Data & APIs

GraphQL API Development

We build GraphQL APIs for products serving more than one client shape, and plain REST for anything simpler.

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How we work

GraphQL addresses a problem that appears once a product has several kinds of clients asking for different shapes of the same data: a mobile app wanting a lean payload, a web dashboard wanting nested related data, and an internal admin tool wanting nearly everything. Our graphql api development covers schema design, resolver implementation with Apollo Server or GraphQL Yoga, and DataLoader batching to avoid the N+1 query problem that catches teams new to the pattern.

We also build Apollo Federation setups for organizations with multiple backend teams who each own a piece of a shared schema, which lets a frontend query across service boundaries without the frontend team needing to know how the backend is split up.

GraphQL is not our default choice. For a single client consuming straightforward CRUD endpoints, a well-designed REST API is usually faster to build, easier to cache at the HTTP layer, and simpler for a new engineer to understand without learning schema-first tooling.

Fit

When GraphQL is the right choice, and when it is not

Good fit

You have multiple client types, such as web and mobile, that need meaningfully different shapes or depths of the same underlying data.
You are aggregating data from several backend services or microservices and want one coherent API for frontend teams to query against.
Over-fetching or under-fetching from a REST API has become a measurable performance or development-speed problem.
Multiple backend teams own different parts of a domain and want to expose a single federated schema without tight coupling between their services.

Consider something else

A single client consuming simple CRUD operations is usually served faster and more simply by REST, without the schema tooling and resolver layer GraphQL requires.
Public APIs where HTTP caching by CDNs and browsers matters a great deal tend to fit REST's cacheable, resource-based URLs more naturally than GraphQL's single endpoint.
Teams unfamiliar with the N+1 query problem can ship a GraphQL API that performs poorly in production until DataLoader batching or similar patterns are added, which is avoidable groundwork REST does not require.
Very small projects with a short expected lifespan rarely recoup the setup cost of schema design and resolver wiring compared with a handful of REST endpoints.

What we build

What we build with GraphQL

Schema design
Type definitions and schema structure designed around how clients will actually query data, not a one-to-one mirror of database tables.
Resolver implementation
Resolvers built with Apollo Server or GraphQL Yoga, connected to existing databases and services, with DataLoader batching to prevent N+1 query patterns.
Federation for multi-team APIs
Apollo Federation setups that let separate backend teams each own a subgraph, composed into one schema that frontend teams query without needing to know the service boundaries.
Realtime subscriptions
GraphQL subscriptions over WebSockets for features that need live updates, such as a dashboard reflecting changes as they happen elsewhere in the system.
Performance and caching
Persisted queries to reduce payload size and enable CDN-level caching for common queries, plus query complexity limits to prevent expensive queries from overwhelming the backend.

Ecosystem

Libraries and tools we pair it with

Apollo Server
Apollo Client
Apollo Federation
GraphQL Yoga
DataLoader
Relay
Hasura
PostGraphile

GraphQL Versus REST for This Project

We ask a specific question before recommending GraphQL: does this product have more than one client with meaningfully different data needs, or is over-fetching from a REST API causing a real, measured problem. If the answer is no, REST is usually the better choice, since it is simpler to cache, easier for a new engineer to pick up, and does not require a resolver layer or schema-first tooling.

When the answer is yes, GraphQL's ability to let each client request exactly the fields it needs removes a whole category of API versioning problems that come from trying to serve a mobile app and a web dashboard from the same REST endpoints. The decision should follow the actual client and team topology, not a general sense that GraphQL is the more modern option.

Federation for Multi-Team APIs

Apollo Federation exists for organizations where more than one backend team owns a piece of the same overall domain, a product team owning inventory data, a separate team owning pricing, another owning reviews, and a frontend needs to query across all three without knowing which service owns what.

We set up federation when this organizational shape genuinely exists, since it lets each backend team deploy independently while frontend developers work against a single composed schema. For a single backend team building a monolithic API, plain Apollo Server without federation is simpler and has fewer moving parts to maintain.

Each team owns a subgraph and deploys it independently
A gateway composes subgraphs into one schema for clients
Frontend teams query one API without knowing service boundaries

Services

Services that use GraphQL

Industries

Where we use it

FAQ

Questions about GraphQL

Should our new product use GraphQL or REST?

If you have one client type and mostly straightforward CRUD operations, REST is usually faster to build and simpler to maintain. GraphQL earns its complexity once you have multiple client shapes, such as web and mobile, or you are aggregating data from several backend services into one API for frontend teams to query.

What is the N+1 query problem in GraphQL, and how do you prevent it?

It happens when a resolver for a list field triggers a separate database query for each item's related data, turning one request into potentially hundreds of queries. We prevent this with DataLoader, which batches and caches those lookups within a single request, collapsing what would be many queries into one or a handful.

Do we need Apollo Federation, or is a single GraphQL server enough?

A single GraphQL server is enough unless more than one backend team independently owns parts of the same domain and needs to deploy separately. Federation adds real coordination benefits in that situation, but for a single team building one API, it adds setup complexity without a matching benefit.

Can GraphQL APIs be cached the way REST APIs can?

Not as naturally, since GraphQL typically serves everything from one endpoint rather than distinct cacheable URLs. Persisted queries help, by letting a CDN cache responses for a known, fixed set of queries, but a public API relying heavily on HTTP caching is often still better served by REST's resource-based URL structure.

How long does it take to migrate an existing REST API to GraphQL?

For a moderately sized API, building a GraphQL layer on top of existing services typically takes four to eight weeks, since you can wrap existing REST endpoints or database access with resolvers rather than rewriting the underlying logic. Timelines extend when the migration also involves restructuring how data is fetched across services, rather than just adding a new API layer in front of what already exists.

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