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Chapter 5: Step-by-step OpenAPI code tutorial

Last updated: May 28, 2023

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Whereas the previous chapter involved building and publishing OpenAPI specification using a visual editor (Stoplight), in this chapter you code the spec by hand following a step-by-step tutorial using the Swagger Editor. You populate each of the main objects in the OpenAPI spec: openapi, info, servers, paths, components, security, tags, and externalDocs. For each object, you can refer to code samples and see how the source maps to the documentation output. The goal is to gain familiarity with the OpenAPI objects and properties by building a valid OpenAPI file from scratch.

If you’re a beginner or want a visual editor, check out the Getting started tutorial: Using Stoplight to create an OpenAPI specification document instead.

About Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson

I'm an API technical writer based in the Seattle area. On this blog, I write about topics related to technical writing and communication — such as software documentation, API documentation, AI, information architecture, content strategy, writing processes, plain language, tech comm careers, and more. Check out my API documentation course if you're looking for more info about documenting APIs. Or see my posts on AI and AI course section for more on the latest in AI and tech comm.

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