Best SwaggerHub Alternatives will be described in this article. If your team is working on an API, you need to have excellent documentation. API development teams must describe the functionality of their tools to users because they are the ones you want to utilise and adopt them. An API that is made public is only as good as its documentation, therefore selecting the appropriate tool to assist in disseminating your documentation to the appropriate audience is crucial.
Top 6 Best SwaggerHub Alternatives In 2024
In this article, you can know about SwaggerHub Alternatives here are the details below;
Because using a technology like an API isn’t always clear, you may wish to give your intended customers instructions and references. It is actually unlikely to succeed if you don’t give documentation for your API since it will take too much effort to understand how to use it without assistance from the development team.
For this reason, SwaggerHub, a well-liked platform for API documentation, is being used by numerous teams. However, there are a lot of good options that you might want to think about, such as our own Document360, which has all the documentation tools you need for your API.
What is SwaggerHub?
You can basically design, develop, and document an API with Swaggerhub. Although the Swagger editor is available for free in open source format, the commercial edition with more capabilities is called Swaggerhub. The UI, Editor, Codegen, and Validator are the four main Swagger tools that are combined into a single platform.
SwaggerHub complies with the most recent OpenAPI requirements, so you can utilise OpenAPI to standardise your API and make it machine- and human-readable. Though it still requires manual creation, SwaggerHub is an API-specific documentation creation tool with an extremely user-friendly UI and hosting.
For teams looking to work together on their API documentation, SwaggerHub is a good option. It allows for the rendering of numerous APIs in either a published or unpublished state and enables search engines to index your material. You may create hundreds of APIs with SwaggerHub and make them accessible to your users.
What does SawggerHub offer?
It serves as a platform for design and documentation while working with the OpenAPI Specification for both individuals and teams. A plethora of features are available with SwaggerHub to help you design, develop, and document your APIs for end users.
Design
With the help of other team members, you can create your API documentation using a powerful editor provided by SwaggerHub. It’s simple to examine your documentation and make changes before publishing with inline comments and versions.
Build
Build your APIs on an approachable platform with SwaggerHub, then continuously improve them. Your APIs can be developed in the background, and when they’re ready, you may publish them.
Document
You can publish your documentation on SwaggerHub and make it accessible to your users. Make sure your documentation reflects your requirements and provides all users with access to the internal workings of your APIs.
Test
Before publishing your API documentation, test it to make sure your endpoints, parameters, and other features are functioning as intended. You can unpublish your API to make adjustments if you discover an error after it has been published and it has been read-only.
Standardize
By standardising your documentation for both people and computers using the OpenAPI specification, SwaggerHub keeps the quality of your work up to par with an externally defined standard.
Benefits of SwaggerHub in API Documentation
Generates Interactive API Documentation
You can create interactive, fully hosted, privacy-enabled API documentation with SwaggerHub, giving you complete control over who can view your material. You can stop tinkering with manual infrastructure because SwaggerHub takes care of everything for you. Users can test their own APIs and investigate the API endpoints, parameters, answers, and data models in addition to testing the API calls directly in their browser because your SwaggerHub documentation are interactive.
Custom Branding
Organisations can apply custom branding with SwaggerHub, allowing you to produce documentation that adheres to your style guide. Changing the header colour and adding a logo for visitors who are viewing your API documentation is a simple process. Before putting your modifications into effect, you can preview them. It’s crucial to remember that the Team plan will include a “powered by SwaggerHub” label next to the personalised logo.
Specify Server to send Requests
You must select the server in SwaggerHub to which you want to send your API calls. Because you have chosen the host or servers based on the OpenAPI version you are using, this allows your “Try it out” button in SwaggerHub to function. To produce replies, you can utilise SwaggerHub’s mock server if you don’t currently have a production server.
Routing Request
At the bottom of the documentation, you can modify the routing request. Ideally, SwaggerHub should allow users to test out your API on their own with flexibility by using the browser to access local APIs and a proxy for internet-facing APIs. By default, requests are routed through the SwaggerHub server and relayed to the destination API server.
Limitations of SwaggerHub in API Documentation
Limited Number of Collaborators Available
Using SwaggerHub to work on your documentation will be difficult if your team is huge because the number of users is limited based on your plan. You will have to start paying some higher rates for the Enterprise option if you want to add more users, or “designers,” as SwaggerHub refers to them.
Outdated interface
Comparing the SwaggerHub UI to other tools of a similar nature, such as Redocly or Document360, some users feel that it is a little antiquated. With its most recent interface update being in 2017, SwaggerHub has some catching up to do in terms of API documentation tools to stay up to date.
Lack of Integration
Popular development tools like SVN and Jira are not currently integrated with SwaggerHub, although it does offer some rudimentary interfaces. If you wish to interface with other platforms, you will have to write your own code using external scripts.
2024’s Top 6 SwaggerHub Substitutes: Document360, Stoplight Postman
1. Document360
Look no further than Document360 for excellent API documentation. Technical teams may produce elegant API documentation and technical documentation with Document360, which integrates all of your documents into a single platform. Because version control prevents various writers from overriding your modifications, you can use Document360 as a platform similar to GitHub, tracking changes you make to your API documentation as you work.
Using Document360 over SwaggerHub has several benefits, not the least of which are its extremely user-friendly editor and practical documentation procedures. Analytics help you make changes by showing you how users are interacting with API documentation. Additionally, Document360 offers a tonne of popular integrations. With just your API definition files, Document360 can automatically create stunning documentation that developers, testers, and project managers can simply use.
