Writing an OpenAPI Document from the Ground Up

Composing an OpenAPI document can be daunting, especially during the early stages of API design. Your API design will need to evolve as you learn more about the problem space. To avoid needing to re-write large portions of your OpenAPI document, I recommend a phased approach to designing and documenting your API. The process starts with a breadth-first approach, capturing the essentials of the API including purpose and scope, then adding high-level operational descriptions. Finally, add more detail as you gain insights and receive feedback, until your OpenAPI document is complete.

In this article, we will break the OpenAPI documentation process into three phases, with steps within each phase to help you get th