Graphql N+1 problem

• The N+1 problem in GraphQL work
• since GraphQL has a separate resolver function for each field, as each field is resolved GraphQL will end up potentially making one or more database requests per field
• if a GraphQL request asks for nested data, the N+1 problem is a threat due to potential redundant database requests
• these extra/redundant roundtrips can slow GraphQL requests down considerably

Example:

query {                      
  authors {      # fetches authors (1 query)
    name       
    address {    # fetches address for each author (N queries for N authors)
      country
    }
  }
}   

• in this example:

  • GraphQL makes 1 query to fetch all the authors
  • for each author, GraphQL then makes an additional request to fetch the address of that author (n requests)
  • if there are 50 authors, then GraphQL makes 51 requests (authors + address foreach author)

• This problem can be solved