OpenAPI Spec Generation

Comprehensive patterns for creating, maintaining, and validating OpenAPI 3.1 specifications for RESTful APIs.

When to Use This Skill

• Creating API documentation from scratch
• Generating OpenAPI specs from existing code
• Designing API contracts (design-first approach)
• Validating API implementations against specs
• Generating client SDKs from specs
• Setting up API documentation portals

Core Concepts

1. OpenAPI 3.1 Structure

openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: API Title
  version: 1.0.0
servers:
  - url: https://api.example.com/v1
paths:
  /resources:
    get: ...
components:
  schemas: ...
  securitySchemes: ...

2. Design Approaches

Templates

Template 1: Complete API Specification

openapi: 3.1.0
info:
  title: User Management API
  description: |
    API for managing users and their profiles.

    ## Authentication
    All endpoints require Bearer token authentication.

    ## Rate Limiting
    - 1000 requests per minute for standard tier
    - 10000 requests per minute for enterprise tier
  version: 2.0.0
  contact:
    name: API Support
    email: api-[email protected]
    url: https://docs.example.com
  license:
    name: MIT
    url: https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT

servers:
  - url: https://api.example.com/v2
    description: Production
  - url: https://staging-api.example.com/v2
    description: Staging
  - url: http://localhost:3000/v2
    description: Local development

tags:
  - name: Users
    description: User management operations
  - name: Profiles
    description: User profile operations
  - name: Admin
    description: Administrative operations

paths:
  /users:
    get:
      operationId: listUsers
      summary: List all users
      description: Returns a paginated list of users with optional filtering.
      tags:
        - Users
      parameters:
        - $ref: "#/components/parameters/PageParam"
        - $ref: "#/components/parameters/LimitParam"
        - name: status
          in: query
          description: Filter by user status
          schema:
            $ref: "#/components/schemas/UserStatus"
        - name: search
          in: query
          description: Search by name or email
          schema:
            type: string
            minLength: 2
            maxLength: 100
      responses:
        "200":
          description: Successful response
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: "#/components/schemas/UserListResponse"
              examples:
                default:
                  $ref: "#/components/examples/UserListExample"
        "400":
          $ref: "#/components/responses/BadRequest"
        "401":
          $ref: "#/components/responses/Unauthorized"
        "429":
          $ref: "#/components/responses/RateLimited"
      security:
        - bearerAuth: []

    post:
      operationId: createUser
      summary: Create a new user
      description: Creates a new user account and sends welcome email.
      tags:
        - Users
      requestBody:
        required: true
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              $ref: "#/components/schemas/CreateUserRequest"
            examples:
              standard:
                summary: Standard user
                value:
                  email: [email protected]
                  name: John Doe
                  role: user
              admin:
                summary: Admin user
                value:
                  email: [email protected]
                  name: Admin User
                  role: admin
      responses:
        "201":
          description: User created successfully
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: "#/components/schemas/User"
          headers:
            Location:
              description: URL of created user
              schema:
                type: string
                format: uri
        "400":
          $ref: "#/components/responses/BadRequest"
        "409":
          description: Email already exists
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: "#/components/schemas/Error"
      security:
        - bearerAuth: []

  /users/{userId}:
    parameters:
      - $ref: "#/components/parameters/UserIdParam"

    get:
      operationId: getUser
      summary: Get user by ID
      tags:
        - Users
      responses:
        "200":
          description: Successful response
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                $ref: "#/components/schemas/User"
        "404":
          $ref: "#/components/responses/NotFound"
      security:
        - bearerAuth: []

    patch:
      operationId
how to use openapi-spec-generation
CursorClaude CodeClineCodexWindsurfGooseGitHub CopilotVS CodeGemini CLIKiloOpencodeKimi CLIRoo ClineAiderContinueZedBolt.newLovablev0Replit AgentSweepSmol DeveloperDevinCavemanAmpAntigravity
How to use openapi-spec-generation on Cursor
AI-first code editor with Composer
1
Prerequisites
Before installing skills in Cursor, ensure your development environment meets these requirements:
›Cursor installed and configured on your development machine
›Node.js version 16.0+ with npm package manager (verify with node --version)
›Active project directory or workspace where you want to add openapi-spec-generation
2
Execute installation command
Execute the skills CLI command in your project's root directory to begin installation:
$npx skills add https://github.com/wshobson/agents --skill openapi-spec-generationcopy
The skills CLI fetches openapi-spec-generation from GitHub repository wshobson/agents and configures it for Cursor.
3
Select Cursor when prompted
The CLI will show a list of available agents. Use arrow keys to navigate and space to select Cursor:
◆ Which agents do you want to install to?
│
│ ── Universal (.agents/skills) ── always included ────
│   • Amp
│   • Antigravity
│   • Cline
│   • Codex
│ ●Cursor(selected)
│   • Cursor
│   • Windsurf
4
Verify installation
Confirm successful installation by checking the skill directory location:
.cursor/skills/openapi-spec-generation
Reload or restart Cursor to activate openapi-spec-generation. Access the skill through slash commands (e.g., /openapi-spec-generation) or your agent's skill management interface.
⚠
Security & Verification Notice
We perform automated surface-level scans (Gen AI Scanner, Socket, Snyk) during installation. These checks detect common vulnerabilities but do not guarantee complete security. Always review skill source code and verify the publisher's reputation before production use.
Skills execute code in your development environment. Always verify the publisher's identity, review recent commits, and test in isolated environments before production deployment.
Additional Resources
›View source code on GitHub›Skills CLI documentation›Learn more about Cursor›What are agent skills?