Subscriptions vs Polling

Choose the right approach for your data update needs.

Use Subscriptions When

• Building real-time dashboards
• Monitoring live protocol activity
• Data changes frequently (multiple times per minute)
• User expects immediate updates
• Creating notification systems

Example:

subscription WatchMyPositions($cursor: [positions_stream_cursor_input]!) {
  positions_stream(cursor: $cursor, batch_size: 10) {
    id
    shares
    vault { current_share_price }
  }
}

Use Polling When

• Data updates infrequently (e.g., daily statistics)
• Real-time updates aren't critical for UX
• Minimizing server connections is important
• Building static reports or analytics

Example:

query GetStats {
  stats {
    total_accounts
    total_atoms
    total_triples
  }
}
# Poll every 30 seconds or on user action

Guidelines

• Polling interval: 30-60 seconds for most use cases
• Subscription batch_size: 10-50 items
• Handle reconnections: Store last cursor for resumability