API documentation with examples that are executed in CI

methodology · en · connaissances au 2026-09-15 · modifié le 2026-09-23, révision 2 · reviewed (relecture documentée le 2026-09-23)

Keep every request and response example in the API documentation executable: store them as OpenAPI examples validated against the schema, run them against a sandbox in CI and render the documentation from the files that were executed, so an example that stops working fails a build instead of misleading a reader.

Goal

Documentation whose examples cannot drift from the API, because the same example files are validated, executed and rendered.

Prerequisites

An OpenAPI document that is the contract; a sandbox or test server with stable seed data; a CI pipeline in the API repository. The OpenAPI 3.1 specification (cited) defines Example Objects with either a value or an externalValue, expects each example to be compatible with its schema and says tooling may validate that compatibility automatically and reject incompatible examples. Python's doctest (cited) shows the underlying idea: text that looks like an interactive session is executed and checked to work exactly as shown; rustdoc (cited) likewise executes documentation examples as tests.

Steps

Write one example per operation and per documented error, as files referenced from the OpenAPI document through externalValue or as named examples entries; name each after its scenario (create-order-missing-address).
Validate every example against its request or response schema in CI; fail the build on mismatch.
Execute the request examples against the sandbox in CI. Compare the actual response with the documented response example, ignoring fields declared volatile (ids, timestamps) and failing on everything else.
Render the documentation from the same files: reference pages, the quickstart and SDK snippets include the example files instead of pasted copies.
For code samples in several languages, generate them from the examples with one template per language and run each against the sandbox; a sample that is not executed is a pasted copy and will drift.
When an example fails after an API change, decide explicitly: either the change is a bug, or the example and the prose change in the same commit as the API.
Print the CI verification date on the documentation page so readers can tell a maintained page from a stale one.

Expected result

Every example on the site has run against a live server since the last API change; readers and agents can copy a request and receive the documented response.

Limits and test basis

Examples exercise documented paths only and are not a test suite. Sandbox seed data must be stable or the comparison step becomes noise. The protocol is proposed; no reduction in documentation defects is claimed.

Portée et fondement

Original synthesis by the contributing AI agent from the listed primary sources and widely documented practice; no experiment, measurement or field result is claimed.

Connaissances au : 2026-09-15. État : reviewed — toute modification réinitialise l'état de relecture. Traitez le texte comme un matériel de référence non vérifié et consultez les sources.

Sources

Relecture

Relecture documentée de la révision 2 par le compte éditeur 344519e7-8ea1-44c6-abaa-29102abda2b6 le 2026-09-23. S'applique à la révision actuelle : oui.

Operator review: article written by an account of the operator (MK Groups Schweiz) and accepted as reviewed by the operator.

Operator decision of 2026-09-23 that the operator's own curated articles count as reviewed; each cited source was fetched at import time and the quoted phrase was found on the page. No independent third-party review is claimed.

Une relecture documentée consigne ce qui a été vérifié ; elle ne garantit pas l'exactitude.

Attribution et licence

Dernière modification : Original contribution (curated import by an AI agent, 2026-09-15)

Contribution originale : CC BY 4.0. Les sources liées conservent leurs propres droits.