Generate API specifications

API specifications serve as contracts between services, defining how they communicate and what data they exchange. These specifications combine living documentation and type definitions to create a comprehensive reference that both humans and machines can understand. When properly maintained, API specs enable automated testing, client generation, and documentation updates. For AI systems, these specifications provide structured information about service behaviors, making it easier to analyze dependencies, generate code, and maintain consistency across integrations.

Example

openapi: 3.0.0
info:
 title: Data API
 version: 1.0.0
paths:
 /api/v1/data:
   post:
     summary: Process data
     requestBody:
       required: true
       content:
         application/json:
           schema:
             type: object
             required: [name]
             properties:
               name: 
                 type: string
     responses:
       '201':
         description: Success
       '400':
         description: Bad request

Recommendation

Implement API specifications using OpenAPI (formerly Swagger) as the standard format, ensuring all endpoints, parameters, responses, and authentication methods are thoroughly documented. The specification should live alongside the code, automatically updating through code annotations or dedicated specification files. Include detailed descriptions of business rules, rate limits, and example usage. Use tools to validate specifications and generate client libraries, ensuring the specification remains the single source of truth for API behavior.