Optimizing Shared Types: How Intuit Streamlined Schema Evolution in a Federated Graph
summary
Intuit automates shared-type evolution so teams avoid weeks of coordination: a common-types library plus a build plugin generates a unified schema, a test subgraph and inaccessible directive automation let a team publish breaking additions immediately, and an automated rollout/approval pipeline flips fields live once dependents upgrade. Enums that change become a custom scalar for currency codes, unused definitions are removed by schema pruning build plugin, and average rollout time drops from 4–6 weeks to about 2–3 days.
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chapters (10)
- 0:00Shared types in federated GraphQL
- 2:34Shared types reduce duplication
- 6:33Evolving shared types challenges
- 10:57Activating new fields in shared types
- 13:06Shared enums to custom scalars
- 18:51Schema pruning overhead
- 21:44Optimization results
- 25:36When to avoid shared types
- 29:14Ownership of shared types
- 31:00Q&A
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