Document an API

Add an OpenAPI spec to a page and let your users test endpoints right on the page with interactive blocks.

Manually writing REST API documentation can be a time-consuming process. Fortunately, GitBook streamlines this task by allowing you to import OpenAPI documents, which detail your API’s structure and functionality.

The OpenAPI Specification (OAS) is a framework that developers use to document REST APIs. Written in JSON or YAML, it outlines all your endpoints, parameters, schemas, and authentication schemes.

Once imported into GitBook, these documents are transformed into interactive and testable API blocks that visually represent your API methods—whether the specification is provided as a file or loaded from a URL.

OpenAPI compatibility

GitBook supports importing and rendering these specification versions:

• Swagger 2.0 — supported.
• OpenAPI 3.0 — supported.
• OpenAPI 3.1 — supported, including OpenAPI 3.1-only features such as webhooks.

Add a new pet to the store.

post

Add a new pet to the store.

Required scopes

This endpoint requires the following scopes:

• : modify pets in your account
• : read your pets

Authorizations

OAuth2implicitRequired

Authorization URL:

Body

idinteger · int64OptionalExample: 10

namestringRequiredExample: doggie

photoUrlsstring[]Required

statusstring · enumOptional

pet status in the store

Possible values:

Responses

200

Successful operation

idinteger · int64OptionalExample: 10

namestringRequiredExample: doggie

photoUrlsstring[]Required

statusstring · enumOptional

pet status in the store

Possible values:

400

Invalid input

422

Validation exception

default

Unexpected error

post/pet

POST /api/v3/pet HTTP/1.1
Authorization: Bearer YOUR_OAUTH2_TOKEN
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: */*
Content-Length: 133

{
  "id": 10,
  "name": "doggie",
  "category": {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "Dogs"
  },
  "photoUrls": [
    "text"
  ],
  "tags": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "text"
    }
  ],
  "status": "available"
}

{
  "id": 10,
  "name": "doggie",
  "category": {
    "id": 1,
    "name": "Dogs"
  },
  "photoUrls": [
    "text"
  ],
  "tags": [
    {
      "id": 1,
      "name": "text"
    }
  ],
  "status": "available"
}

Test it (powered by Scalar)

GitBook's OpenAPI block also supports a "test it" functionality, which allows your users to test your API methods with data and parameters filled in from the editor.

Powered by Scalar, you won't need to leave the docs to see your API methods in action. See an example of this above.

FAQ

Why isn’t my spec loading?

Note: This information only applies to specs added by URL.

If you added your specification via URL, your API must allow cross-origin GET requests from your docs site. In your API’s CORS settings, allow the exact origin where your docs are hosted (e.g., https://your-site.gitbook.io or https://docs.example.com). If your endpoint is public and doesn’t use credentials, you can also return: Access-Control-Allow-Origin: *