========================
API Documentation Tool
========================
.. image:: https://travis-ci.org/Apipie/apipie-rails.svg?branch=master
:target: https://travis-ci.org/Apipie/apipie-rails
.. image:: https://codeclimate.com/github/Apipie/apipie-rails.svg
:target: https://codeclimate.com/github/Apipie/apipie-rails
.. image:: https://badges.gitter.im/Apipie/apipie-rails.svg
:alt: Join the chat at https://gitter.im/Apipie/apipie-rails
:target: https://gitter.im/Apipie/apipie-rails?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=badge&utm_campaign=pr-badge&utm_content=badge
.. image:: https://img.shields.io/gem/v/apipie-rails.svg
:alt: Latest release
:target: https://rubygems.org/gems/apipie-rails
Apipie-rails is a DSL and Rails engine for documenting your RESTful
API. Instead of traditional use of ``#comments``, Apipie lets you
describe the code, through the code. This brings advantages like:
* No need to learn yet another syntax, you already know Ruby, right?
* Possibility of reusing the docs for other purposes (such as validation)
* Easier to extend and maintain (no string parsing involved)
* Possibility of reusing other sources for documentation purposes (such as
routes etc.)
The documentation is available from within your app (by default under the
``/apipie`` path.) In development mode, you can see the changes as you
go. It's markup language agnostic, and even provides an API for reusing
the documentation data in JSON.
Getting started
---------------
The easiest way to get Apipie up and running with your app is:
.. code:: sh
echo "gem 'apipie-rails'" >> Gemfile
bundle install
rails g apipie:install
Now you can start documenting your resources and actions (see
`DSL Reference`_ for more info):
.. code:: ruby
api :GET, '/users/:id'
param :id, :number
def show
# ...
end
Run your application and see the result at
``http://localhost:3000/apipie``. For further processing, you can
use ``http://localhost:3000/apipie.json``.
For a more comprehensive getting started guide, see
`this demo <https://github.com/iNecas/apipie-demo>`_, which includes
features such as generating documentation from tests, recording examples etc.
Screenshots
-----------
.. image:: https://github.com/Apipie/apipie-rails/blob/master/images/screenshot-1.png
.. image:: https://github.com/Apipie/apipie-rails/blob/master/images/screenshot-2.png
Authors
-------
`Pajk <https://github.com/Pajk>`_ and `iNecas <https://github.com/iNecas>`_
Contributors
------------
See `Contributors page <https://github.com/Apipie/apipie-rails/graphs/contributors>`_. Special thanks to all of them!
License
-------
Apipie-rails is released under the `MIT License <http://opensource.org/licenses/MIT>`_
===============
Documentation
===============
.. contents:: `Table Of Contents`
:depth: 2
===============
DSL Reference
===============
Resource Description
--------------------
You can describe a resource on the controller level. The description is introduced by calling
``resource_description do ... end``.
Inheritance is supported, so you can specify common params for group of controllers in their parent
class.
The following keywords are available (all are optional):
resource_id
How the resource will be referenced in Apipie (paths, ``see`` command etc.); by default `controller_name.downcase` is used.
name
Human readable name of resource. By default ``class.name.humanize`` is used.
short (also short_description)
Short description of the resource (it's shown on both the list of resources, and resource details)
desc (also description and full_description)
Full description of the resource (shown only in resource details)
param
Common params for all methods defined in controller/child controllers.
returns
Common responses for all methods defined in controller/child controllers.
api_base_url
What URL is the resource available under.
api_versions (also api_version)
What versions does the controller define the resource. (See `Versioning`_ for details.)
formats
Request / response formats.
error
Describe every possible error that can happen when calling all
methods defined in controller. HTTP response code and description can be provided.
app_info
In case of versioning, this sets app info description on a per_version basis.
meta
Hash or array with custom metadata.
deprecated
Boolean value indicating if the resource is marked as deprecated. (Default false)
Example:
~~~~~~~~
.. code:: ruby
resource_description do
short 'Site members'
formats ['json']
param :id, Fixnum, :desc => "User ID", :required => false
param :resource_param, Hash, :desc => 'Param description for all methods' do
param :ausername, String, :desc => "Username for login", :required => true
param :apassword, String, :desc => "Password for login", :required => true
end
api_version "development"
error 404, "Missing"
error 500, "Server crashed for some <%= reason %>", :meta => {:anything => "you can think of"}
error :unprocessable_entity, "Could not save the entity."
returns :code => 403 do
property :reason, String, :desc => "Why this was forbidden"
end
meta :author => {:name => 'John', :surname => 'Doe'}
deprecated false
description <<-EOS
== Long description
Example resource for rest api documentation
These can now be accessed in <tt>shared/header</tt> with:
Headline: <%= headline %>
First name: <%= person.first_name %>
If you need to find out whether a certain local variable has been
assigned a value in a particular render call, you need to use the
following pattern:
<% if local_assigns.has_key? :headline %>
Headline: <%= headline %>
<% end %>
Testing using <tt>defined? headline</tt> will not work. This is an
implementation restriction.
=== Template caching
By default, Rails will compile each template to a method in order
to render it. When you alter a template, Rails will check the
file's modification time and recompile it in development mode.
EOS
end
Method Description
------------------
Then describe methods available to your API.
api
Describe how this method is exposed, and provide a short description.
The first parameter is HTTP method (one of :GET/:POST/:PUT/:DELETE).
The second parameter is the relative URL path which is mapped to this
method. The last parameter is the methods short description.
You can use this +api+ method more than once per method. It could
be useful when there are more routes mapped to it.
When providing just one argument (description), or no argument at all,
the paths will be loaded from the routes.rb file.
api!
Provide a short description and additional option.
The last parameter is the methods short description.
The paths will be loaded from routes.rb file. See
`Rails Routes Integration`_ for more details.
api_versions (also api_version)
What version(s) does the action belong to. (See `Versioning`_ for details.)
param
Look at `Parameter description`_ section for details.
returns
Look at `Response description`_ section for details.
tags
Adds tags for grouping operations together in Swagger outputs. See `swagger`_
for more details. You can also provide tags in the `Resource Description`_
block so that they are automatically prepended to all action tags in the
controller.
formats
Method level request / response formats.
error
Describe each possible error that can happen while calling this
method. HTTP response code and description can be provided.
description
Full method description, which will be converted into HTML by the
chosen markup language processor.
example
Provide an example of the server response; whole communication or response type.
