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GraphQL

GraphQL is Facebook's query language for APIs that lets clients request exactly the data they need — no more, no less. It has become the preferred API layer for modern product companies, used by GitHub, Twitter, Shopify, and PayPal to power flexible, performant data access at scale.

What is GraphQL?

GraphQL provides a strongly typed schema that describes your entire data graph, enabling clients to compose queries for exactly the fields required, reducing over-fetching and under-fetching. It supports real-time data with subscriptions, and is implemented in most languages via libraries like Apollo Server (Node.js), graphene (Python), and gqlgen (Go). The Apollo Client and urql libraries are popular on the frontend.

Why GraphQL matters for your career

GraphQL solves key pain points of REST APIs — multiple round trips, versioning complexity, and over-fetching — that become acute as product UIs grow in complexity. Organisations that adopt GraphQL typically see faster frontend development cycles and easier API evolution. GraphQL expertise is in strong demand at companies building complex product APIs.

Career paths using GraphQL

GraphQL skills are valued for Full-Stack Engineer, Backend Engineer, API Engineer, and Frontend Engineer roles. Building and maintaining a GraphQL schema is increasingly a core skill for any engineer working on product APIs.

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Frequently asked questions

Should I use GraphQL or REST?▼

GraphQL shines when you have many different client types with varying data needs (mobile, web, third-party) or complex nested data. REST is simpler for smaller APIs or when caching is critical. Many companies use both.

What are the main downsides of GraphQL?▼

Caching is more complex than REST, query complexity can cause performance issues (N+1 problem), and the learning curve for schema design and resolvers is steeper. DataLoader is commonly used to address N+1.

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