API Style Spec

Machine-readable API style specification format that generates human documentation, linting rules, LLM evaluation rubrics, and AI agent instructions from a single source of truth.

Overview

API style guides from Microsoft, Google, and Zalando have become industry standards, but they exist only as human-readable documents. api-style-spec creates a machine-readable specification format that serves as the canonical source, generating all artifacts from one definition.

api-style-spec (source of truth)
    ├── Human Style Guide (Markdown)
    ├── Deterministic Linters (Spectral/vacuum)
    ├── LLM Review Rubrics
    ├── AI Agent Instructions (Claude Code, Kiro)
    └── MCP Server Tools

Features

• 📋 Unified Specification - Define rules once, generate all artifacts
• ✅ Deterministic Linting - Fast, CI-friendly checks via vacuum
• 🧠 LLM Evaluation - Semantic analysis for rules that can't be linted
• 🏢 Industry Profiles - Pre-built profiles based on Microsoft, Google, Zalando guidelines
• 🏆 Conformance Levels - Graduated compliance (bronze/silver/gold)
• 🌐 Multi-Platform - CLI, Web UI, MCP server, AI agents

Installation

go install github.com/plexusone/api-style-spec/cmd/api-style@latest

Quick Start

# Lint an OpenAPI specification
api-style lint openapi.yaml

# Lint with a specific profile
api-style lint openapi.yaml --profile azure

# Lint multiple files with glob patterns
api-style lint api/*.yaml --recursive

# Watch mode for continuous linting
api-style lint openapi.yaml --watch

# Combined lint + LLM evaluation
api-style analyze openapi.yaml --profile azure --level silver

# Generate human-readable style guide
api-style generate guide --spec my-style.json --output docs/

Configuration

Create .api-style.yaml in your project root:

# .api-style.yaml
profile: azure
level: silver

include:
  - "openapi.yaml"
  - "**/api.yaml"

exclude:
  - "**/generated/**"

exceptions:
  - rule: URI-001
    paths: ["/legacy/**"]
    reason: "Legacy API cannot be changed"

severity-overrides:
  URI-002: warn

See .api-style.yaml.example for a complete example.

Specification Format

{
  "$schema": "https://api-style-spec.dev/schema/v1/api-style-spec.schema.json",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "name": "my-api-style",
  "extends": ["default"],

  "rules": [
    {
      "id": "URI-001",
      "title": "Use plural resource names",
      "category": "uri-design",
      "severity": "error",
      "rationale": "Plural resources improve consistency.",
      "examples": {
        "good": ["/users", "/orders"],
        "bad": ["/user", "/order"]
      },
      "enforcement": {
        "type": "spectral",
        "function": "pattern",
        "options": {"match": "^/[a-z]+s(/|$)"}
      }
    }
  ]
}

CLI Commands

Command	Description
api-style lint	Deterministic linting (supports glob patterns, --watch, --recursive)
api-style evaluate	LLM-based evaluation
api-style analyze	Combined lint + evaluate
api-style generate guide	Generate Markdown documentation
api-style generate spectral	Generate Spectral ruleset
api-style hooks	Generate AI assistant hooks
api-style hooks init	Install git pre-commit hook
api-style diff	Breaking change detection
api-style serve mcp	Start MCP server
api-style serve web	Start Web UI

Built-in Profiles

Profile	Based On	Rules
default	Common best practices	~30
azure	Microsoft/Azure guidelines	~80
google	Google API Design Guide	~60
zalando	Zalando RESTful Guidelines	~70

Documentation

• Getting Started
• Automated API Governance - AI-first API design workflow
• Creating Custom Profiles
• Writing Custom Rules
• MRD | PRD | TRD | Roadmap

Related Projects

• vacuum - Fast OpenAPI linter (used internally)
• structured-evaluation - LLM evaluation framework
• multi-agent-spec - Agent definitions
• assistantkit - AI assistant file generation

License

MIT