diff --git a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/builder.py b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/builder.py
index 1f8580c1b..b66952dd7 100644
--- a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/builder.py
+++ b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/builder.py
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@
 
 from .graph import XTCGraph
 from .context import XTCGraphContext
+from .expr import XTCTensorExpr
+from .operators import XTCOperator
+from . import op_factory
+from yaml import safe_load
 
 
 class graph_builder:
@@ -25,3 +29,51 @@ def __exit__(self, *_: Any) -> None:
     def graph(self) -> XTCGraph:
         assert self._graph is not None, "can't get graph inside builder context"
         return self._graph
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_dict(cls, graph_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> Any:
+        def tuplify(obj: Any) -> Any:
+            if isinstance(obj, dict):
+                return {k: tuplify(v) for k, v in obj.items()}
+            elif isinstance(obj, list):
+                return tuple(tuplify(v) for v in obj)
+            else:
+                return obj
+
+        expr_uid_map = {}
+        if "name" in graph_dict:
+            XTCGraphContext.name(graph_dict["name"])
+
+        for inp in graph_dict["inputs"]:
+            expr_uid_map[inp["uid"]] = XTCTensorExpr.from_dict(inp["expr"])
+
+        for node in graph_dict["nodes"]:
+            expr = node["expr"]
+            args = [expr_uid_map.get(arg) for arg in expr["args"]]
+            if "name" in node:
+                args.append(node["name"])
+            if not hasattr(op_factory, expr["op"]["name"]):
+                version_mismatch = (
+                    "version mismatch detected, "
+                    if XTCOperator.version_string() != graph_dict["ops_version"]
+                    else ""
+                )
+                raise ValueError(
+                    version_mismatch
+                    + f"serialized op {expr['op']['name']} is not implemented."
+                )
+            op_func = getattr(op_factory, expr["op"]["name"])
+            expr_uid_map[node["uid"]] = op_func(*args, **tuplify(expr["op"]["attrs"]))
+
+        outputs = [expr_uid_map[out["uid"]] for out in graph_dict["outputs"]]
+        XTCGraphContext.outputs(*outputs)
+        return graph_dict
+
+    @classmethod
+    def loads(cls, yaml_str: str) -> None:
+        cls.from_dict(safe_load(yaml_str))
+
+    @classmethod
+    def load(cls, file_name: str) -> None:
+        with open(file_name, "r") as f:
+            cls.from_dict(safe_load(f))
diff --git a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/context.py b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/context.py
index e7e263955..47be81f1e 100644
--- a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/context.py
+++ b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/context.py
@@ -119,5 +119,8 @@ def outputs(self, *outs: XTCExpr) -> None:
     def inputs(self, *inps: XTCExpr) -> None:
         return self.current.add_inputs(*inps)
 
+    def name(self, name_str: str) -> None:
+        self.current._graph_kwargs["name"] = name_str
+
 
 XTCGraphContext = XTCGraphScopes()
diff --git a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/data.py b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/data.py
index 2451de8a9..0e763d08a 100644
--- a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/data.py
+++ b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/data.py
@@ -2,8 +2,8 @@
 # SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
 # Copyright (c) 2024-2026 The XTC Project Authors
 #
-from typing_extensions import override
-from typing import cast, Any
+from typing_extensions import override, Self
+from typing import cast, Any, Iterable
 import functools
 import operator
 import numpy as np
@@ -108,6 +108,23 @@ def __eq__(self, other: object) -> bool:
             return NotImplemented
         return self.dtype == other.dtype and self.shape == other.shape
 
+    @override
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        tensor_dict: dict[str, Any] = {}
+        if self.shape:
+            tensor_dict["shape"] = list(cast(Iterable[int], self.shape))
+        if self.dtype:
+            tensor_dict["dtype"] = self.dtype
+        return tensor_dict
+
+    @override
+    @classmethod
+    def from_dict(cls, tensor_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> Self:
+        return cls(
+            shape=tuple(tensor_dict["shape"]) if "shape" in tensor_dict else None,
+            dtype=tensor_dict["dtype"] if "dtype" in tensor_dict else None,
+        )
+
 
 class XTCConstantTensorType(XTCTensorType, ConstantTensorType):
     def __init__(self, shape: ConstantShapeType, dtype: ConstantDataType):
diff --git a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/expr.py b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/expr.py
index e4ce0accd..3a58bc928 100644
--- a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/expr.py
+++ b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/expr.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 from collections.abc import Sequence
-from typing_extensions import override
+from typing_extensions import override, Self
 from typing import Any, TypeAlias
 import threading
 
@@ -94,6 +94,10 @@ def uid(self) -> str:
     def __str__(self) -> str:
         return f"{self.uid} = ?"
 
