GraphQL is a query language for APIs that was developed by Facebook in 2012 and released as an open-source project in 2015. It was originally created to address limitation and shortcomings of REST.

GraphQL allows clients to define the structure of the data they need, and servers to respond with exactly that data, without any unnecessary data. It’s often used as an alternative to RESTful APIs, particularly for scenarios where the client needs fine-grained control over the data that’s returned.

Here are some scenarios when GraphQL is a good choice:

When you want to reduce network traffic as GraphQL allows clients to specify exactly what data they need, which can reduce the amount of unnecessary data that’s transmitted over the network.

When you need to support a wide variety of clients because GraphQL supports strongly-typed queries, which can be used to ensure that clients receive the correct data in a format they understand.

When you need to support real-time updates as GraphQL supports real-time updates via subscriptions, which allow clients to receive updates as soon as they’re available.

When you need to support complex queries and data manipulation: because GraphQL allows clients to perform complex queries and data manipulation operations, such as filtering, sorting, and aggregation, with a simple syntax.

When you need to support versioning because GraphQL supports versioning by allowing clients to specify the version of the schema they’re using in their requests, which can make it easier to maintain backward compatibility as the schema evolves over time.

Overall, GraphQL is a powerful and flexible protocol that can be a good choice for scenarios where fine-grained control over data and real-time updates are important. However, it may require more setup and configuration than RESTful APIs, particularly if you’re working with multiple programming languages or platforms.