Technical guide
From OpenAPI to documentation developers actually use
A specification is the source, but not yet a successful onboarding path. This guide connects the contract, examples, error models and tests.
1. Contract first
I start with resources, states, authentication and error semantics. Once those concepts are stable, OpenAPI becomes the authoritative source. Examples and prose must point to the same schemas.
2. A verifiable quickstart
The first path needs the smallest complete outcome: obtain a token, create one resource, inspect the response and understand the most common error. Every line is tested against the specification.
3. Operations are part of the API
Idempotency keys, rate limits, retries, webhook signatures and correlation are not footnotes. They determine whether an integration remains reliable in production.
4. Docs as code
Specification, examples and documentation move through review, linting and contract tests. Changes without migration guidance or compatible versioning do not pass the gate.