Modern applications often rely on multiple API types like REST, gRPC, and GraphQL. While each has strengths, working across all three can lead to complexity, duplication, and integration challenges.
Why Add GraphQL to REST and gRPC?
REST offers a simple, well-supported interface for external consumers and UI teams. gRPC excels at structured, high-performance communication across internal services. GraphQL helps unify client access and reduce the overhead of tightly coupled endpoints.
However, transitioning entire systems to GraphQL is expensive and risky. Grafbase removes that burden by letting teams quickly and noninvasively extend their existing APIs with GraphQL.
How Grafbase Makes It Possible
Grafbase Extensions can connect existing REST and gRPC services to a GraphQL federated graph without layering on custom gateways or writing glue code.
While connecting, you build an interface that reflects your system's work. You keep the existing service boundaries but give consumers a straightforward way to query them. In practice, this enables the need to rewrite existing services. Services continue to do what they were built for, while Grafbase handles the translation at the graph's edge.
Conclusion
With Grafbase, you can integrate existing systems into the graph one at a time, using declarative tooling that reflects how your infrastructure works. To explore this topic further, check out this blog with code snippets for integrations.
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