It will be formatted as code.
see
Provide reference to another method, this has to be a string with
controller_name#method_name.
meta
Hash or array with custom metadata.
show
Resource is hidden from documentation when set to false (true by default)
Example:
~~~~~~~~
.. code:: ruby
# The simplest case: just load the paths from routes.rb
api!
def index
end
# More complex example
api :GET, "/users/:id", "Show user profile"
show false
error :code => 401, :desc => "Unauthorized"
error :code => 404, :desc => "Not Found", :meta => {:anything => "you can think of"}
param :session, String, :desc => "user is logged in", :required => true
param :regexp_param, /^[0-9]* years/, :desc => "regexp param"
param :array_param, [100, "one", "two", 1, 2], :desc => "array validator"
param :boolean_param, [true, false], :desc => "array validator with boolean"
param :proc_param, lambda { |val|
val == "param value" ? true : "The only good value is 'param value'."
}, :desc => "proc validator"
param :param_with_metadata, String, :desc => "", :meta => [:your, :custom, :metadata]
returns :code => 200, :desc => "a successful response" do
property :value1, String, :desc => "A string value"
property :value2, Integer, :desc => "An integer value"
property :value3, Hash, :desc => "An object" do
property :enum1, ['v1', 'v2'], :desc => "One of 2 possible string values"
end
end
tags %w[profiles logins]
tags 'more', 'related', 'resources'
description "method description"
formats ['json', 'jsonp', 'xml']
meta :message => "Some very important info"
example " 'user': {...} "
see "users#showme", "link description"
see :link => "users#update", :desc => "another link description"
def show
#...
end
Parameter Description
---------------------
Use ``param`` to describe every possible parameter. You can use the Hash validator
in conjunction with a block given to the param method to describe nested parameters.
name
The first argument is the parameter name as a symbol.
validator
Second parameter is the parameter validator, choose one from section `Validators`_
desc
Parameter description.
required
Set this true/false to make it required/optional. Default is optional
allow_nil
Setting this to true means that ``nil`` can be passed.
allow_blank
Like ``allow_nil``, but for blank values. ``false``, ``""``, ``' '``, ``nil``, ``[]``, and ``{}`` are all blank.
as
Used by the processing functionality to change the name of a key params.
meta
Hash or array with custom metadata.
show
Parameter is hidden from documentation when set to false (true by default)
missing_message
Specify the message to be returned if the parameter is missing as a string or Proc.
Defaults to ``Missing parameter #{name}`` if not specified.
only_in
This can be set to ``:request`` or ``:response``.
Setting to ``:response`` causes the param to be ignored when used as part of a request description.
Setting to ``:request`` causes this param to be ignored when used as part of a response description.
If ``only_in`` is not specified, the param definition is used for both requests and responses.
(Note that the keyword ``property`` is similar to ``param``, but it has a ``:only_in => :response`` default).
Example:
~~~~~~~~
.. code:: ruby
param :user, Hash, :desc => "User info" do
param :username, String, :desc => "Username for login", :required => true
param :password, String, :desc => "Password for login", :required => true
param :membership, ["standard","premium"], :desc => "User membership"
param :admin_override, String, :desc => "Not shown in documentation", :show => false
param :ip_address, String, :desc => "IP address", :required => true, :missing_message => lambda { I18n.t("ip_address.required") }
end
def create
#...
end
DRY with param_group
--------------------
Often, params occur together in more actions. Typically, most of the
params for ``create`` and ``update`` actions are shared between them.
These params can be extracted with ``def_param_group`` and
``param_group`` keywords.
The definition is looked up in the scope of the controller. If the
group is defined in a different controller, it might be referenced by
specifying the second argument.
Example:
~~~~~~~~
.. code:: ruby
# v1/users_controller.rb
def_param_group :address do
param :street, String
param :number, Integer
param :zip, String
end
def_param_group :user do
param :user, Hash do
param :name, String, "Name of the user"
param_group :address
end
end
api :POST, "/users", "Create an user"
param_group :user
def create
# ...
end
api :PUT, "/users/:id", "Update an user"
param_group :user
def update
# ...
end
# v2/users_controller.rb
api :POST, "/users", "Create an user"
param_group :user, V1::UsersController
def create
# ...
end
Action Aware params
-------------------
In CRUD operations, this pattern occurs quite often - params that need
to be set are:
* for create action: ``required => true`` and ``allow_nil => false``
* for update action: ``required => false`` and ``allow_nil => false``
This makes it hard to share the param definitions across theses
actions. Therefore, you can make the description a bit smarter by
setting ``:action_aware => true``.
You can specify explicitly how the param group should be evaluated
with ``:as`` option (either :create or :update)
Example
~~~~~~~
.. code:: ruby
def_param_group :user do
param :user, Hash, :action_aware => true do
param :name, String, :required => true
param :description, String
end
end
api :POST, "/users", "Create an user"
param_group :user
def create
# ...
end
api :PUT, "/users/admin", "Create an admin"
param_group :user, :as => :create
def create_admin
# ...
end
api :PUT, "/users/:id", "Update an user"
param_group :user
def update
# ...
end
In this case, ``user[name]`` will be not be allowed nil for all
actions and required only for ``create`` and ``create_admin``. Params
with ``allow_nil`` set explicitly don't have this value changed.
Action awareness is inherited from ancestors (in terms of
nested params).
Response Description
--------------------
The response from an API call can be documented by adding a ``returns`` statement to the method
description. This is especially useful when using Apipie to auto-generate a machine-readable Swagger
definition of your API (see the `swagger`_ section for more details).
A ``returns`` statement has several possible formats:
.. code:: ruby
# format #1: reference to a param-group
returns <param-group-name> [, :code => <number>|<http-response-code-symbol>] [, :desc => <human-readable description>]
# format #2: inline response definition
returns :code => <number>|<http-response-code-symbol> [, :desc => <human-readable description>] do
# property ...
# property ...
# param_group ...
end
# format #3: describing an array-of-objects response
returns :array_of => <param-group-name> [, :code => <number>|<http-response-code-symbol>] [, :desc => <human-readable description>]
If the ``:code`` argument is ommitted, ``200`` is used.
