Swagger API Documentation Course

Lesson 1 • Overview of Documentation Standards

Surveys major API specification formats including OpenAPI, RAML, and API Blueprint. Positions OpenAPI as the industry-dominant standard for the rest of the course.

Lesson 2 • Setting Up Your Documentation Environment

Guides learners through installing tools and configuring a local workspace. Ensures every student has a functional environment before writing any specification.

Lesson 3 • What APIs Are and How They Work

Covers REST, HTTP methods, requests, and responses at a conceptual level. Establishes the technical vocabulary needed throughout the course.

Lesson 1 • Validating Your First Specification

Uses Swagger Editor and CLI validators to check specification correctness. Students fix real validation errors and understand parser feedback.

Lesson 2 • YAML and JSON for OpenAPI

Teaches YAML syntax, indentation rules, and JSON equivalents used in OpenAPI files. Prevents formatting errors that break specification parsers.

Lesson 3 • OpenAPI Document Structure

Breaks down the top-level fields: openapi, info, servers, paths, and components. Students understand how each field contributes to a complete specification.

Lesson 4 • Describing Responses

Explains how to document response codes, headers, and body schemas. Connects accurate response documentation to reliable client code generation.

Lesson 1 • JSON Schema Core Concepts

Introduces types, properties, required fields, and constraints in JSON Schema. Provides the modelling vocabulary used in all subsequent schema work.

Lesson 2 • Documenting Real-World Data Models

Applies schema skills to realistic domain objects such as users, orders, and products. Reinforces modelling decisions through practical, end-to-end exercises.

Lesson 3 • Reusable Components and References

Demonstrates the $ref keyword and the components/schemas section for DRY documentation. Students refactor inline schemas into shared, reusable definitions.

Lesson 4 • Constraints and Validation Keywords

Covers numeric, string, and array constraints that enforce data integrity. Students write schemas that reject invalid payloads at the specification level.

Lesson 1 • Documenting Authentication Flows

Walks through documenting token acquisition, refresh, and revocation endpoints. Ensures consumers understand the full authentication lifecycle from the specification alone.

Lesson 2 • Request Body and Content Types

Documents JSON, form, and multipart request bodies with encoding details. Connects content-type selection to correct schema and encoding configuration.

Lesson 3 • Parameter Types in Depth

Covers path, query, header, and cookie parameters with serialisation rules. Students avoid ambiguous parameter definitions that confuse API consumers.

Lesson 4 • Applying Security to Operations

Shows how to attach security requirements globally and per operation. Students document mixed-security APIs where some endpoints are public and others are protected.

Lesson 1 • Swagger Editor Deep Dive

Explores real-time validation, autocomplete, and preview features of Swagger Editor. Students use the editor efficiently to write and debug specifications.

Lesson 2 • Branding and Custom Styling

Applies custom CSS and logo injection to align Swagger UI with brand guidelines. Students deliver a documentation portal that looks professionally polished.

Lesson 3 • Testing APIs Through Swagger UI

Uses the Try It Out feature to execute live API calls from the documentation. Students verify that their specification accurately reflects actual API behaviour.

Lesson 4 • Deploying Swagger UI

Covers npm, CDN, and Docker deployment options for Swagger UI. Students host a working documentation site from a local or cloud environment.

Lesson 1 • Callbacks and Webhooks

Covers callback objects for documenting asynchronous push notifications and webhooks. Students document event-driven APIs alongside traditional request-response patterns.

Lesson 2 • OpenAPI 3.1 New Features

Highlights JSON Schema full alignment, webhooks, and schema dialect changes in 3.1. Students migrate existing 3.0 specifications to take advantage of new capabilities.

Lesson 3 • Specification Extensions

Introduces x- extension fields for adding vendor-specific metadata to specifications. Students extend OpenAPI without breaking standard tooling compatibility.

Lesson 4 • Handling Versioning in Specifications

Covers URL, header, and content-type versioning strategies in OpenAPI documents. Students document multiple API versions without duplicating entire specification files.

Lesson 1 • Introduction to Code Generation

Explains how generators parse OpenAPI specs to produce language-specific code. Students understand the relationship between specification quality and generated code quality.

Lesson 2 • Mock Servers from Specifications

Generates mock servers using Prism and Stoplight to enable parallel development. Students unblock frontend teams before backend implementation is complete.

Lesson 3 • Generating Client SDKs

Walks through generating TypeScript, Python, and Java clients using OpenAPI Generator. Students produce functional client libraries directly from their specifications.

Lesson 4 • Contract Testing with Specifications

Uses tools like Dredd and Schemathesis to validate APIs against their OpenAPI specs. Students catch contract violations before they reach production.

Lesson 1 • Version Control for Specifications

Applies Git branching, tagging, and pull request workflows to OpenAPI files. Students manage specification history with the same rigour applied to source code.

Lesson 2 • Governance and Style Guides

Creates organisational rules for naming, formatting, and structuring OpenAPI files. Students enforce consistency across multiple APIs and teams using automated linting.

Lesson 3 • Automating Documentation Pipelines

Builds CI/CD pipelines that validate, generate, and publish documentation on every commit. Students eliminate manual documentation steps that introduce drift and errors.

Lesson 4 • Spec-First vs. Code-First Approaches

Compares designing the specification before coding against generating specs from annotations. Students select the right approach based on team structure and project phase.