+    @abstractmethod
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        return {"uid": self.uid}
+
 
 class XTCValueExpr(XTCExpr):
     @property
@@ -180,6 +184,15 @@ def __str__(self) -> str:
         args = ", ".join([arg.uid for arg in self.args])
         return f"{self.uid} = {self.op_name}({args})"
 
+    @override
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        return {"type": self.type.to_dict()}
+
+    @classmethod
+    def from_dict(cls, op_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> Self:
+        type = XTCTensorType.from_dict(op_dict["type"])
+        return cls(tensor=type)
+
 
 class XTCOpExpr(XTCExpr):
     def __init__(self, op: XTCOperator, args: ArgumentsType) -> None:
@@ -220,6 +233,10 @@ def __str__(self) -> str:
         args = ", ".join(params)
         return f"{self.uid} = {self.op_name}({args})"
 
+    @override
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        return {"op": self._op.to_dict(), "args": [a.uid for a in self.args]}
+
 
 class XTCMatmulExpr(XTCOpExpr):
     def __init__(self, x: XTCExpr, y: XTCExpr, **attrs: Any) -> None:
diff --git a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/graph.py b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/graph.py
index b8c54d056..8ce42170c 100644
--- a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/graph.py
+++ b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/graph.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #
 from typing_extensions import override
 from collections.abc import Sequence, Mapping
-from typing import TypeAlias, cast
+from typing import TypeAlias, cast, Any
 
 from xtc.itf.graph import Graph
 from xtc.itf.data import TensorType, Tensor
@@ -12,6 +12,8 @@
 from .node import XTCNode
 from .utils import XTCGraphUtils
 from .data import XTCTensor, XTCTensorType
+from .operators import XTCOperator
+from yaml import dump as yaml_dump, safe_dump
 
 __all__ = [
     "XTCGraph",
@@ -152,3 +154,31 @@ def __str__(self) -> str:
         else:
             graph_str += "  nodes: {}\n"
         return graph_str
+
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        graph_dict: dict[str, Any] = {}
+        if self._name:
+            graph_dict["name"] = self._name
+        graph_dict["inputs"] = [i.to_dict() for i in self._inputs]
+        graph_dict["outputs"] = [{"uid": o.to_dict()["uid"]} for o in self._outputs]
+        graph_dict["nodes"] = [n.to_dict() for n in self._nodes]
+        graph_dict["ops_version"] = XTCOperator.version_string()
+        lowest_uid = int(graph_dict["inputs"][0]["uid"][1:])
+
+        def compact_uids(obj: Any) -> Any:
+            if isinstance(obj, dict):
+                obj = {k: compact_uids(v) for k, v in obj.items()}
+            elif isinstance(obj, list):
+                obj = [compact_uids(v) for v in obj]
+            elif isinstance(obj, str) and obj[0] == "%":
+                obj = f"%{int(obj[1:]) - lowest_uid}"
+            return obj
+
+        return compact_uids(graph_dict)
+
+    def dumps(self) -> str:
+        return safe_dump(self.to_dict())
+
+    def dump(self, file_name: str) -> None:
+        with open(file_name, "w") as f:
+            yaml_dump(self.to_dict(), f, sort_keys=False)
diff --git a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/node.py b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/node.py
index 97491171a..c2ab160fa 100644
--- a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/node.py
+++ b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/node.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #
 from typing_extensions import override
 from collections.abc import Sequence
-from typing import cast
+from typing import cast, Any
 
 from xtc.itf.graph import Node
 from xtc.itf.operator import Operator
@@ -156,3 +156,12 @@ def __str__(self) -> str:
         if self.inputs_types is not None and self.outputs_types is not None:
             type_str = f" : {self.inputs_types} -> {self.outputs_types}"
         return str(self._expr).split("=", 1)[1].strip() + attrs_str + type_str
+
+    @override
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        node_dict: dict[str, Any] = {}
+        if self.uid != self.name:
+            node_dict["name"] = self.name
+        node_dict["uid"] = self.uid
+        node_dict["expr"] = self._expr.to_dict()
+        return node_dict
diff --git a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/operators.py b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/operators.py
index 1f65bd17e..d157db596 100644
--- a/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/operators.py
+++ b/src/xtc/graphs/xtc/operators.py
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@
 import functools
 import operator
 import numpy as np
+import hashlib
 
 from xtc.itf.operator import Operator
 from xtc.itf.data import Tensor, TensorType
@@ -86,6 +87,26 @@ def _get_operation(
             outs_maps=outs_maps,
         )
 
+    @override
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]:
+        def listify(obj: Any) -> Any:
+            if isinstance(obj, dict):
+                return {k: listify(v) for k, v in obj.items()}
+            elif isinstance(obj, tuple):
+                return [listify(v) for v in obj]
+            else:
+                return obj
+
+        op_dict: dict[str, Any] = {"name": self._name}
+        op_dict["attrs"] = {k: listify(v) for k, v in self._attrs.__dict__.items()}
+        return op_dict
+
+    @classmethod
+    def version_string(cls) -> str:
+        names = sorted(f"{c.__module__}.{c.__qualname__}" for c in cls.__subclasses__())
+        data = "|".join(names).encode()
+        return hashlib.sha256(data).hexdigest()[:16]
+
 
 class XTCOperTensor(XTCOperator):
     def __init__(self) -> None:
diff --git a/src/xtc/itf/data/tensor.py b/src/xtc/itf/data/tensor.py
index 9695a0fd8..5144c0033 100644
--- a/src/xtc/itf/data/tensor.py
+++ b/src/xtc/itf/data/tensor.py
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 #
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
 from typing import Any, TypeAlias
-from typing_extensions import override
+from typing_extensions import override, Self
 import numpy.typing
 
 
@@ -53,6 +53,13 @@ def ndim(self) -> int:
         """
         ...
 