Example
~~~~~~~
.. code:: ruby
# ------------------------------------------------
# Example of format #1 (reference to param-group):
# ------------------------------------------------
# the param_group :pet is defined here to describe the output returned by the method below.
def_param_group :pet do
property :pet_name, String, :desc => "Name of pet"
property :animal_type, ['dog','cat','iguana','kangaroo'], :desc => "Type of pet"
end
api :GET, "/pets/:id", "Get a pet record"
returns :pet, :desc => "The pet"
def show_detailed
render JSON({:pet_name => "Skippie", :animal_type => "kangaroo"})
end
# ------------------------------------------------
# Example of format #2 (inline):
# ------------------------------------------------
api :GET, "/pets/:id/with-extra-details", "Get a detailed pet record"
returns :code => 200, :desc => "Detailed info about the pet" do
param_group :pet
property :num_legs, Integer, :desc => "How many legs the pet has"
end
def show
render JSON({:pet_name => "Barkie", :animal_type => "iguana", :legs => 4})
end
# ------------------------------------------------
# Example of format #3 (array response):
# ------------------------------------------------
api :GET, "/pets", "Get all pet records"
returns :array_of => :pet, :code => 200, :desc => "All pets"
def index
render JSON([ {:pet_name => "Skippie", :animal_type => "kangaroo"},
{:pet_name => "Woofie", :animal_type => "cat"} ])
end
Note the use of the ``property`` keyword rather than ``param``. This is the
preferred mechanism for documenting response-only fields.
The Property keyword
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
``property`` is very similar to ``param`` with the following differences:
* a ``property`` is ``:only_in => :response`` by default
* a ``property`` is ``:required => :true`` by default
* a ``property`` can be an ``:array_of`` objects
Example
_______
.. code:: ruby
property :example, :array_of => Hash do
property :number1, Integer
property :number2, Integer
end
Describing multiple return codes
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
To describe multiple possible return codes, the ``:returns`` keyword can be repeated as many times as necessary
(once for each return code). Each one of the ``:returns`` entries can specify a different response format.
Example
_______
.. code:: ruby
api :GET, "/pets/:id/extra_info", "Get extra information about a pet"
returns :desc => "Found a pet" do
param_group :pet
property 'pet_history', Hash do
param_group :pet_history
end
end
returns :code => :unprocessable_entity, :desc => "Fleas were discovered on the pet" do
param_group :pet
property :num_fleas, Integer, :desc => "Number of fleas on this pet"
end
def show_extra_info
# ... implementation here
end
Reusing a param_group to describe inputs and outputs
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
In many cases (such as CRUD implementations), the output from certain API calls is very similar - but not
identical - to the inputs of the same or other API calls.
If you already have a ``:param_group`` that defines the input to a `create` or `update` routine, it would be quite
frustrating to have to define a completely separate ``:param_group`` to describe the output of the `show` routine.
To address such situations, it is possible to define a single ``:param_group`` which combines ``param`` and ``property``
statements (as well as ``:only_in => :request`` / ``:only_in => :response``) to differentiate between fields that are
only expected in the request, only included in the response, or common to both.
This is somewhat analogous to the way `Action Aware params`_ work.
Example
_______
.. code:: ruby
def_param_group :user_record
param :name, String # this is commong to both the request and the response
param :force_update, [true, false], :only_in => :request # this does not show up in responses
property :last_login, String # this shows up only in the response
end
api :POST, "/users", "Create a user"
param_group :user_record # the :last_login field is not expected here, but :force_update is
def create
# ...
end
api :GET, "/users", "Create a user"
returns :array_of => :user_record # the :last_login field will be included in the response, but :force_update will not
def index
# ...
end
Embedded response descriptions
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
If the code creating JSON responses is encapsulated within dedicated classes, it can be more convenient to
place the response descriptions outside of the controller and embed them within the response generator.
To support such use cases, Apipie allows any class to provide a `describe_own_properties` class method which
returns a description of the properties such a class would expose. It is then possible to specify that
class in the `returns` statement instead of a `param_group`.
The `describe_own_properties` method is expected to return an array of `Apipie::prop` objects, each one
describing a single property.
Example
_______
.. code:: ruby
class Pet
# this method is automatically called by Apipie when Pet is specified as the returned object type
def self.describe_own_properties
[
Apipie::prop(:pet_name, 'string', {:description => 'Name of pet', :required => false}),
Apipie::prop(:animal_type, 'string', {:description => 'Type of pet', :values => ["dog", "cat", "iguana", "kangaroo"]}),
Apipie::additional_properties(false) # this indicates that :pet_name and :animal_type are the only properties in the response
]
end
# this method w
def json
JSON({:pet_name => @name, :animal_type => @type })
end
end
class PetsController
api :GET, "/index", "Get all pets"
returns :array_of => Pet # Pet is a 'self-describing-class'
def index
# ...
end
end
A use case where this is very useful is when JSON generation is done using a reflection mechanism or some
other sort of declarative mechanism.
The `Apipie::prop` function expects the following inputs:
.. code:: ruby
Apipie::prop(<property-name>, <property-type>, <options-hash> [, <array of sub-properties>])
