Open source token efficiency benchmark update, inference taxonomy framework, Alec Aivazis on Houdini and GraphQL
Week of 2026-09-07 roundup
Sep 14, 20261 min read
Benchmark: GraphQL is more token-efficient than REST
ew numbers from my open source benchmark suite show a significant and durable advantage for using GraphQL rather than other JSON API technologies under the hood to connect agents to deployed services.
Categorizing and evaluating inference spend
Not all tokens give equal value. Here's a framework for categorizing your inference calls and finding "code smells" that might be costing you a ton of money for relatively little value.
Alec Aivazis, creator of Houdini GraphQL
Alec is a consummate GraphQL practitioner and tooling visionary. The Houdini framework is a unique take on the GraphQL developer experience and it was an absolute pleasure hearing Alec's take on this and much more in these conversations:
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