API Documentation Checklist

Use when generating comprehensive API documentation with OpenAPI specifications.

Phase 1: Preparation

• Identify all API endpoints to document
• Determine target audience (internal devs, external partners, public)
• Choose documentation format (OpenAPI 3.1, AsyncAPI 2.6)
• Select interactive documentation tool (Swagger UI, Redoc)
• Define coverage threshold (target 90%+, minimum 80%)
• Establish deployment strategy (Cloudflare Pages, GitHub Pages)

Phase 2: Code Analysis

TypeScript/JavaScript

• Locate all route definitions (Hono, NestJS, Express, tRPC)
• Extract route handlers and HTTP methods
• Parse TypeScript interfaces and types
• Extract JSDoc comments for descriptions
• Identify authentication middleware
• Locate request validation schemas
• Extract response type definitions

Python

• Locate FastAPI/Flask route decorators
• Extract Pydantic response models
• Parse docstrings (Google, NumPy styles)
• Identify dependency injection
• Locate authentication dependencies
• Extract validation schemas
• Identify error response handlers

Phase 3: OpenAPI Specification

Info Section

• API title defined
• API description written (1-2 paragraphs)
• API version specified (semantic versioning)
• Contact information added (name, email, URL)
• License specified (MIT, Apache, etc.)
• Terms of service URL added (if applicable)

Servers Section

• Production server URL defined
• Staging server URL defined (if applicable)
• Development server URL defined
• Server descriptions added
• Server variables defined (for templating)

Paths Section

• All endpoints documented
• HTTP methods specified (GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH)
• Operation IDs unique across all paths
• Summaries concise (1 line)
• Descriptions comprehensive (1-3 paragraphs)
• Tags assigned for grouping
• Parameters documented (path, query, header, cookie)
• Request bodies defined with schemas
• Response codes documented (200, 400, 401, 403, 404, 429, 500)
• Security requirements specified
• Deprecation warnings added (if applicable)

Components Section

• Reusable schemas defined
• Request schemas created
• Response schemas created
• Error schemas defined
• Pagination schemas defined
• Security schemes configured (Bearer, OAuth2, API keys)
• Parameters reused via $ref
• Response objects reused via $ref
• Examples included in schemas

Security Section

• Security schemes defined in components
• Bearer JWT configuration (if applicable)
• OAuth2 flows defined (if applicable)
• API key locations specified (header, query, cookie)
• Security applied to endpoints globally or per-operation
• Scopes defined for OAuth2 (if applicable)

Phase 4: Schema Definitions

Schema Quality

• All fields have descriptions
• Required fields marked
• Data types specified (string, integer, boolean, array, object)
• String constraints (minLength, maxLength, pattern)
• Number constraints (minimum, maximum, multipleOf)
• Array constraints (minItems, maxItems, uniqueItems)
• Enum values defined (for status codes, roles, etc.)
• Format specified (email, uri, date-time, uuid)
• Examples provided for each schema
• Default values specified (where appropriate)
• ReadOnly/WriteOnly fields marked

Nested Objects

• Nested schemas properly referenced
• Recursive schemas handled (if applicable)
• Polymorphic schemas defined (oneOf, anyOf, allOf)
• Discriminator specified (for polymorphic schemas)

Phase 5: Examples and Code Snippets

Request/Response Examples

• Example requests provided for each endpoint
• Example responses provided for success cases
• Example error responses provided
• Examples match schema definitions
• Examples use realistic data

Multi-Language Code Snippets

• TypeScript/JavaScript examples generated
• Python examples generated
• cURL examples generated
• Code snippets tested and verified
• Authentication included in examples
• Error handling demonstrated

Phase 6: Interactive Documentation

Swagger UI Setup

• Swagger UI HTML generated
• Custom styling applied (Grey Haven branding)
• Try-it-out functionality enabled
• Authentication configuration added
• Search functionality enabled
• Dark mode support added
• Favicon and logo added

Redoc Setup (Alternative)

• Redoc HTML generated
• Three-panel layout configured
• Custom theme applied
• Download as HTML enabled
• Search functionality tested

Phase 7: Validation and Quality Checks

OpenAPI Spec Validation

• Spec validated against OpenAPI 3.1 schema
• All $ref references resolved
• No validation errors
• No validation warnings (or documented exceptions)
• Run: npx @redocly/cli lint docs/api/openapi.json

