours=2),
    cloud_location=CloudLocation("gcp", "europe-west1"),
)
gds.v2.verify_session_connectivity()
gds.v2.verify_db_connectivity()

Mode C — Standalone (no Neo4j DB):

gds = sessions.get_or_create(
    session_name="my-standalone",
    memory=SessionMemory.m_4GB,
    ttl=timedelta(hours=1),
    cloud_location=CloudLocation("gcp", "europe-west1"),
)
gds.v2.verify_session_connectivity()

get_or_create() is idempotent; reconnects to existing session by name.

Step 4 — Project Graph

From connected Neo4j (remote projection):

query = """
    CALL () {
        MATCH (p:Person)
        OPTIONAL MATCH (p)-[r:KNOWS]->(p2:Person)
        RETURN p AS source, r AS rel, p2 AS target,
               p {.age, .score} AS sourceNodeProperties,
               p2 {.age, .score} AS targetNodeProperties
    }
    RETURN gds.graph.project.remote(source, target, {
        sourceNodeLabels:     labels(source),
        targetNodeLabels:     labels(target),
        sourceNodeProperties: sourceNodeProperties,
        targetNodeProperties: targetNodeProperties,
        relationshipType:     type(rel)
    })
"""

G, result = gds.v2.graph.project(
    graph_name="my-graph",
    query=query,
    undirected_relationship_types=["KNOWS"],
)
print(f"Projected {G.node_count()} nodes, {G.relationship_count()} relationships")

CALL () { ... } required for multi-pattern MATCH. Use UNION inside CALL for multiple labels/rel types. Remote query uses gds.graph.project.remote(...); pass graph name to gds.v2.graph.project(...), not query. V1 fallback: gds.graph.project(graph_name="my-graph", query=query, undirected_relationship_types=["KNOWS"]).

AuraDB Cypher API projection:

CYPHER runtime=parallel
MATCH (source)
OPTIONAL MATCH (source)-->(target)
RETURN gds.graph.project(
  'my-graph',
  source,
  target,
  {},
  { memory: '2GB' }
)

Existing explicit session:

CYPHER runtime=parallel
MATCH (source)
OPTIONAL MATCH (source)-->(target)
RETURN gds.graph.project(
  'my-graph',
  source,
  target,
  {},
  { sessionId: '00000000-11111111' }
)

Cypher API uses gds.graph.project(...), not gds.graph.project.remote(...). Put memory, ttl, sessionId, batchSize in fifth config argument.

Session management via Cypher API:

CALL gds.session.getOrCreate('test-session', '2GB', duration({minutes: 30}))
YIELD id, name, status
RETURN id, name, status

CALL gds.session.list()
YIELD id, name, status, memory
RETURN id, name, status, memory

Implicit Cypher API sessions delete when all projected graphs in session are dropped.

From Pandas DataFrames (standalone mode):

import pandas as pd

nodes_df = pd.DataFrame([
    {"nodeId": 0, "labels": "Person", "age": 30},
    {"nodeId": 1, "labels": "Person", "age": 25},
])
rels_df = pd.DataFrame([
    {"sourceNodeId": 0, "targetNodeId": 1, "relationshipType": "KNOWS"},
])

G = gds.v2.graph.construct("my-graph", nodes_df, rels_df)
# Multiple DataFrames: gds.v2.graph.construct("g", [nodes1, nodes2], [rels1, rels2])

Required columns — nodes: nodeId (int), labels (str). Relationships: sourceNodeId, targetNodeId, relationshipType. Drop string node properties before construct().

Step 5 — Run Algorithms

# Mutate — chain results without writing to DB
gds.v2.page_rank.mutate(G, mutate_property="pagerank", damping_factor=0.85)
gds.v2.fast_rp.mutate(G,
    mutate_property="embedding",
    embedding_dimension=128,
    feature_properties=["pagerank"],
    random_seed=42,
)

# Stream — inspect results as DataFrame
df = gds.v2.page_rank.stream(G)
print(df.sort_values("score", ascending=False).head(10))

# Write — persist to connected Neo4j DB (connected modes only)
gds.v2.louvain.write(G, write_property="community")

V1 fallback: gds.pageRank.mutate(..., mutateProperty="pagerank"). Plugin algorithm reference → neo4j-gds-skill; AGA limitations differ.

Step 6 — Async Job Polling

Long-running algorithms may return job handle. Poll until done:

import time

job = gds.v2.page_rank.mutate(G, mutate_property="pagerank")

# If job object returned (async mode), poll explicitly:
if hasattr(job, "status"):
    while job.status() not in ("RUNNING_DONE", "FAILED", "CANCELLED"):
        time.sleep(5)
        print(f"Job status: {job.status()}")
    if job.status() != "RUNNING_DONE":
        raise RuntimeError(f"Algorithm job failed: {job.status()}")

Large graphs: check .status() before reading results.