# property-name should be a symbol
#
# property-type can be any of the following strings:
# "integer": maps to a swagger "integer" with an "int32" format
# "long": maps to a swagger "integer" with an "int64" format
# "number": maps to a swagger "number"(no format specifier)
# "float": maps to a swagger "number" with a "float" format
# "double": maps to a swagger "number" with a "double" format
# "string": maps to a swagger "string" (no format specifier)
# "byte": maps to a swagger "string" with a "byte" format
# "binary": maps to a swagger "string" with a "binary" format
# "boolean": maps to a swagger "boolean" (no format specifier)
# "date": maps to a swagger "string" with a "date" format
# "dateTime": maps to a swagger "string" with a "date-time" format
# "password": maps to a swagger "string" with a "password" format
# "object": the property has sub-properties. include <array of sub-properties> in the call.
# (see https://github.com/OAI/OpenAPI-Specification/blob/master/versions/2.0.md#data-types for more information
# about the mapped swagger types)
#
# options-hash can include any of the options fields allowed in a :returns statement.
# additionally, it can include the ':is_array => true', in which case the property is understood to be
# an array of the described type.
To describe an embedded object:
.. code:: ruby
#
# PetWithMeasurements is a self-describing class with an embedded object
#
class PetWithMeasurements
def self.describe_own_properties
[
Apipie::prop(:pet_name, 'string', {:description => 'Name of pet', :required => false}),
Apipie::prop('animal_type', 'string', {:description => 'Type of pet', :values => ["dog", "cat", "iguana", "kangaroo"]}),
Apipie::prop(:pet_measurements, 'object', {}, [
Apipie::prop(:weight, 'number', {:description => "Weight in pounds" }),
Apipie::prop(:height, 'number', {:description => "Height in inches" }),
Apipie::prop(:num_legs, 'number', {:description => "Number of legs", :required => false }),
Apipie::additional_properties(false)
])
]
end
end
#
# PetWithManyMeasurements is a self-describing class with an embedded array of objects
#
class PetWithManyMeasurements
def self.describe_own_properties
[
Apipie::prop(:pet_name, 'string', {:description => 'Name of pet', :required => false}),
Apipie::prop(:many_pet_measurements, 'object', {is_array: true}, [
Apipie::prop(:weight, 'number', {:description => "Weight in pounds" }),
Apipie::prop(:height, 'number', {:description => "Height in inches" }),
])
]
end
end
Concerns
--------
Sometimes, the actions are not defined in the controller class
directly but included from a module instead. You can load the Apipie
DSL into the module by extending it with ``Apipie::DSL::Concern``.
The module can be used in more controllers. Therefore there is a way to
substitute parts of the documentation in the module with controller
specific values. These substitutions can be stated explicitly with
``apipie_concern_subst(:key => "value")`` (needs to be called before
the module is included to take effect). The substitutions are
performed in the paths and descriptions of APIs and names and descriptions
of params.
There are some default substitutions available:
:controller_path
value of ``controller.controller_path``, e.g. ``api/users`` for
``Api::UsersController``. Only if not using the ``api!`` keyword.
:resource_id
Apipie identifier of the resource, e.g. ``users`` for
``Api::UsersController`` or set by ``resource_id``
Example
~~~~~~~
.. code:: ruby
# users_module.rb
module UsersModule
extend Apipie::DSL::Concern
api :GET, '/:controller_path', 'List :resource_id'
def index
# ...
end
api! 'Show a :resource'
def show
# ...
end
api :POST, '/:resource_id', "Create a :resource"
param :concern, Hash, :required => true
param :name, String, 'Name of a :resource'
param :resource_type, ['standard','vip']
end
def create
# ...
end
api :GET, '/:resource_id/:custom_subst'
def custom
# ...
end
end
# users_controller.rb
class UsersController < ApplicationController
resource_description { resource_id 'customers' }
apipie_concern_subst(:custom_subst => 'custom', :resource => 'customer')
include UsersModule
# the following paths are documented
# api :GET, '/users'
# api :GET, '/customers/:id', 'Show a customer'
# api :POST, '/customers', 'Create a customer'
# param :customer, :required => true do
# param :name, String, 'Name of a customer'
# param :customer_type, ['standard', 'vip']
# end
# api :GET, '/customers/:custom'
end
Sometimes, it's needed to extend an existing controller method with additional
parameters (usually when extending exiting API from plugins/rails engines).
The concern can be also used for this purposed, using `update_api` method.
The params defined in this block are merged with the params of the original method
in the controller this concern is included to.
Example
~~~~~~~
.. code:: ruby
module Concerns
module OauthConcern
extend Apipie::DSL::Concern
update_api(:create, :update) do
param :user, Hash do
param :oauth, String, :desc => 'oauth param'
end
end
end
end
The concern needs to be included to the controller after the methods are defined
(either at the end of the class, or by using
``Controller.send(:include, Concerns::OauthConcern)``.
Response validation
-------------------
The swagger definitions created by Apipie can be used to auto-generate clients that access the
described APIs. Those clients will break if the responses returned from the API do not match
the declarations. As such, it is very important to include unit tests that validate the actual
responses against the swagger definitions.
The implemented mechanism provides two ways to include such validations in RSpec unit tests:
manual (using an RSpec matcher) and automated (by injecting a test into the http operations 'get', 'post',
raising an error if there is no match).
Example of the manual mechanism:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.. code:: ruby
require 'apipie/rspec/response_validation_helper'
RSpec.describe MyController, :type => :controller, :show_in_doc => true do
describe "GET stuff with response validation" do
render_views # this makes sure the 'get' operation will actually
# return the rendered view even though this is a Controller spec
it "does something" do
response = get :index, {format: :json}
# the following expectation will fail if the returned object
# does not match the 'returns' declaration in the Controller,
# or if there is no 'returns' declaration for the returned
# HTTP status code
expect(response).to match_declared_responses
end
end
end
Example of the automated mechanism:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.. code:: ruby
require 'apipie/rspec/response_validation_helper'
RSpec.describe MyController, :type => :controller, :show_in_doc => true do
describe "GET stuff with response validation" do
render_views
auto_validate_rendered_views
it "does something" do
get :index, {format: :json}
end
it "does something else" do
get :another_index, {format: :json}
end
end
describe "GET stuff without response validation" do
it "does something" do
get :index, {format: :json}
end
it "does something else" do
get :another_index, {format: :json}
end
end
end
=========================
Configuration Reference
=========================
Create a configuration file in e.g. ``/config/initializers/apipie.rb``.
You can set the application name, footer text, API and documentation base URL
and turn off validations. You can also choose your favorite markup language
for full descriptions.
app_name
Name of your application; used in breadcrumbs navigation.
copyright
Copyright information (shown in page footer).
compress_examples
If ``true`` recorded examples are compressed using ``Zlib``. Useful for big test-suits.
doc_base_url
Documentation frontend base url.
api_base_url
Base url for default version of your API. To set it for specific version use ``config.api_base_url[version] = url``.
default_version
Default API version to be used (1.0 by default)
validate
Parameters validation is turned off when set to false. When set to
``:explicitly``, you must invoke parameter validation yourself by calling
controller method ``apipie_validations`` (typically in a before_action).