Pros
- Incredibly simple to use interface that requires minimal learning curve
- The ability to enlist additional team members to assist with your API documentation
- Comprehensive statistics to comprehend how users interact with your content
User Review: “I like how simple it is to use and how quick it was to get going.” The characteristics are precisely what we are searching for. Our customers seemed to like our documentation site more and more as we dug further into Document360’s features. The analytics, version history, and folder/category setting are all pretty well done.
2. Stoplight
Another good SwaggerHub substitute is Stoplight, which lets you keep your API documentation in a single source of accuracy. In a technical knowledge base, your documentation can be readily managed and searched, and all stakeholders can work together throughout the API lifespan. With Stoplight’s immediate mock servers, you can quickly get early feedback and test out designs.
Pros
- Possibility of regulating which permission groups can view your documentation
- Superior developer experience with an API solution that prioritises design
Cons
- Certain restrictions on content versioning
- The price of the premium features may be too high
User Review:
In order to compile Open API Specifications and Markdown documentation and organise them into an engaging yet straightforward API documentation experience, Stoplight offers a project-based experience. Permission groups can be created for each project to accommodate several access levels, such as private, internal, partner/guest, and public. It allows for centralised search across all projects and assets starting at the root, making it possible for various organisation members to search widely against dozens or hundreds of the Open API specifications & documentation, creating a very engaging enterprise experience.
3. Postman
An additional platform for creating and utilising APIs is Postman. It makes the entire API lifecycle easier to understand and facilitates teamwork in workflows, enabling you to build better APIs. All of the artefacts related to your API, such as test cases, workflow recipes, requirements, and results, can be stored in Postman as an API repository. You may better organise and customise your API work to meet different demands by using several workspaces. The finest part, possibly, is that Postman can be expanded via its own API and interfaces with other crucial tools.
Pros
- Possesses a strong API that is simple to integrate with other tools
- Has the capacity to export code to several tools
- Which is more time-efficient than a manual procedure.
Cons
- Because error messages are vague, it is challenging to debug frequent faults.
- Can be a daunting learning curve for inexperienced users that have a lot to learn.
Review user:
“It’s straightforward and intuitive. Nothing I click on needs study on my part. I was also completing it by hand, one at a time, when Postman wasn’t around. It took an awful lot of time to complete. And lastly, the ability to export code is one of my favourite features. This is fantastic!
4. ReadMe
Using the ReadMe platform, you can create interactive developer hubs out of static API documentation. You can learn everything about user interaction with your content using advanced analytics. ReadMe allows you to store API references, tutorials with example code, help manuals, and more, all of which can be customised for each developer’s specific experience.
Pros
- Real-time API usage indicates potential trouble spots for developers.
- Simple to set up and alter the API reference
Cons
- Insufficient customer education may result in users not making the most of the tool.
- One may say that the experience with content editing is restricted.
User Review:
“ReadMe simplifies the sometimes difficult work of conveying API functionality by organising and presenting data to end users in a clear and concise manner, enabling them to take quicker action.
In my role as a product manager, I collaborate with clients to review the API Reference and assist in identifying specific requests for additional parameters, data points, etc. so that we can determine how to make improvements moving forward. Also check Merakiscans Alternatives
The Changelog is a reliable resource for any long-term clients that need to respond to changes made, in addition to showcasing value-added.
5. Kong
Kong’s acclaimed documentation platform lets you handle your API’s whole lifecycle. Using Kong’s features, you can create, debug, and test your APIs much more quickly while taking advantage of open-source technology that is constructed in accordance with enterprise standards. Because Kong doesn’t care about the cloud, protocols, or languages, it works well with both established and cutting-edge technology.
Pros
- Robust platform for managing the entire lifetime of API development
- Allows you to create your own unique plugins to use with the API
Cons
- Its features may be limited because it isn’t designed
- API documentation platforms in mind.
- Support for instructing users on how to work with Kong
User Review:
“The Kong API Gateway’s scalability is one of its advantages. The programme is built to manage massive volumes of traffic and numerous concurrent connections because it is based on the well-liked open-source Nginx web server. It may be used to manage and secure APIs at any scale and is readily deployable on-premises or in the cloud.
6. Redocly
With the help of Redocly, a tool for developer documentation, you can create stunning API documentation that perfectly captures your brand. Redocly is provided to you by the same team that created Redoc and is built on open source technology. With Redocly, you can automatically publish beautiful API documentation while working together in the cloud. You can customise the layout of your API documentation to suit your needs and include it with the source control systems of your choice. Also check Merakiscans Alternatives
Pros
- Since Redocly is open source, you can learn how the tool works.
- It makes advantage of the OpenAPI specification
- Allowing you to create documentation that adheres to a set standard.
Cons
- Since Redocly is created by a small team, you might not be able to take
- Advantage of some of the more potent features that the other solutions provide.
- Because the lower plans don’t have as many features, the pricing may be too expensive for someone on a tight budget.
User Review:
Because Redocly can rely on a reliable GIT repository where you can store & manage your API documentation, it met all of our needs. In particular, Redocly may be used in conjunction with GIT features to release new endpoints and deprecate old ones while also releasing the elegant API documentation that goes along with it.
Conclusion
If API designers are considering using SwaggerHub for their API documentation, they might want to take a look at our selection of substitute resources. While SwaggerHub offers certain perks, such its user-friendliness and capacity to handle several APIs, our own platform, Document360, also offers some fantastic advantages. Document360 has been used by teams of various sizes to generate API documentation and handle all of their material in a single, easy-to-access location.
Utilise Document360 as a one-stop shop for technical documentation to enhance the usability and accessibility of your APIs. The developer experience is much improved by your API documentation, which appears exactly as it should and produces code samples for API endpoints in five different languages.
