REST gives clients what the server decides. GraphQL gives clients what they ask for. This course covers schema design, resolvers, authentication, the N+1 problem and DataLoader, and Apollo Client for React frontends.
This is a text-first course that links out to the best supporting material on the internet instead of trying to replace it. The goal is to make this the best course on graphql and api design you can find — even without producing a single minute of custom video.
This course is built by people who ship production graphql systems for a living. It reflects how things actually work on real projects — not how the documentation describes them.
Every day has working code snippets you can paste into your editor and run right now. The emphasis is on understanding what each line does, not memorizing syntax.
Instead of shooting videos that go stale in six months, Precision AI Academy links to the definitive open-source implementations, official documentation, and the best conference talks on the topic.
Each day is designed to finish in about an hour of focused reading plus hands-on work. You can do the whole course over a week of lunch breaks. No calendar commitment, no live classes, no quizzes.
Each day stands alone. Read them in order for the full picture, or jump straight to the day that answers the question you have today.
Type definitions, object types, scalar types, enums, interfaces, unions, and the SDL (Schema Definition Language) that describes your entire API surface.
Writing queries, field selection, arguments, aliases, fragments, and variables. How the resolver tree executes and why field selection eliminates over-fetching.
Mutation design, input types, error handling patterns, and optimistic UI updates on the client. The conventions that make mutations predictable.
JWT authentication via HTTP headers, the context object, per-resolver authorization, and the directive approach for field-level permissions.
Apollo Client for React: useQuery, useMutation, the cache, cache updates after mutations, and the InMemoryCache normalization that makes GraphQL UIs fast.
Instead of shooting our own videos, Precision AI Academy links to the best deep-dives already on YouTube. Watch them alongside the course. All external, all free, all from builders who ship this stuff.
Schema design, resolvers, queries, mutations, and authentication. End-to-end GraphQL API with Node.js.
useQuery, useMutation, cache management, and the patterns for connecting a React frontend to a GraphQL API.
JWT tokens in GraphQL context, per-resolver auth, and field-level directive-based permissions.
Why naive resolvers make one database query per item and how DataLoader batches them into one.
The best way to understand any technology is to read the production-grade implementations that prove it works. These repositories implement patterns from every day of this course.
The reference JavaScript implementation of GraphQL. The resolver execution source explains how the type system maps to actual function calls.
The most used GraphQL client. The InMemoryCache normalization source explains why cache updates after mutations can be tricky.
The Node.js GraphQL server framework. Context setup, plugin API, and schema stitching are all readable in the source.
The batching and caching library that solves GraphQL’s N+1 problem. The batching logic is clean and worth reading.
You build REST APIs. This course explains what GraphQL actually solves, where it creates new problems, and how to decide which is right for your use case.
REST endpoints give you everything even when you need three fields. GraphQL gives you exactly what you ask for. This course teaches the client side in depth.
React + Apollo Client is the dominant GraphQL stack. Day 5 covers the patterns that make it fast and maintainable.
The 2-day in-person Precision AI Academy bootcamp covers GraphQL and API design hands-on. 5 U.S. cities. $1,490. 40 seats max. June–October 2026 (Thu–Fri).
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