When set to ``:implicitly`` (or just true), your controller's action
methods are wrapped with generated methods which call ``apipie_validations``,
and then call the action method. (``:implicitly`` by default)
validate_value
Check the value of params against specified validators (true by
default)
validate_presence
Check the params presence against the documentation.
validate_key
Check the received params to ensure they are defined in the API. (false by default)
process_params
Process and extract the parameter defined from the params of the request
to the api_params variable
app_info
Application long description.
reload_controllers
Set to enable/disable reloading controllers (and the documentation with it). Enabled by default in development.
api_controllers_matcher
For reloading to work properly you need to specify where your API controllers are. Can be an array if multiple paths are needed
api_routes
Set if your application uses a custom API router, different from the Rails
default
routes_formatter
An object providing the translation from the Rails routes to the
format usable in the documentation when using the `api!` keyword. By
default, the ``Apipie::RoutesFormatter`` is used.
markup
You can choose markup language for descriptions of your application,
resources and methods. RDoc is the default but you can choose from
Apipie::Markup::Markdown.new or Apipie::Markup::Textile.new.
In order to use Markdown you need Maruku gem and for Textile you
need RedCloth. Add those to your gemfile and run bundle if you
want to use them. You can also add any other markup language
processor.
layout
Name of a layout template to use instead of Apipie's layout. You can use
Apipie.include_stylesheets and Apipie.include_javascripts helpers to include
Apipie's stylesheets and javascripts.
ignored
An array of controller names (strings) (might include actions as well)
to be ignored when generationg the documentation
e.g. ``%w[Api::CommentsController Api::PostsController#post]``
namespaced_resources
Use controller paths instead of controller names as resource id.
This prevents same named controllers overwriting each other.
authenticate
Pass a proc in order to authenticate user. Pass nil for
no authentication (by default).
authorize
Pass a proc in order to authorize controllers and methods. The Proc is evaluated in the controller context.
show_all_examples
Set this to true to set show_in_doc=1 in all recorded examples
link_extension
The extension to use for API pages ('.html' by default). Link extensions
in static API docs cannot be changed from '.html'.
languages
List of languages the API documentation should be translated into. Empty by default.
default_locale
Locale used for generating documentation when no specific locale is set.
Set to 'en' by default.
locale
Pass locale setter/getter
.. code:: ruby
config.locale = lambda { |loc| loc ? FastGettext.set_locale(loc) : FastGettext.locale }
translate
Pass proc to translate strings using the localization library your project uses.
For example see `Localization`_
Example:
.. code:: ruby
Apipie.configure do |config|
config.app_name = "Test app"
config.copyright = "© 2012 Pavel Pokorny"
config.doc_base_url = "/apidoc"
config.api_base_url = "/api"
config.validate = false
config.markup = Apipie::Markup::Markdown.new
config.reload_controllers = Rails.env.development?
config.api_controllers_matcher = File.join(Rails.root, "app", "controllers", "**","*.rb")
config.api_routes = Rails.application.routes
config.app_info["1.0"] = "
This is where you can inform user about your application and API
in general.
"
config.authenticate = Proc.new do
authenticate_or_request_with_http_basic do |username, password|
username == "test" && password == "supersecretpassword"
end
end
config.authorize = Proc.new do |controller, method, doc|
!method # show all controller doc, but no method docs.
end
end
checksum_path
Used in ChecksumInHeaders middleware (see `JSON checksums`_ for more info). It contains path prefix(es) where the header with checksum is added. If set to nil, checksum is added in headers in every response. e.g. ``%w[/api /apipie]``
update_checksum
If set to true, the checksum is recalculated with every documentation_reload call
========================
Rails Routes Integration
========================
Apipie is able to load the information about the paths based on the
routes defined in the Rails application, by using the `api!` keyword
in the DSL.
It should be usable out of box, however, one might want
to do some customization (such as omitting some implicit parameters in
the path etc.). For this kind of customizations one can create a new
formatter and pass as the ``Apipie.configuration.routes_formatter``
option, like this:
.. code:: ruby
class MyFormatter < Apipie::RoutesFormatter
def format_path(route)
super.gsub(/\(.*?\)/, '').gsub('//','') # hide all implicit parameters
end
end
Apipie.configure do |config|
...
config.routes_formatter = MyFormatter.new
...
end
A similar way can be used to influence things like order, or a description
of the loaded APIs, even omitting some paths if needed.
============
Processing
============
The goal is to extract and pre-process parameters of the request.
For example Rails, by default, transforms an empty array to nil value. Perhaps
you want to transform it again into an empty array. Or you
want to support an enumeration type (comma separated values) and
you want to automatically transform this string into an array.
To use it, set the ``process_params`` configuration variable to true.
Also by using ``as`` you can separate your API parameter
names from the names you are using inside your code.
To implement it, you just have to write a process_value
function in your validator:
For an enumeration type:
.. code:: ruby
def process_value(value)
value ? value.split(',') : []
end
============
Validators
============
Every parameter needs to have an associated validator. For now there are some
basic validators. You can always provide your own to achieve complex
results.
If validations are enabled (default state) the parameters of every
request are validated. If the value is wrong an +ArgumentError+ exception
is raised and can be rescued and processed. It contains a description
of the parameter value expectations. Validations can be turned off
in the configuration file.
Parameter validation normally happens after before_actions, just before
your controller method is invoked. If you prefer to control when parameter
validation occurs, set the configuration parameter ``validate`` to ``:explicitly``.
You must then call the ``apipie_validations`` method yourself, e.g.:
.. code:: ruby
before_action :apipie_validations
This is useful if you have before_actions which use parameter values: just add them
after the ``apipie_validations`` before_action.
TypeValidator
-------------
Check the parameter type. Only String, Hash and Array are supported
for the sake of simplicity. Read more to find out how to add
your own validator.
.. code:: ruby
param :session, String, :desc => "user is logged in", :required => true
param :facts, Hash, :desc => "Additional optional facts about the user"
RegexpValidator
---------------
Check parameter value against given regular expression.