Non-blocking API [graphdatascience 1.22]: _async projection variants return immediately; compute methods return a JobHandle, write-back returns a WriteJobHandle. List/retrieve running jobs:

gds.v2.jobs.list()          # all jobs in session
job = gds.v2.jobs.get(job_id)

Step 7 — Retrieve Results

# Stream node properties
result_df = gds.v2.graph.node_properties.stream(
    G,
    node_properties=["pagerank", "embedding"],
    db_node_properties=["name"],   # connected modes only
)
result_df.head(10)

Standalone mode: no db_node_properties; join source DataFrame:

result_df = gds.v2.graph.node_properties.stream(G, ["pagerank"])
result_df.merge(nodes_df[["nodeId", "name"]], how="left")

Step 8 — Write Back and Clean Up

# Write node properties to connected Neo4j
gds.v2.graph.node_properties.write(G, ["pagerank", "embedding"])

# Write relationship properties
gds.v2.graph.relationships.write(G, "SIMILAR", ["score"])

# Query connected DB from session
gds.run_cypher("MATCH (n:Person) RETURN count(n)")

# Drop projected graph
gds.v2.graph.drop(G)

# Delete session
sessions.delete(session_name="my-analysis")
# or: gds.delete()

Write before delete; unwritten results lost when session closes.

Session Management

# List active sessions
from pandas import DataFrame
DataFrame(sessions.list())

# Reconnect to existing session
gds = sessions.get_or_create(session_name="my-analysis", memory=..., db_connection=...)

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Common Errors

| Error | Cause | Fix | |---|---|---| | AuthenticationError / 401 | Wrong CLIENT_ID/CLIENT_SECRET | Regenerate in Aura Console → Account → API credentials | | SessionNotFoundError | Session expired (TTL exceeded) or name typo | sessions.list() to check; recreate session | | GraphNotFoundError | Projection dropped or session reconnected without re-projecting | Re-run gds.v2.graph.project() or gds.v2.graph.construct() | | Algorithm job FAILED | Memory limit exceeded or unsupported algorithm | Increase SessionMemory; check topological link prediction not used | | MemoryEstimationExceeded | Graph larger than estimated | Re-estimate with actual counts; pick next tier up | | Results empty after session reconnect | Results not written before session was closed | Always write/stream before gds.delete() | | String node properties not supported | String column in nodes DataFrame | Drop string columns before gds.v2.graph.construct() | | AGA not enabled for project | AGA feature not activated | Enable in Aura Console → project settings |

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References

Load on demand:

• [references/workflows.md](references/workflows.md) — full AuraDB and standalone workflow examples, Spark integration
• [references/limitations.md](references/limitations.md) — AGA vs embedded GDS feature table, SessionMemory tiers, cloud locations

WebFetch

| Need | URL | |---|---| | AGA Python client docs | https://neo4j.com/docs/graph-data-science-client/current/aura-graph-analytics/ | | AGA Cypher API docs | https://neo4j.com/docs/graph-data-science/current/aura-graph-analytics/cypher/ | | Python client v2 docs | https://neo4j.com/docs/graph-data-science-client/current/v2_endpoints/ | | AuraDB tutorial notebook | https://github.com/neo4j/graph-data-science-client/blob/main/examples/graph-analytics-serverless.ipynb | | GDS algorithm reference | https://neo4j.com/docs/graph-data-science/current/algorithms/ |

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Checklist

• [ ] Aura API credentials created and set in environment (AURA_CLIENT_ID, AURA_CLIENT_SECRET)
• [ ] AGA feature enabled for Aura project (Aura Console → project settings)
• [ ] Memory estimated before session creation (sessions.estimate(...))
• [ ] Cloud location chosen near data source
• [ ] gds.v2.verify_session_connectivity() called after session creation
• [ ] Connected sessions call gds.v2.verify_db_connectivity() when source DB access required
• [ ] Remote projection uses gds.v2.graph.project(..., query) with gds.graph.project.remote(...) inside query
• [ ] Remote projection graph name passed to endpoint, not remote function
• [ ] AuraDB Cypher API projection uses fifth config map for memory or sessionId
• [ ] Explicit Cypher API sessions use gds.session.getOrCreate(...); implicit sessions dropped with projected graph
• [ ] TTL set to avoid unexpected costs on idle sessions
• [ ] Async algorithm jobs polled until RUNNING_DONE before reading results
• [ ] Results written back (connected modes) or streamed and persisted (standalone) before deletion
• [ ] Session deleted when done (sessions.delete(...) or gds.delete())

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: neo4j-contrib
• Source: neo4j-contrib/neo4j-skills
• License: MIT
• Homepage: https://neo4j.com/llms.txt

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.