GraphQL vs REST: Scaling Shopify Data Fetching
REST is great for simple CRUD, but it fails at scale due to over-fetching and strict rate limits. I transitioned our core data engine to GraphQL to utilize "Bulk Operations" and nested queries.
- Query Cost Management: I built a calculator to ensure every GraphQL query stays under the 1,000-point limit, optimizing for the best "cost-per-field" ratio.
- Bulk Operations API: For 100k+ product updates, I implemented the Bulk Operations API, which allows for asynchronous JSONL exports, bypassing standard throttles.
- Nested Resource Fetching: By using GraphQL, I reduced our API calls by 70%, fetching Products, Variants, and Metafields in a single network request.