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OpenAPI Generator VS APIdoc

Compare OpenAPI Generator VS APIdoc and see what are their differences

OpenAPI Generator logo OpenAPI Generator

OpenAPI Generator enables you to generate documentation, clients, and servers from OpenAPI 2.0/3.x documents without hassle.

APIdoc logo APIdoc

Inline Documentation for RESTful web APIs
  • OpenAPI Generator Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-03-01
  • APIdoc Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-04-13

OpenAPI Generator features and specs

  • Wide Language Support
    OpenAPI Generator supports a broad range of programming languages, which allows developers to generate client libraries, server stubs, API documentation, and other code artifacts across various languages with ease.
  • Customizability
    The tool provides diverse customization options, including custom templates, configuration options, and overrides, enabling developers to tailor the generated code to meet specific project requirements.
  • Active Community
    OpenAPI Generator benefits from an active and engaged community that contributes to continuous improvements, bug fixes, and enhancements, ensuring the tool stays updated with evolving needs and standards.
  • Comprehensive Documentation
    It comes with extensive documentation and a rich set of resources that help users understand how to leverage the tool effectively for their projects.
  • Time-Efficiency
    Automating the generation of API-related code significantly reduces development time and effort, allowing teams to focus on implementing business logic rather than boilerplate code.

Possible disadvantages of OpenAPI Generator

  • Complexity
    Although powerful, OpenAPI Generator can be complex to configure and use effectively, especially for newcomers unfamiliar with OpenAPI specifications and generation nuances.
  • Generated Code Quality
    While the tool generates a significant amount of code, the quality of the generated code might not always match hand-crafted solutions, potentially requiring manual refinements and adjustments.
  • Heavy Dependency
    Relying on a code generator creates a dependency on the tool, which may complicate upgrades over time, especially if custom templates or configurations are heavily used.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with understanding the OpenAPI specification and how to effectively use the generator, particularly for complex APIs and integrations.
  • Maintenance Overhead
    Keeping up with new releases and ensuring compatibility with updated OpenAPI standards can introduce additional maintenance overhead for teams using the tool extensively.

APIdoc features and specs

  • Comprehensive Documentation
    APIdoc automatically generates detailed API documentation from your source code annotations, helping ensure all endpoints are well-documented.
  • Ease of Use
    The tool is easy to integrate into existing projects and allows developers to annotate in a familiar way using JavaScript comments.
  • Customization
    APIdoc offers customizable templates, enabling teams to tailor the documentation's appearance to meet their branding or layout requirements.
  • Language Support
    Although primarily designed for Node.js, APIdoc supports multiple languages, allowing for broader utility across different tech stacks.
  • Continuous Integration
    It can be easily integrated into continuous integration workflows, ensuring your API documentation is always up-to-date with the latest codebase changes.

Possible disadvantages of APIdoc

  • Learning Curve
    While Annotation is straightforward, developers unfamiliar with the specific syntax of APIdoc might find it challenging to start without proper examples.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    APIdoc may lack some advanced features found in other documentation tools, such as detailed change logs or advanced search functionalities.
  • JavaScript Bias
    The tool is primarily geared towards JavaScript, which might limit its appeal or effectiveness for developers working in non-JavaScript environments.
  • Dependence on Comments
    APIdoc relies heavily on code comments, meaning incomplete or inaccurate comments directly affect the generated documentation's quality.
  • Manual Updates Required
    Developers must ensure to update code comments consistently, as APIdoc does not automatically infer or generate documentation without proper annotations.

OpenAPI Generator videos

Introducing OpenAPI Generator

More videos:

  • Review - Scaling the Test Coverage of OpenAPI Generator for 30+ Programming Languages - William Cheng

APIdoc videos

No APIdoc videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to OpenAPI Generator and APIdoc)
Development
100 100%
0% 0
Documentation
54 54%
46% 46
Tool
100 100%
0% 0
Documentation As A Service & Tools

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, OpenAPI Generator seems to be a lot more popular than APIdoc. While we know about 42 links to OpenAPI Generator, we've tracked only 2 mentions of APIdoc. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

OpenAPI Generator mentions (42)

  • Using OpenAPI to Automate API Integration With Rapyd's Payment Gateway
    Manually writing API clients can be time-consuming and result in errors. This is where the OpenAPI specification and tools like OpenAPI Generator are helpful. - Source: dev.to / 2 months ago
  • Define, Generate, and Implement: An API-First Approach with OpenAPI Generator and FlightPHP
    With your API defined, use the OpenAPI Generator to generate your code automatically. The PHP Flight generator — documented here — was provided by the author and, although its status is still marked as "experimental", it has been my production workhorse for over a year. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Next-generation web framework Teo, supports Node.js, Python and Rust
    You would use OpenAPI (formerly Swagger) [1] for that, which includes JSONSchema for data types but also adds specs for defining REST apis. There are plenty of generators and other tools that work with OpenAPI [2] [1] https://www.openapis.org/ [2] https://openapi-generator.tech/. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • FastAPI Got Me an OpenAPI Spec Really... Fast
    As a result, the following specification can be used to generate clients in a number of different languages via OpenAPI Generator. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • How to Automatically Consume RESTful APIs in Your Frontend
    As an alternative, you can also use the official OpenAPI Generator, which is a more generic tool supporting a wide range of languages and frameworks. - Source: dev.to / over 1 year ago
View more

APIdoc mentions (2)

  • The Best API Documentation Tools for Dev Teams in 2023
    Compared to the first three tools, apiDoc takes a different approach towards generating documentation. Rather than rely on an API definition file like OAS, apiDoc is a package that allows you to add documentation directly into your source code through annotations. While there are third-party libraries that can create OAS files based on code annotations, having this built-in makes apiDoc slightly better if you want... - Source: dev.to / about 2 years ago
  • Rest API : After CRUD
    You can find it here : https://apidocjs.com/. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing OpenAPI Generator and APIdoc, you can also consider the following products

swagger.io - Swagger is an open source RESTapi Documentation Tool.

API Transformer - API Transformer is a powerful solution that enables you to Transform API specifications to any format.

Compodoc - The missing documentation tool for your Angular application

Widdershins - Widdershins is an open-source, easy to use Semoasa/ OpenAPI/ AsyncAPI/ definition to ReSlate/Slate compatible markdown released under the MIT License.

TypeDoc - A documentation generator for TypeScript projects

Swagger Codegen - Swagger Codegen can reduce the complexities that arise in your build process by providing client SDKs and server stubs for any API you want.