.. code:: ruby
param :regexp_param, /^[0-9]* years/, :desc => "regexp param"
EnumValidator
--------------
Check if parameter value is included in the given array.
.. code:: ruby
param :enum_param, [100, "one", "two", 1, 2], :desc => "enum validator"
ProcValidator
-------------
If you need more complex validation and you know you won't reuse it, you
can use the Proc/lambda validator. Provide your own Proc, taking the value
of the parameter as the only argument. Return true if value passes validation
or return some text about what is wrong otherwise. _Don't use the keyword *return*
if you provide an instance of Proc (with lambda it is ok), just use the last
statement return property of ruby.
.. code:: ruby
param :proc_param, lambda { |val|
val == "param value" ? true : "The only good value is 'param value'."
}, :desc => "proc validator"
HashValidator
-------------
You can describe hash parameters in depth if you provide a block with a
description of nested values.
.. code:: ruby
param :user, Hash, :desc => "User info" do
param :username, String, :desc => "Username for login", :required => true
param :password, String, :desc => "Password for login", :required => true
param :membership, ["standard","premium"], :desc => "User membership"
end
NilValidator
------------
In fact there isn't any NilValidator, but setting it to nil can be used to
override parameters described on the resource level.
.. code:: ruby
param :user, nil
def destroy
#...
end
ArrayValidator
--------------
Check if the parameter is an array
DecimalValidator
--------------
Check if the parameter is a decimal number
.. code:: ruby
param :latitude, :decimal, :desc => "Geographic latitude", :required => true
param :longitude, :decimal, :desc => "Geographic longitude", :required => true
Additional options
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
of
Specify the type of items. If not given it accepts an array of any item type
in
Specify an array of valid item values.
Examples
~~~~~~~~
Assert `things` is an array of any items
.. code:: ruby
param :things, Array
Assert `hits` must be an array of integer values
.. code:: ruby
param :hits, Array, of: Integer
Assert `colors` must be an array of valid string values
.. code:: ruby
param :colors, Array, in: ["red", "green", "blue"]
The retrieving of valid items can be deferred until needed using a lambda. It is evaluated only once
.. code:: ruby
param :colors, Array, in: -> { Color.all.pluck(:name) }
NestedValidator
-------------
You can describe nested parameters in depth if you provide a block with a
description of nested values.
.. code:: ruby
param :comments, Array, :desc => "User comments" do
param :name, String, :desc => "Name of the comment", :required => true
param :comment, String, :desc => "Full comment", :required => true
end
Adding custom validator
-----------------------
Only basic validators are included but it is really easy to add your own.
Create a new initializer with a subclass of Apipie::Validator::BaseValidator.
Two methods are required to implement this - instance method
:code:`validate(value)` and class method
:code:`build(param_description, argument, options, block)`.
When searching for the validator +build+ method, every subclass of
Apipie::Validator::BaseValidator is called. The first one that returns the
constructed validator object is used.
Example: Adding IntegerValidator
We want to check if the parameter value is an integer like this:
.. code:: ruby
param :id, Integer, :desc => "Company ID"
So we create apipie_validators.rb initializer with this content:
.. code:: ruby
class IntegerValidator < Apipie::Validator::BaseValidator
def initialize(param_description, argument)
super(param_description)
@type = argument
end
def validate(value)
return false if value.nil?
!!(value.to_s =~ /^[-+]?[0-9]+$/)
end
def self.build(param_description, argument, options, block)
if argument == Integer || argument == Fixnum
self.new(param_description, argument)
end
end
def description
"Must be #{@type}."
end
end
Parameters of the build method:
param_description
Instance of Apipie::ParamDescription contains all
given information about the validated parameter.
argument
Specified validator; in our example it is +Integer+
options
Hash with specified options, for us just ``{:desc => "Company ID"}``
block
Block converted into Proc, use it as you desire. In this example nil.
============
Versioning
============
Every resource/method can belong to one or more versions. The version is
specified with the `api_version` DSL keyword. When not specified,
the resource belongs to `config.default_version` ("1.0" by default)
.. code:: ruby
resource_description do
api_versions "1", "2"
end
api :GET, "/api/users/", "List: users"
api_version "1"
def index
# ...
end
api :GET, "/api/users/", "List: users", :deprecated => true
In the example above we say the whole controller/resource is defined
for versions "1" and "2", but we override this by explicitly saying
`index` belongs only to version "1". Also, inheritance works (therefore
we can specify the api_version for the parent controller, and all
children will know about that). Routes can be flagged as deprecated,
and an annotation will be added to them when viewing in the API
documentation.
From the Apipie API perspective, the resources belong to the version.
With versioning, there are paths like this provided by apipie:
.. code::
/apipie/1/users/index
/apipie/2/users/index
When not specifying the version explicitly in the path (or in DSL),
default version (`Apipie.configuration.default_version`) is used
instead ("1.0" by default). Therefore, an application that doesn't
need versioning should work as before.
The static page generator takes a version parameter (or uses default).
You can specify the versions for the examples, with the `versions`
keyword. It specifies the versions the example is used for. When not
specified, it's shown in all versions with the given method.
When referencing or quering the resource/method descripion, this
format should be used: "version#resource#method". When not specified,
the default version is used instead.
========
Markup
========
The default markup language is `RDoc
<https://rdoc.github.io/rdoc/RDoc/Markup.html>`_. It can be changed in
the config file (``config.markup=``) to one of these:
Markdown
Use Apipie::Markup::Markdown.new. You need Maruku gem.
Textile
Use Apipie::Markup::Textile.new. You need RedCloth gem.
Or provide you own object with a ``to_html(text)`` method.
For inspiration, this is how Textile markup usage is implemented:
.. code:: ruby
class Textile
def initialize
require 'RedCloth'
end
def to_html(text)
RedCloth.new(text).to_html
end
end
============
Localization
============
Apipie has support for localized API documentation in both formats (JSON and HTML).
Apipie uses the library I18n for localization of itself.
Check ``config/locales`` directory for available translations.
A major part of strings in the documentation comes from the API.
As preferences regarding localization libraries differ amongst project, Apipie needs to know how to set the locale for your project,
and how to translate a string using the library your project uses. That can be done using lambdas in configuration.
