openapi-spec-generation

OpenAPI Spec Generation

Comprehensive patterns for creating, maintaining, and validating OpenAPI 3.1 specifications for RESTful APIs.

When to Use This Skill

• Creating API documentation from scratch
• Generating OpenAPI specs from existing code
• Designing API contracts (design-first approach)
• Validating API implementations against specs
• Generating client SDKs from specs
• Setting up API documentation portals

Core Concepts

1. OpenAPI 3.1 Structure

openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: API Title
  version: 1.0.0
servers:
  - url: https://api.example.com/v1
paths:
  /resources:
    get: ...
components:
  schemas: ...
  securitySchemes: ...

2. Design Approaches

Approach	Description	Best For
Design-First	Write spec before code	New APIs, contracts
Code-First	Generate spec from code	Existing APIs
Hybrid	Annotate code, generate spec	Evolving APIs

Templates

Template 1: Complete API Specification

openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: User Management API
  description: |
    API for managing users and their profiles.

    ## Authentication
    All endpoints require Bearer token authentication.

    ## Rate Limiting
    - 1000 requests per minute for standard tier
    - 10000 requests per minute for enterprise tier
  version: 2.0.0
  contact:
    name: API Support
    email: [email protected]
    url: https://docs.example.com
  license:
    name: MIT
    url: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT

servers:
  - url: https://api.example.com/v2
    description: Production
  - url: https://staging-api.example.com/v2
    description: Staging
  - url: http://localhost:3000/v2
    description: Local development

tags:
  - name: Users
    description: User management operations
  - name: Profiles
    description: User profile operations
  - name: Admin
    description: Administrative operations

paths:
  /users:
    get:
      operationId: listUsers
      summary: List all users
      description: Returns a paginated list of users with optional filtering.
      tags:
        - Users
      parameters:
        - $ref: '#/components/parameters/PageParam'
        - $ref: '#/components/parameters/LimitParam'
        - name: status
          in: query
          description: Filter by user status
          schema:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/UserStatus'
        - name: search
          in: query
          description: Search by name or email
          schema:
            type: string
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 100
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Successful response
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/UserListResponse'
              examples:
                default:
                  $ref: '#/components/examples/UserListExample'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '401':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/Unauthorized'
        '429':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/RateLimited'
      security:
        - bearerAuth: []

    post:
      operationId: createUser
      summary: Create a new user
      description: Creates a new user account and sends welcome email.
      tags:
        - Users
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/CreateUserRequest'
            examples:
              standard:
                summary: Standard user
                value:
                  email: [email protected]
                  name: John Doe
                  role: user
              admin:
                summary: Admin user
                value:
                  email: [email protected]
                  name: Admin User
                  role: admin
      responses:
        '201':
          description: User created successfully
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/User'
          headers:
            Location:
              description: URL of created user
              schema:
                type: string
                format: uri
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '409':
          description: Email already exists
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'
      security:
        - bearerAuth: []

  /users/{userId}:
    parameters:
      - $ref: '#/components/parameters/UserIdParam'

    get:
      operationId: getUser
      summary: Get user by ID
      tags:
        - Users
      responses:
        '200':
          description: Successful response
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/User'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
      security:
        - bearerAuth: []

    patch:
      operationId: updateUser
      summary: Update user
      tags:
        - Users
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: '#/components/schemas/UpdateUserRequest'
      responses:
        '200':
          description: User updated
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: '#/components/schemas/User'
        '400':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/BadRequest'
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
      security:
        - bearerAuth: []

    delete:
      operationId: deleteUser
      summary: Delete user
      tags:
        - Users
        - Admin
      responses:
        '204':
          description: User deleted
        '404':
          $ref: '#/components/responses/NotFound'
      security:
        - bearerAuth: []
        - apiKey: []

components:
  schemas:
    User:
      type: object
      required:
        - id
        - email
        - name
        - status
        - createdAt
      properties:
        id:
          type: string
          format: uuid
          readOnly: true
          description: Unique user identifier
        email:
          type: string
          format: email
          description: User email address
        name:
          type: string
          minLength: 1
          maxLength: 100
          description: User display name
        status:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/UserStatus'
        role:
          type: string
          enum: [user, moderator, admin]
          default: user
        avatar:
          type: string
          format: uri
          nullable: true
        metadata:
          type: object
          additionalProperties: true
          description: Custom metadata
        createdAt:
          type: string
          format: date-time
          readOnly: true
        updatedAt:
          type: string
          format: date-time
          readOnly: true

    UserStatus:
      type: string
      enum: [active, inactive, suspended, pending]
      description: User account status

    CreateUserRequest:
      type: object
      required:
        - email
        - name
      properties:
        email:
          type: string
          format: email
        name:
          type: string
          minLength: 1
          maxLength: 100
        role:
          type: string
          enum: [user, moderator, admin]
          default: user
        metadata:
          type: object
          additionalProperties: true

    UpdateUserRequest:
      type: object
      minProperties: 1
      properties:
        name:
          type: string
          minLength: 1
          maxLength: 100
        status:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/UserStatus'
        role:
          type: string
          enum: [user, moderator, admin]
        metadata:
          type: object
          additionalProperties: true

    UserListResponse:
      type: object
      required:
        - data
        - pagination
      properties:
        data:
          type: array
          items:
            $ref: '#/components/schemas/User'
        pagination:
          $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pagination'

    Pagination:
      type: object
      required:
        - page
        - limit
        - total
        - totalPages
      properties:
        page:
          type: integer
          minimum: 1
        limit:
          type: integer
          minimum: 1
          maximum: 100
        total:
          type: integer
          minimum: 0
        totalPages:
          type: integer
          minimum: 0
        hasNext:
          type: boolean
        hasPrev:
          type: boolean

    Error:
      type: object
      required:
        - code
        - message
      properties:
        code:
          type: string
          description: Error code for programmatic handling
        message:
          type: string
          description: Human-readable error message
        details:
          type: array
          items:
            type: object
            properties:
              field:
                type: string
              message:
                type: string
        requestId:
          type: string
          description: Request ID for support

  parameters:
    UserIdParam:
      name: userId
      in: path
      required: true
      description: User ID
      schema:
        type: string
        format: uuid

    PageParam:
      name: page
      in: query
      description: Page number (1-based)
      schema:
        type: integer
        minimum: 1
        default: 1

    LimitParam:
      name: limit
      in: query
      description: Items per page
      schema:
        type: integer
        minimum: 1
        maximum: 100
        default: 20

  responses:
    BadRequest:
      description: Invalid request
      content:
        application/json:
          

---

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