REST GraphQL gRPC

Trade-offs between REST, GraphQL, and gRPC for a given client/use case — flexibility vs performance vs tooling maturity.

Why we need this / what value this brings

Picking the wrong style for the use case means either over-fetching (REST on nested data) or unnecessary complexity (GraphQL/gRPC for a simple CRUD API).

When to use this

REST for a straightforward public API; GraphQL when clients need flexible, nested reads; gRPC for internal, performance-sensitive service-to-service calls.

How to use or implement this

Default to REST unless a specific pain point (over-fetching, many client-driven query shapes) justifies the added complexity of the alternative.

Research questions

• Why might a storefront (many nested reads) favor GraphQL over REST?
• Why is gRPC rarely the right first choice for a public-facing API?

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Empty folder — drop notes, links, and findings here as you research.