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API-DocumentationTemplate.md

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API documentation template

PLEASE NOTE: This document is DEPRECATED as all documentation should be embedded within the OAS definition (YAML file) itself.


Section Sub-section Description Mandatory
Overview Introduction This section gives an overview of the API. It explains the use of the API and gives an insight on its benefits. A few lines on some standard use cases can help better explain the API Yes
Quick Start It explains how developers can get started with this API. A good example is the Stripe-API documentation: https://stripe.com/docs/api
Authentication and/or Authorization It explains how developers/consumers can access the API. Failure to document the authN-authZ schema in a simple and precise way can deter first time API users . Yes
Documentation Details This is an optional section/placeholder. It could include some detailed descriptions or diagrams explaining things in further details and the subsection heading could be changed accordingly.
Endpoint definitions What does each endpoint do is a critical part of the API documentation. It explains the consumer/developer your internal system. The documentation should explain what an endpoint is for and how it relates to other endpoints. It should also document:
- HTTP verb methods supported.
- Parameters along with description
- HTTP codes expected + HTTP response bodies
- HTTP Request and Response headers
- Pagination details if applicable
If there are any constraints for an endpoint, it should be documented in this section.
It should be made clear if certain endpoints are restricted to only certain roles/users. 
Yes
Errors Error types along with error codes summary table can offer a good reference for the developers working with the API Yes
Policies How the developer can discover the usage policy for each endpoint - e.g. limits on requests per second, any regional limitations on what can be returned to the resource representation, etc. These policies will be operator-specific, but the mechanism to discover them should be consistent No
Code snippets Copy-paste sample code snippets help developers to get started right away. It helps provide a rich developer experience. This can include sample request examples, and the ability to execute samples directly from the documentation Web page (as per Open API). No
FAQs List of frequently asked questions by the early developers/users of the API No
Terms Terms of Service No (N/A for Camara
Release Notes List of all changes included in the release Yes
Pricing Details about pricing No (N/A for Camara)
API Spec Complete API Spec in YAML format Yes