gRPC
gRPC is a Google-designed RPC framework over HTTP/2 with Protocol Buffers as the schema and serialization layer. The contract is the .proto file, generated code lives in every client language, and bidirectional streaming is a first-class primitive. TantraDev uses gRPC service-to-service where latency budgets and schema discipline justify the tooling tax over a JSON REST contract.
Concepts that travel with this one.
Architecture rarely lives in isolation — these are the terms that come up in the same conversation.
GraphQL
GraphQL is a query language for APIs where the client specifies what fields it needs and the server returns exactly that shape. TantraDev uses GraphQL where the client surface is varied (web, iOS, Android, an internal admin) and the over-fetch / under-fetch tax of REST starts costing real bandwidth. We default to REST for service-to-service and GraphQL at the BFF or storefront edge.
WebSocket
WebSocket is a persistent, bidirectional TCP-style connection between browser and server, upgraded from an initial HTTP handshake. TantraDev uses WebSockets for live dashboards, collaborative editing, low-latency notifications, and real-time event fan-out. At scale the operational pattern is sticky-load-balanced gateways in front of a stateless fan-out tier — the WebSocket layer carries no business logic.
Building a system where gRPC is the load-bearing decision?
30 minutes on the phone, one page in your inbox — what to build, what to skip, what it will cost. You keep the audit even if we are not the right fit.