GraphQLConf 2026

Use Apollo Client v4 in React with Tanstack Router.

We’ll be using GraphQL code generation from your schema, preloading data at the router level, optmistic updates, and using Apollo’s cache to eliminate unnecessary refetching and rerenders. You’ll see how smart cache usage and colocating queries lets components read data directly where they need it which will reduce prop drilling. The goal is to show how “modern” Apollo Client patterns fit naturally into today’s React architecture to create apps that feel both simpler to reason about and noticeably more performant.

You know how to build client apps—but where do client developers fit in the new world of ChatGPT and MCP? If you've used GraphQL before, it turns out your knowledge translates directly. This talk demonstrates how to build MCP apps using Apollo's AI apps client and MCP server with patterns you already use:
1. Fragment colocation → Tool design: Structure MCP tools like component data requirements
2. Query optimization → Tool call patterns: Minimize LLM roundtrips with the same performance thinking
3. Type safety → Tool schemas: Apply GraphQL's type discipline to MCP definitions
A live demo builds an MCP app querying a GraphQL API, showing how best practices from GraphQL client development apply to OpenAI and MCP apps.

Trusted documents (persisted queries) are one of the most powerful tools in the GraphQL security and performance toolkit. By restricting your API to only pre-approved operations, you eliminate entire classes of attacks, reduce payload sizes, and gain full visibility into client behavior. Yet most struggle to adopt them – the tooling is fragmented, the workflow is manual, and the deployment story is an afterthought.

What if your entire platform natively supported trusted documents from end to end? In this talk, I’ll show what becomes possible when persisted queries are first-class citizens of your GraphQL platform – from registration and version through CI/CD validation to production deployment and rollback. But trusted documents aren’t just for GraphQL clients. I’ll explore how they unlock new capabilities: exposing GraphQL operations as simple REST endpoints, and even powering MCP tools for AI agents – all built on the same foundation of pre-approved, governed operations.

You’ll leave with a clear picture of what a complete trusted documents platform looks like and practical steps to get there.