Sample configuration when your project uses FastGettext
.. code:: ruby
Apipie.configure do |config|
...
config.languages = ['en', 'cs']
config.default_locale = 'en'
config.locale = lambda { |loc| loc ? FastGettext.set_locale(loc) : FastGettext.locale }
config.translate = lambda do |str, loc|
old_loc = FastGettext.locale
FastGettext.set_locale(loc)
trans = _(str)
FastGettext.set_locale(old_loc)
trans
end
end
And the strings in the API documentation need to be marked with the ``N_()`` function
.. code:: ruby
api :GET, "/users/:id", N_("Show user profile")
param :session, String, :desc => N_("user is logged in"), :required => true
When your project use I18n, localization related configuration could appear as follows
.. code:: ruby
Apipie.configure do |config|
...
config.languages = ['en', 'cs']
config.default_locale = 'en'
config.locale = lambda { |loc| loc ? I18n.locale = loc : I18n.locale }
config.translate = lambda do |str, loc|
return '' if str.blank?
I18n.t str, locale: loc, scope: 'doc'
end
end
And the strings in the API documentation needs to be in the form of translation keys
.. code:: ruby
api :GET, "/users/:id", "show_user_profile"
param :session, String, :desc => "user_is_logged_in", :required => true
The localized versions of the documentation are distinguished by language in the filename.
E.g. ``doc/apidoc/apidoc.cs.html`` is static documentation in the Czech language.
If the language is missing, e.g. ``doc/apidoc/apidoc.html``,
the documentation is localized with the ``default_locale``.
The dynamic documentation follows the same schema. The ``http://localhost:3000/apidoc/v1.cs.html`` is documentation for version '1' of the API in the Czech language. For JSON descriptions, the API applies the same format: ``http://localhost:3000/apidoc/v1.cs.json``
================
Modifying Views
================
To modify the views of your documentation, run ``rails g apipie:views``.
This will copy the Apipie views to ``app/views/apipie/apipies`` and
``app/views/layouts/apipie``.
==============
Static files
==============
To generate a static version of documentation (perhaps to put it on
your project site or something), run the ``rake apipie:static`` task. It will
create a set of HTML files (multi-pages, single-page, plain) in your doc
directory. If you prefer a JSON version run ``rake apipie:static_json``.
By default the documentation for the default API version is
used. You can specify the version with ``rake apipie:static[2.0]``
When you want to avoid any unnecessary computation in production mode,
you can generate a cache with ``rake apipie:cache`` and configure the
app to use it in production with ``config.use_cache = Rails.env.production?``
Default cache dir is ``File.join(Rails.root, "public", "apipie-cache")``,
you can change it to where you want, example: ``config.cache_dir = File.join(Rails.root, "doc", "apidoc")``.
If, for some complex cases, you need to generate/re-generate just part of the cache
use ``rake apipie:cache cache_part=index`` resp. ``rake apipie:cache cache_part=resources``
To generate it for different locations for further processing use ``rake apipie:cache OUT=/tmp/apipie_cache``.
.. _Swagger:
====================================
Static Swagger (OpenAPI 2.0) files
====================================
To generate a static Swagger definition file from the api, run ``rake apipie:static_swagger_json``.
By default the documentation for the default API version is
used. You can specify the version with ``rake apipie:static_swagger_json[2.0]``. A swagger file will be
generated for each locale. The files will be generated in the same location as the static_json files, but
instead of being named ``schema_apipie[.locale].json``, they will be called ``schema_swagger[.locale].json``.
Specifying default values for parameters
-----------------------------------------
Swagger allows method definitions to include an indication of the the default value for each parameter. To include such
indications, use ``:default_value => <some value>`` in the parameter definition DSL. For example:
.. code:: ruby
param :do_something, Boolean, :desc => "take an action", :required => false, :default_value => false
Generated Warnings
-------------------
The help identify potential improvements to your documentation, the swagger generation process issues warnings if
it identifies various shortcomings of the DSL documentation. Each warning has a code to allow selective suppression
(see swagger-specific configuration below)
💯 missing short description for method
:101: added missing / at beginning of path
:102: no return codes specified for method
:103: a parameter is a generic Hash without an internal type specification
:104: a parameter is an 'in-path' parameter, but specified as 'not required' in the DSL
:105: a parameter is optional but does not have a default value specified
:106: a parameter was ommitted from the swagger output because it is a Hash without fields in a formData specification
:107: a path parameter is not described
:108: inferring that a parameter type is boolean because described as an enum with [false,true] values
Swagger-Specific Configuration Parameters
-------------------------------------------------
There are several configuration parameters that determine the structure of the generated swagger file:
``config.swagger_content_type_input``
If the value is ``:form_data`` - the swagger file will indicate that the server consumes the content types
``application/x-www-form-urlencoded`` and ``multipart/form-data``. Non-path parameters will have the
value ``"in": "formData"``. Note that parameters of type Hash that do not have any fields in them will *be ommitted*
from the resulting files, as there is no way to describe them in swagger.
If the value is ``:json`` - the swagger file will indicate that the server consumes the content type
``application/json``. All non-path parameters will be included in the schema of a single ``"in": "body"`` parameter
of type ``object``.
You can specify the value of this configuration parameter as an additional input to the rake command (e.g.,
``rake apipie:static_swagger_json[2.0,form_data]``).
``config.swagger_json_input_uses_refs``
This parameter is only relevant if ``swagger_content_type_input`` is ``:json``.
If ``true``: the schema of the ``"in": "body"`` parameter of each method is given its own entry in the ``definitions``
section, and is referenced using ``$ref`` from the method definition.
If ``false``: the body parameter definitions are inlined within the method definitions.
``config.swagger_include_warning_tags``
If ``true``: in addition to tagging methods with the name of the resource they belong to, methods for which warnings
have been issued will be tagged with.
``config.swagger_suppress_warnings``
If ``false``: no warnings will be suppressed
If ``true``: all warnings will be suppressed
If an array of values (e.g., ``[100,102,107]``), only the warnings identified by the numbers in the array will be suppressed.
``config.swagger_api_host``
The value to place in the swagger host field.
Default is ``localhost:3000``
If ``nil`` then then host field will not be included.
