Grafbase Has a Free GraphQL Backend — Edge-Deployed API With Auth, Caching, and Connectors

Every GraphQL project starts the same way: set up Express, install Apollo Server, define schemas, write resolvers, configure auth, add caching, deploy somewhere. Two days of boilerplate before you write any business logic.

Grafbase eliminates all of it. Define your schema, npx grafbase dev, and you have a GraphQL API with auth, edge caching, and automatic deployment. Free tier covers 1M requests/month.

What You Get Free

• 1M requests/month — edge-deployed GraphQL API
• Edge caching — automatic response caching at 300+ PoPs
• Authentication — JWT, OIDC, API keys built-in
• Connectors — connect to PostgreSQL, MongoDB, OpenAPI, gRPC
• Type-safe — SDL-first with automatic TypeScript types
• Realtime — live queries and subscriptions
• Branching — preview environments per git branch
• Pathfinder — built-in GraphQL explorer

Quick Start

npx grafbase init
npx grafbase dev
# GraphQL playground at http://localhost:4000

Define schema:

# grafbase/schema.graphql
type Post @model {
  title: String!
  content: String!
  author: Author! @relation
  publishedAt: DateTime
}

type Author @model {
  name: String!
  email: String! @unique
  posts: [Post]
}

That's your API. CRUD operations, filtering, pagination, relations — all auto-generated.

What You Can Build

1. SaaS API — GraphQL backend with auth and edge caching. Ship in hours.
2. Mobile backend — type-safe API for React Native/Flutter apps.
3. Data aggregation — combine multiple APIs into one GraphQL endpoint via connectors.
4. Content API — headless content management with GraphQL queries.
5. Real-time dashboard — live queries for monitoring and analytics.

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Need GraphQL API development? Email [e-mail]

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