API Blueprint

aid: api-blueprint
name: API Blueprint
description: API Blueprint is a high-level API description language using Markdown-based syntax for designing, documenting,
  and prototyping web APIs. Created by Apiary and released under the MIT License, API Blueprint uses .apib files with a concise
  Markdown format that makes APIs accessible to both technical and non-technical stakeholders. The project is no longer actively
  maintained (all apiaryio GitHub repos are archived as of 2024) but remains a notable specification in API design history,
  influencing later formats like OpenAPI.
type: Index
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
- API Design
- Specification Language
- Markdown
- Documentation
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/api-blueprint/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
created: '2026-03-25'
modified: '2026-04-19'
specificationVersion: '0.19'
apis:
- aid: api-blueprint:api-blueprint
  name: API Blueprint
  description: API Blueprint is a high-level API description language using Markdown-based syntax for designing, documenting,
    and prototyping APIs. Files use the .apib extension with media type text/vnd.apiblueprint. The project was archived in
    2024 after being developed by Apiary (acquired by Oracle).
  humanURL: https://apiblueprint.org
  tags:
  - API Design
  - Specification Language
  - Markdown
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://apiblueprint.org/documentation/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/apiaryio/api-blueprint
  - type: Specification
    url: https://github.com/apiaryio/api-blueprint/blob/master/API%20Blueprint%20Specification.md
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://apiblueprint.org/documentation/tutorial.html
common:
- type: Website
  url: https://apiblueprint.org
- type: Documentation
  url: https://apiblueprint.org/documentation/
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/apiaryio
- type: TermsOfService
  url: https://github.com/apiaryio/api-blueprint/blob/master/LICENSE
- type: Features
  data:
  - name: Markdown-Based Syntax
    description: API Blueprint uses concise Markdown syntax making API descriptions readable by both developers and non-technical
      stakeholders. Files use the .apib extension with media type text/vnd.apiblueprint.
  - name: Data Structure Modeling
    description: Supports reusable data structure definitions using MSON (Markdown Syntax for Object Notation) for describing
      complex request and response schemas.
  - name: Mock Server Generation
    description: API Blueprint documents can drive mock server generation for rapid prototyping and front-end development
      before backend implementation.
  - name: Testing with Dredd
    description: The Dredd HTTP testing tool uses API Blueprint specs to run contract tests validating that API implementations
      match their documented contracts.
  - name: RFC-Driven Governance
    description: API Blueprint evolution was governed through an RFC process similar to Rust and Django, with proposals submitted
      to the api-blueprint-rfcs repository.
- type: UseCases
  data:
  - name: API Documentation
    description: Write human-readable API documentation in Markdown that doubles as a machine-parseable specification for
      tooling.
  - name: Contract Testing
    description: Use API Blueprint specs with Dredd to verify that API implementations conform to their documented contracts
      in CI pipelines.
  - name: API Prototyping
    description: Rapidly prototype APIs by writing Blueprint specs first, then generating mock servers from the specification.
- type: Integrations
  data:
  - name: Apiary
    description: API Blueprint was the native specification format of the Apiary platform (acquired by Oracle), which provided
      hosted documentation, mock servers, and testing.
  - name: Drafter Parser
    description: The canonical API Blueprint parser written in C++ with bindings for Node.js (drafter.js, drafter-npm) and
      other languages.
  - name: Dredd Testing Framework
    description: Language-agnostic HTTP API testing tool that validates live API implementations against API Blueprint or
      Swagger/OpenAPI specs.
  - name: Swagger Conversion
    description: The swagger2blueprint tool converted Swagger API descriptions into API Blueprint format for migration workflows.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com