How to document your API

Developers are the principal adopters of API products. By writing developer-friendly documentation, you can retain users, attract investment, and stand out from your competitors.

In this guide, we break down how to document an API effectively, covering documentation structure, ongoing maintenance, user experience, internal documentation, platform choice, and more.

Structuring your API documentation

Good API documentation is intuitive to navigate, as it follows a familiar format.

Most API documentation includes the following essential sections:

• Getting started: An overview of the API and a simple first request.
• Setup and authentication: An explanation of how users can authenticate and configure access to the API.
• API reference: A detailed description of the API endpoints, request parameters, and responses.

Getting started

The Getting started page summarizes the purpose of the API and directs the developer to important sections. It should be short and to the point. The goal is to help users make their first successful request as quickly as possible by providing the following:

• A short introduction explaining what the API does.
• A description of the environment or a brief example of an authentication and request.
• Links to the setup section, the reference section, and any other important resources.

The Paddle API Overview  page for the Paddle API demonstrates this structure. It begins with an introduction.