netstack.fm GraphQL and Rust with Tom Houlé
Jan 6, 2026
In this conversation, Tom Houlé, a key contributor in the Rust GraphQL ecosystem, delves into the evolution of GraphQL from its Facebook origins to a robust enterprise solution. He tackles technical issues like the N+1 problem and the benefits of persisted queries for performance and security. An exciting highlight includes his insights on GraphQL Federation, which streamlines microservices in Rust. Tom also discusses GraphQL's future as a self-documenting interface for LLMs, showcasing its potential in the evolving tech landscape.
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GraphQL Origin And Type System
- GraphQL was created to make mobile apps fetch exactly the data they need and avoid many client-side joins.
- Its strong type system and schema enable reusable tooling and consistent documentation across languages.
Adopt Persisted Queries For Production
- Use persisted (trusted) queries in production to avoid resending, reparsing, and revalidating large query documents.
- Upload query manifests from CI so the server accepts only vetted queries and improves performance and security.
Clients Compile And Compose Queries
- Modern GraphQL clients compile component fragments and compose full queries automatically at build time.
- That compile step can also emit persisted query manifests and prevents components from reading each other's fields.