+    @abstractmethod
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]: ...
+
+    @classmethod
+    @abstractmethod
+    def from_dict(cls, tensor_dict: dict[str, Any]) -> Self: ...
+
 
 class ConstantTensorType(TensorType):
     @property
diff --git a/src/xtc/itf/graph/node.py b/src/xtc/itf/graph/node.py
index 32c958c48..4bd31abd4 100644
--- a/src/xtc/itf/graph/node.py
+++ b/src/xtc/itf/graph/node.py
@@ -162,3 +162,6 @@ def forward(self, inputs: Sequence[Tensor]) -> Sequence[Tensor]:
             List of output tensors
         """
         ...
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, str | Sequence[TensorType]]: ...
diff --git a/src/xtc/itf/operator/operator.py b/src/xtc/itf/operator/operator.py
index 7ce87c8e6..e81ce31e4 100644
--- a/src/xtc/itf/operator/operator.py
+++ b/src/xtc/itf/operator/operator.py
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
 # Copyright (c) 2024-2026 The XTC Project Authors
 #
 from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
+from typing import Any
 from collections.abc import Sequence
 from ..data.tensor import Tensor, TensorType
 
@@ -48,3 +49,6 @@ def forward(self, inputs: Sequence[Tensor]) -> Sequence[Tensor]:
             List of output tensors
         """
         ...
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    def to_dict(self) -> dict[str, Any]: ...
diff --git a/tests/pytest/graphs/test_graph_serialization.py b/tests/pytest/graphs/test_graph_serialization.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3aecd687a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/pytest/graphs/test_graph_serialization.py
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+import tempfile
+import xtc.graphs.xtc.op as O
+
+def test_matmul_relu_to_from_dict():
+    I, J, K, dtype = 4, 32, 512, "float32"
+    a = O.tensor((I, K), dtype, name="A")
+    b = O.tensor((K, J), dtype, name="B")
+
+    with O.graph(name="matmul_relu") as gb:
+        m = O.matmul(a, b, name="matmul")
+        O.relu(m, name="relu")
+
+    graph_dict = gb.graph.to_dict()
+    with O.graph() as gb2:
+        gb2.from_dict(graph_dict)
+    assert graph_dict != {}
+    assert graph_dict == gb2.graph.to_dict()
+        
+
+def test_conv2d_pad_sdump_sload():
+    N, H, W, F, R, S, C, SH, SW, dtype = 1, 8, 8, 16, 5, 5, 3, 2, 2, "float32"
+    a = O.tensor((N, H, W, C), dtype, name="I")
+    b = O.tensor((R, S, C, F), dtype, name="W")
+
+    with O.graph(name="pad_conv2d_nhwc_mini") as gb:
+        p = O.pad(a, padding={1: (2), 2: (2, 2)}, name="pad")
+        O.conv2d(p, b, stride=(SH, SW), name="conv")
+
+    graph_str = gb.graph.dumps()
+    with O.graph(name="matmul_relu") as gb2:
+        gb2.loads(graph_str)
+    assert graph_str != ""
+    assert graph_str == gb2.graph.dumps()
+
+    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(mode="w+", delete=True) as f:
+        gb.graph.dump(f.name)
+        with O.graph() as gb3:
+            gb3.load(f.name)
+        assert gb.graph.to_dict() == gb3.graph.to_dict()
+
+def test_mlp_fc_custom_output():
+    img = O.tensor()
+    w1 = O.tensor()
+    w2 = O.tensor()
+    w3 = O.tensor()
+    w4 = O.tensor()
+    fc = lambda i, w, nout: O.matmul(O.reshape(i, shape=(1, -1)), O.reshape(w, shape=(-1, nout)))
+    # Multi Layer Perceptron with 3 relu(fc) + 1 fc
+    with O.graph(name="mlp4") as gb:
+        with O.graph(name="l1"):
+            l1 = O.relu(fc(img, w1, 512))
+        with O.graph(name="l2"):
+            l2 = O.relu(fc(l1, w2, 256))
+        with O.graph(name="l3"):
+            l3 = O.relu(fc(l2, w3, 128))
+        with O.graph(name="l4"):
+            l4 = fc(l3, w4, 10)
+        O.reshape(l4, shape=(-1,))
+        O.outputs(l1)
+   
+    graph_dict = gb.graph.to_dict()
+    with O.graph() as gb2:
+        gb2.from_dict(graph_dict)
+    assert graph_dict != {}
+    assert graph_dict == gb2.graph.to_dict()
+