API Documentation: Building Developer-Friendly APIs

December 3, 20241 min read
APIDocumentationOpenAPISwagger
# API Documentation: Building Developer-Friendly APIs Good API documentation is essential for developer adoption. This guide covers creating comprehensive, clear API documentation. ## OpenAPI/Swagger Define API structure: ```yaml openapi: 3.0.0 info: title: User API version: 1.0.0 paths: /users: get: summary: Get all users responses: '200': description: List of users content: application/json: schema: type: array items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/User' ``` ## NestJS Swagger Integration ```typescript import { SwaggerModule, DocumentBuilder } from '@nestjs/swagger'; const config = new DocumentBuilder() .setTitle('API Documentation') .setVersion('1.0') .build(); const document = SwaggerModule.createDocument(app, config); SwaggerModule.setup('api', app, document); ``` ## Best Practices - Include examples - Document all endpoints - Explain error responses - Provide code samples - Keep documentation updated ## Conclusion Comprehensive API documentation improves developer experience and adoption. Invest in documentation tools and keep it current.