What is GraphQL and who created it?

GraphQL is a query language for APIs and a server-side runtime for executing those queries with your existing data. It was created by Facebook (Meta) in 2012 and open-sourced in 2015. Unlike REST, GraphQL lets clients request exactly the data they need — no more, no less — in a single request. A single GraphQL endpoint replaces dozens of REST endpoints, and the response shape mirrors the query shape. Facebook built it to power their mobile app where over-fetching data on slow networks was a real pain point.