Glossary · Web & App Development
GraphQL
Overview
What GraphQL is
GraphQL is an open-source query language and runtime for APIs, originally developed at Facebook and released in 2015. Instead of many fixed endpoints, a GraphQL API exposes a single endpoint backed by a typed schema. Clients send a query describing exactly the fields they want, and the server returns precisely that data, no more and no less, in one response.
GraphQL vs REST
With REST, each endpoint returns a fixed shape, which often leads to over-fetching (getting unneeded data) or under-fetching (needing several requests). GraphQL solves both by letting the client specify its needs in one query, and its typed, self-documenting schema aids tooling. The trade-offs are added server complexity and extra care around caching and query performance.
How an agency uses GraphQL
GraphQL is valuable when many clients, such as a website, mobile app, and partners, need different slices of the same data. In backend and full-stack projects it pairs with TypeScript and databases like PostgreSQL, often with Redis caching. A team may expose GraphQL for flexible frontends while keeping REST where simplicity or HTTP caching matters most.
Where we use it
Related Zen in Tech services
How our team puts GraphQL to work in real projects.
FAQ
GraphQL — common questions
GraphQL vs REST, which should I use?
Use GraphQL when clients need flexible, precise data or you have many different consumers of one dataset. Use REST for simpler APIs, easy HTTP caching, or public endpoints. Many systems use both, choosing per use case.
Is GraphQL a database?
No. GraphQL is an API query language and runtime that sits between clients and your data sources. It can pull from databases, other APIs, or microservices, but it is not itself a database.
Is GraphQL hard to learn?
The basics of writing queries are straightforward and often easier than juggling many REST endpoints. Building and securing a production GraphQL server takes more effort, particularly around performance and access control.
Need GraphQL done right?
Book a free consultation and we’ll map the fastest, most cost-effective path for your project.
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