Coverage Analysis

• Coverage report generated
• Endpoint coverage ≥ 90% (or ≥ 80% minimum)
• Request schema coverage ≥ 90%
• Response schema coverage ≥ 90%
• Error response coverage ≥ 95%
• Code example coverage ≥ 80%
• Missing documentation identified
• Remediation plan created

Code Example Testing

• Example test suite created
• TypeScript examples tested
• Python examples tested
• cURL examples tested
• All examples pass tests
• Examples updated when API changes

Schema Consistency

• Generated schemas match source types
• TypeScript interfaces align with OpenAPI schemas
• Pydantic models align with OpenAPI schemas
• No drift between code and documentation

Phase 8: Deployment

Build Documentation Site

• Documentation site built successfully
• All assets included (CSS, JS, images)
• OpenAPI spec accessible at /openapi.json
• OpenAPI spec accessible at /openapi.yaml
• Swagger UI accessible at / or /docs
• Code examples accessible

Cloudflare Pages Deployment

• Cloudflare project created
• Custom domain configured (docs.greyhaven.com)
• DNS records configured
• SSL/TLS enabled
• Deploy command tested: wrangler pages deploy docs/build
• Deployment successful
• Documentation accessible via URL
• Cache invalidation configured

GitHub Actions CI/CD

• GitHub Actions workflow created
• Workflow triggers on code changes (src//*.ts, src//*.py)
• Dependencies installed (Node.js, bun)
• Documentation generated automatically
• OpenAPI spec validated in CI/CD
• Coverage threshold enforced (fail if < 80%)
• Deployment to Cloudflare Pages automated
• Secrets configured (CLOUDFLARE_API_TOKEN, CLOUDFLARE_ACCOUNT_ID)
• Workflow tested with test commit

Phase 9: Maintenance

Continuous Updates

• Documentation regenerated on every merge to main
• Pre-commit hooks validate coverage (optional)
• Code reviews include documentation updates
• Breaking changes documented
• Migration guides created (for API versioning)

Monitoring

• Documentation build failures monitored
• Coverage trend tracked over time
• User feedback collected (via GitHub Issues, feedback form)
• Analytics configured (page views, search queries)

Versioning

• API versioned (v1, v2, etc.)
• Documentation versioned per API version
• Legacy versions accessible (for backward compatibility)
• Deprecation warnings added to old endpoints
• Sunset dates communicated (for deprecated endpoints)

Phase 10: Documentation Quality

Accuracy

• All endpoints tested and verified
• Code examples tested against live API
• Schemas match actual request/response data
• Error responses match actual behavior
• Authentication flows verified

Completeness

• All endpoints documented
• All parameters documented
• All request schemas documented
• All response schemas documented
• All error codes documented
• Rate limiting documented
• Pagination documented
• Filtering/sorting documented

Clarity

• Descriptions clear and concise
• Technical jargon explained
• Examples demonstrate common use cases
• Authentication flows explained step-by-step
• Error handling guidance provided

Accessibility

• Documentation site is mobile-friendly
• WCAG 2.1 AA compliance (for public APIs)
• Keyboard navigation supported
• Screen reader compatible
• Sufficient color contrast

Critical Validations

• OpenAPI spec passes validation (npx @redocly/cli lint)
• Documentation coverage ≥ 80% (target 90%+)
• All code examples tested and working
• Deployment successful and accessible
• CI/CD workflow passing
• No schema drift between code and docs
• Authentication flows documented and tested
• Error responses complete and accurate
• Versioning strategy defined
• Maintenance plan established

Post-Implementation

Testing

• Documentation site load tested
• Search functionality tested
• Try-it-out functionality tested (Swagger UI)
• Mobile responsiveness tested
• Cross-browser compatibility tested

Performance

• Documentation site loads in < 3 seconds
• OpenAPI spec size optimized (< 5 MB)
• Images optimized
• Caching configured (Cloudflare)

Security

• API keys not exposed in examples
• Sensitive data redacted
• Authentication documented securely
• Rate limiting documented
• CORS policies documented

User Experience

• Navigation intuitive
• Search returns relevant results
• Code examples copy-able
• Feedback mechanism available
• Contact information visible