How does Tracing and Observability work in GraphQL?

Observability in GraphQL requires field-level tracing because a single HTTP endpoint hides the complexity of underlying operations.

In REST, monitoring GET /users is easy. In GraphQL, POST /graphql is opaque. Servers use tools like OpenTelemetry or Apollo Studio to inject tracing timing into every single field resolver. The response can include an extensions.tracing payload detailing exactly how many nanoseconds each resolver took.