How to Build GraphQL APIs that Scale, Serverless, in Minutes!
Tags: graphql, serverless
Published: 2020-04-27 21:21:43

Building high-quality GraphQL APIs is harder than one might think. Building GraphQL APIs that scale is even harder. The flexibility and power of GraphQL comes with its own unique challenges and problems as we have learned the hard way. When we set out to build Slicknode, we wanted to create a platform for building digital solutions in minutes instead of months. 

We are finally here! 
It has been months in the making and we are so excited to share the results with the world: 

We got rid of all our servers and we are running 100% serverless! You can now build advanced GraphQL applications in minutes and never have to worry about scalability and backend infrastructure again. 
You just define your data model, add the modules, and 3rd party APIs that you need, and Slicknode automatically launches a production-ready GraphQL API, powered by AWS Lambda and AWS Aurora Serverless.
[Learn more...](https://slicknode.com) 


## What's new?

In addition to the massive improvements that come with the infrastructure upgrade, we are also shipping some major new features that enable a whole host of new use-cases and make it even easier to build complex applications and extend Slicknode. We will cover those features in detail
in upcoming blog posts.

Here are a few highlights:

-   **Shareable GraphQL APIs:** You can now deploy a GraphQL API directly from a git repository. Just clone it to your local machine and run `slicknode deploy`. ([see an example](https://github.com/slicknode/example-blog-api)) 
    Collaborate with the open-source community
    on a shared backend that can easily be customized (Multi-tenant SaaS-foundation, eCommerce starter, etc.)
    This is also great for writing frontend tutorials or for creating demo backends. 
-   **[Remote Modules](https://slicknode.com/docs/extensions/remote-modules/):** Add your existing GraphQL APIs or APIs from 3rd party providers to your Slicknode project with 4 lines of configuration. Want to add your 
    Salesforce data, the Github API, a Magento store, your existing Wordpress blog, etc. to your Graph? Done in 2 minutes. 
    [Mode details](https://slicknode.com/docs/extensions/remote-modules/)
-   **[Apollo Federation Support](https://slicknode.com/docs/extensions/apollo-federation/):** Slicknode now has
    support for [Apollo Federation](https://www.apollographql.com/docs/apollo-server/federation/introduction/). 
    If you are using an Apollo Federation architecture in your project, you can add the entire functionality of Slicknode as a microservice to your graph just by [installing the module](https://slicknode.com/docs/extensions/apollo-federation/).
-   **Always-On Development Environments:** Create development environments in seconds without hassle. 
    The development instances are now always on and don't go to sleep after inactivity any more.
    [More details](https://slicknode.com/pricing/)

[Learn about all the features](https://slicknode.com/product/features/)

## Why the Relaunch?

Since [we launched the first version of Slicknode](https://slicknode.com/blog/graphql-cms-application-framework/), a lot has happened. People have used Slicknode to build all kinds of applications, multi-tenant SaaS products, content management infrastructure, small personal projects, and mission-critical business applications. We have also [open sourced](https://github.com/slicknode/) some components of the Slicknode platform, [some of which](https://www.npmjs.com/package/graphql-query-complexity) have been downloaded millions of times and are used in thousands of GraphQL APIs around the globe. 

With feedback from countless current and potential customers, we were able to identify two 
main issues that led us to make this major upgrade:

-   **Entry-Level Pricing:** We wanted to make it free and as easy as possible to get started with Slicknode.
    The new serverless platform now only incurs cost when it is used and scales automatically. This is a game-changer and we were able to dramatically reduce the entry-level pricing while also offering free development instances.
-   **Dedicated Infrastructure:** Enterprise level customers with mission-critical applications need an option to deploy their applications on dedicated infrastructure in their own VPC. 
    We can now offer the option to create an entire dedicated cluster per customer with custom limits, on a custom domain with individual configuration. Need to host thousands of 
    GraphQL APIs for a SaaS-product at a reasonable cost? No problem.

This relaunch also dramatically improves the scalability and reliability
of our platform. All the components that power the customer APIs are managed AWS services and scale on demand: AWS Lambda, AWS Aurora Serverless, AWS API Gateway, etc. 
Even on the lowest tier, we can now offer an API with no single point of failure, multiple availability zones, automatic failover, and redundant data replication.

## We need your Feedback

With the major infrastructure upgrade shipped, we now have more time to focus on new features and improvements. 

That's where we need your feedback. We want to know...

-   What projects do you plan to build with Slicknode?
-   What features are you missing?
-   How can we take the Slicknode platform to the next level?

Your feedback will shape what Slicknode is going to look like...

[Join our community on Slack](https://slicknode.com/slack) or [try the new platform](https://console.slicknode.com/register).