``config.swagger_allow_additional_properties_in_response``
If ``false`` (default): response descriptions in the generated swagger will include an ``additional-properties: false``
field
If ``true``: the ``additional-properties: false`` field will not be included in response object descriptions
Known limitations of the current implementation
-------------------------------------------------
* There is currently no way to document the structure and content-type of the data returned from a method
* Recorded examples are currently not included in the generated swagger file
* The apipie ``formats`` value is ignored.
* It is not possible to specify the "consumed" content type on a per-method basis
* It is not possible to leverage all of the parameter type/format capabilities of swagger
* Only OpenAPI 2.0 is supported
* Responses are defined inline and not as a $ref
====================================
Dynamic Swagger generation
====================================
To generate swagger dynamically, use ``http://localhost:3000/apipie.json?type=swagger``.
Note that authorization is not supported for dynamic swagger generation, so if ``config.authorize`` is defined,
dynamic swagger generation will be disabled.
Dynamically generated swagger is not cached, and is always generated on the fly.
===================
JSON checksums
===================
If the API client needs to be sure that the JSON didn't changed, add
the ``ApipieChecksumInHeaders`` middleware in your rails app.
It can add a checksum of the entire JSON document in the response headers.
.. code::
"Apipie-Checksum"=>"fb81460e7f4e78d059f826624bdf9504"
`Apipie bindings <https://github.com/Apipie/apipie-bindings>`_ uses this feature to refresh its JSON cache.
To set it up add the following to your ``application.rb``
.. code::
require 'apipie/middleware/checksum_in_headers'
# Add JSON checksum in headers for smarter caching
config.middleware.use "Apipie::Middleware::ChecksumInHeaders"
And in your apipie initializer allow checksum calculation
.. code::
Apipie.configuration.update_checksum = true
By default the header is added to responses for ``config.doc_base_url`` and ``/api``.
It can be changed in configuration (see `Configuration Reference`_ for details).
The checksum calculation is lazy, and done with the first request. If you run with ``use_cache = true``,
do not forget to run the rake task ``apipie:cache``.
===================
Tests Integration
===================
Apipie integrates with automated testing in two ways. *Documentation
bootstrapping* and *examples recording*.
Documentation Bootstrapping
---------------------------
Let's say you have an application without REST API documentation.
However you have a set of tests that are run against this API. A lot
of information is already included in these tests, it just needs to be
extracted somehow. Luckily, Apipie provides such a feature.
When running the tests, set the ``APIPIE_RECORD=params`` environment
variable or call ``Apipie.record('params')`` from specs starter. You can either use it with functional tests:
.. code::
APIPIE_RECORD=params rake test:functionals
or you can run your server with this param, in case you run the tests
against running server:
.. code::
APIPIE_RECORD=params rails server
When the process quits, the data from requests/responses are used to
determine the documentation. It's quite raw, but it makes the initial
phase much easier.
Examples Recording
------------------
You can also use the tests to generate up-to-date examples for your
code. Similar to the bootstrapping process, you can use it with functional
tests or a running server, setting ``APIPIE_RECORD=examples`` or calling ``Apipie.record('examples')`` in your specs starter.
.. code::
APIPIE_RECORD=examples rake test:functionals
APIPIE_RECORD=examples rails server
The data is written into ``doc/apipie_examples.yml``. By default,
only the first example is shown for each action. You can customize
this by setting the ``show_in_doc`` attribute at each example.
You can add a title to the examples (useful when showing more than
one example per method) by adding a 'title' attribute.
.. code::
--- !omap
- announcements#index:
- !omap
- title: This is a custom title for this example
- verb: :GET
- path: /api/blabla/1
- versions:
- '1.0'
- query:
- request_data:
- response_data:
...
- code: 200
- show_in_doc: 1 # If 1, show. If 0, do not show.
- recorded: true
In RSpec you can add metadata to examples. We can use that feature
to mark selected examples - the ones that perform the requests that we want to
show as examples in the documentation.
For example, we can add ``show_in_doc`` to examples, like this:
.. code:: ruby
describe "This is the correct path" do
it "some test", :show_in_doc do
....
end
end
context "These are edge cases" do
it "Can't authenticate" do
....
end
it "record not found" do
....
end
end
And then configure RSpec in this way:
.. code:: ruby
RSpec.configure do |config|
config.treat_symbols_as_metadata_keys_with_true_values = true
config.filter_run :show_in_doc => true if ENV['APIPIE_RECORD']
end
This way, when running in recording mode, only the tests that have been marked with the
``:show_in_doc`` metadata will be run, and hence only those will be used as examples.
Caveats
-------
Make sure to enable ``config.render_views`` in your ``config/rails_helper.rb`` or
``config/spec_helper.rb`` if you're using jbuilder, or you will get back empty results
====================
Bindings Generator
====================
In earlier versions (<= 0.0.13), there was a simple client generator
as a part of Apipie gem. As more features and users came to Apipie,
there was a greater need for changes on a per project basis. It's
hard (or even impossible) to provide a generic solution for the client
code. We also don't want to tell you what's the right way to do it
(what gems to use, how the API should look like etc.).
Therefore you can't generate client code directly by a rake task in
further versions.
There is, however, an even better and more flexible way to reuse your API
documentation for this purpose: using the API the Apipie
provides in the generator code. Check out our sister project
`apipie-bindings <https://github.com/Apipie/apipie-bindings>`_, as they
use exactly this approach. You also don't need to run the service,
provided it uses Apipie as a backend.
And if you write one on your own, don't hesitate to share it with us!
====================
Disqus Integration
====================
You can setup `Disqus <http://www.disqus.com>`_ discussion within
your documentation. Just set the credentials in the Apipie
configuration:
.. code:: ruby
config.disqus_shortname = "MyProjectDoc"
=====================
External References
=====================
* `Getting started tutorial <https://github.com/iNecas/apipie-demo>`_ -
including examples of using the tests integration and versioning.
* `Real-world application usage <https://github.com/Katello/katello>`_
* `Read-world application usage with versioning <https://github.com/theforeman/foreman>`_
* `Using Apipie API to generate bindings <https://github.com/Apipie/apipie-bindings>`_