API Editor

A VS Code extension for creating and editing API and event contracts visually. Browse models, update fields and generate Markdown documentation without editing the contract by hand.

Everything runs locally — no network requests, AI, telemetry or usage fees.

Supported formats

Installation

Search for API Editor by beatahumeniuk in the VS Code Marketplace, or run this command in VS Code Quick Open (Ctrl+P / Cmd+P):

ext install beatahumeniuk.api-editor

You can also download a .vsix from GitHub Releases and choose Extensions → … → Install from VSIX.

Quick start

1. Open a contract file, such as openapi.yaml, service.wsdl, schema.xsd or event.avsc.
2. Run API Editor from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P), or right-click the file in the editor or Explorer.
3. Select an operation, model or field and edit its properties in the right panel.
4. Review the changes in the source file and save as usual (Ctrl+S / Cmd+S).

To start from scratch, run API Editor: New contract.

Visual editing

• Contract tree: browse operations and models, filter the list and open requests or responses.
• Schema view: explore fields as a collapsible tree showing types, required fields and alternatives.
• Properties panel: edit descriptions, types, examples, validation rules and other settings for the selected item.
• Contract settings (gear icon): update contract details, export documentation or convert the schema to another format.

Changes appear automatically in the editor buffer. Save as usual when editing; starting a Markdown export or a schema conversion also saves any pending changes. The designer also refreshes when the source changes, keeping your current view where possible. If the file temporarily cannot be read, it keeps the last readable version and shows a status message.

Edits preserve the contract's format and version. WSDL, XSD and Avro edits retain unrelated content and formatting.

Markdown documentation

Choose Export to md in an operation's properties to document that operation, or in contract settings to document the whole contract.

Exports work with all supported formats and include descriptions, operations where applicable, model tables and supported validation rules. OpenAPI exports also include response codes and parameter examples stored in the contract.

The suggested save location is beside the source contract. Generated documents include source metadata and are intended to be regenerated rather than edited by hand.

Convert a schema to another format

Choose Convert schema in contract settings. The source file is left as it is — the result opens in a new editor, ready to save. Pending edits to the source are saved first, so the conversion reads the contract you can see.

A conversion carries the data model across, including descriptions, enums and supported constraints, and asks which object the result is built around. Some features have to be adapted: inheritance is flattened in Avro, HTTP endpoints are dropped when converting to XSD or Avro, and a WSDL operation becomes a POST endpoint, and the other way round an OpenAPI operation becomes a WSDL operation with its request, response and fault messages. A source with no operations of its own becomes a contract with exactly one: a GET, or a SOAP operation, answering with the object you picked.

To convert between OpenAPI versions or apply description markers, use the separate OpenAPI Converter extension. API Editor edits the version already present in the file.

Links

• Report a bug
• Privacy and security
• Changelog
• License — MIT