generating-api-docs

Generating API Documentation

Overview

Create comprehensive, interactive API documentation from OpenAPI specifications with runnable code examples, authentication guides, error reference tables, and SDK quick-start tutorials. Generate documentation sites using Redoc, Stoplight Elements, or Swagger UI with custom branding, versioned navigation, and full-text search.

Prerequisites

• OpenAPI 3.0+ specification with descriptions, examples, and complete schema definitions
• Documentation generator: Redoc, Stoplight Elements, Swagger UI, or Docusaurus with OpenAPI plugin
• Code example generator for multiple languages (curl, JavaScript, Python, Go)
• Static site hosting for documentation deployment (GitHub Pages, Netlify, Vercel)
• Custom branding assets (logo, color scheme) for white-labeled documentation

Instructions

1. Read the OpenAPI specification using Read and audit documentation completeness: verify all operations have summary, description, parameter descriptions, and at least one example per request/response.
2. Enrich the specification with long-form descriptions using Markdown: add getting-started guides, authentication flow explanations, and rate limiting documentation in the info.description or x-documentation extensions.
3. Generate interactive documentation using Redoc or Stoplight Elements with "Try It" functionality that allows consumers to execute requests directly from the documentation page.
4. Create runnable code examples for every endpoint in curl, JavaScript (fetch/axios), Python (requests/httpx), and Go (net/http), with proper authentication header injection.
5. Build an authentication guide covering all supported auth schemes: API key setup, OAuth2 authorization code flow walkthrough, JWT token lifecycle, and credential rotation procedures.
6. Add an error reference section that documents every error code, its meaning, common causes, and resolution steps -- organized by HTTP status code with searchable error code index.
7. Configure documentation versioning so consumers can switch between API versions (v1, v2) with visual diff highlighting showing changes between versions.
8. Set up automated documentation deployment: on OpenAPI spec changes, regenerate the documentation site and deploy to hosting with cache invalidation.

See ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/implementation.md for the full implementation guide.

Output

• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/site/ - Generated documentation website (HTML/CSS/JS)
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/guides/authentication.md - Authentication flow guide with code examples
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/guides/getting-started.md - Quick-start tutorial for first API call
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/reference/errors.md - Complete error code reference with resolution steps
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/examples/ - Per-endpoint code examples in multiple languages
• ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/docs/config/redoc.yaml - Documentation generator configuration with branding

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Missing examples	OpenAPI spec lacks example or examples for request/response schemas	Generate examples from schema using Faker-based data; flag missing examples in spec linting
Stale documentation	Docs deployed from an older spec version than the running API	Tie doc deployment to API deployment pipeline; version docs alongside API releases
Broken Try-It requests	CORS not configured for documentation domain on the API server	Add documentation domain to CORS Access-Control-Allow-Origin; or use a proxy for Try-It requests
Code example errors	Generated code example uses deprecated SDK method or wrong import path	Auto-test code examples against a staging API; version examples alongside SDK releases
Search not working	Full-text search index not rebuilt after content update	Include search index regeneration in documentation build pipeline; verify Algolia/Lunr config

Refer to ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/errors.md for comprehensive error patterns.

Examples

Stripe-style API docs: Generate a three-column documentation layout with navigation on the left, description in the center, and code examples on the right, with language switcher for curl/Node/Python/Ruby.

Versioned documentation site: Host v1 and v2 documentation side-by-side with a version switcher dropdown, and a changelog page highlighting breaking changes and migration steps between versions.

Developer portal: Combine API reference docs with getting-started tutorials, use-case guides, webhooks documentation, and SDK installation instructions in a single searchable portal.

See ${CLAUDE_SKILL_DIR}/references/examples.md for additional examples.

Resources

• Redoc documentation generator: https://redocly.com/redoc
• Stoplight Elements: https://stoplight.io/open-source/elements
• Swagger UI: https://swagger.io/tools/swagger-ui/
• Documentation best practices: Stripe, Twilio, and GitHub API docs as exemplars