In 2025, leaving GraphQL out of a discussion on modern API design is like writing about web frameworks and downplaying React. It may not be right for every use case.. but it has become foundational in many serious frontend/backend architectures, and that deserves acknowledgment.
GraphQL isn’t just another protocol. It’s a paradigm shift in how we think about designing and consuming APIs. The author downplays its role, but in practice, GraphQL enables cleaner contracts between frontend and backend, encourages typed schemas, and dramatically reduces over-fetching and under-fetching. That’s not a minor point .. that’s central to what most developers care about when consuming APIs.
Regarding caching: yes, REST has traditional browser and CDN-based caching, but GraphQL is absolutely cacheable too. Tools like Apollo Client and Relay have built-in normalized caches that are far more granular and powerful than most REST setups. At the infrastructure level, persisted queries and CDN layer solutions (like GraphCDN or Stellate) further optimize caching behavior. So the claim that “you can’t cache GraphQL” is outdated at best.
GraphQL isn’t just another protocol. It’s a paradigm shift in how we think about designing and consuming APIs. The author downplays its role, but in practice, GraphQL enables cleaner contracts between frontend and backend, encourages typed schemas, and dramatically reduces over-fetching and under-fetching. That’s not a minor point .. that’s central to what most developers care about when consuming APIs.
Regarding caching: yes, REST has traditional browser and CDN-based caching, but GraphQL is absolutely cacheable too. Tools like Apollo Client and Relay have built-in normalized caches that are far more granular and powerful than most REST setups. At the infrastructure level, persisted queries and CDN layer solutions (like GraphCDN or Stellate) further optimize caching behavior. So the claim that “you can’t cache GraphQL” is outdated at best.