Federation

The data a client needs does not always belong to a single team. In a bookstore, the Catalog team might manage book descriptions while the Inventory team manages availability, even though clients need both on the same page. As those teams deploy independently, relying on a central team to maintain one GraphQL server can delay changes that need that team's involvement.

Federation lets services contribute to a shared GraphQL API.

This chapter explains how those contributions fit together, how a request crosses service boundaries, and which responsibilities remain with the teams operating them.