route-to-openapi
Automatically scan route/endpoint definitions in source code and generate RESTful API documentation conforming to the OpenAPI 3.0.3 specification.
Supports major web frameworks with automatic framework detection. Extracts HTTP methods, paths, parameters, request bodies, response models, and doc comments, then outputs a standard OpenAPI spec file ready to import into Swagger UI or Redoc.
Quick Start
bash# Scan source directory, output OpenAPI spec in JSON format python scripts/generate_api_doc.py ./src # Specify output format and file python scripts/generate_api_doc.py ./src --format yaml --output api-spec.yaml # Specify framework and API metadata python scripts/generate_api_doc.py ./app --framework flask --title "My API" --version 2.0.0 # Add server URLs python scripts/generate_api_doc.py ./routes --server http://localhost:3000 --server https://api.example.com
Supported Frameworks
| Language | Framework | Parsing Method |
|---|---|---|
| Python | Flask | AST parsing (decorators + type annotations + docstrings) |
| Python | FastAPI | AST parsing (decorators + Pydantic models + type annotations) |
| Python | Django REST Framework | AST parsing (@api_view decorators) |
| JavaScript/TypeScript | Express.js | Regex matching (app.get() / router.get() + JSDoc) |
| Go | Gin | Regex matching (r.GET() / group.GET() + comments) |
| Go | Echo | Regex matching (e.GET() + comments) |
Extraction Capabilities
The script automatically extracts the following information:
- HTTP Methods: GET / POST / PUT / DELETE / PATCH, etc.
- Route Paths: Automatically converts each framework's path parameter format to the OpenAPI
{param}format - Path Parameters: Extracted from route patterns (with type inference)
- Query Parameters: Extracted from function signatures (Python frameworks)
- Request Bodies: Inferred from type annotations and Pydantic models (FastAPI)
- Response Models: Extracted from the
response_modelparameter (FastAPI) - Endpoint Descriptions: Extracted from docstrings / JSDoc / inline comments
- Tag Grouping: Automatically grouped by source file module name
Path Parameter Format Conversion
| Framework | Source Format | Converted Result |
|---|---|---|
| Flask | <int:user_id> | {user_id} (type: integer) |
| FastAPI | {user_id} | {user_id} (unchanged) |
| Express | :user_id | {user_id} |
| Gin/Echo | :user_id | {user_id} |
Parameters
| Parameter | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
source_dir | Source directory to scan (required) | - |
-f, --format | Output format: json or yaml | json |
-o, --output | Output file path | stdout |
--framework | Force a specific framework (skip auto-detection) | Auto-detect |
--title | API documentation title | API Documentation |
--version | API version number | 1.0.0 |
--description | API description text | Empty |
--server | Server URL (can be specified multiple times) | None |
Output Example
json{ "openapi": "3.0.3", "info": { "title": "My API", "version": "1.0.0" }, "paths": { "/users": { "get": { "summary": "List all users", "operationId": "list_users", "tags": ["users"], "parameters": [ { "name": "limit", "in": "query", "required": false, "schema": { "type": "integer" } } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "Successful response" } } } }, "/users/{user_id}": { "get": { "summary": "Get user by ID", "operationId": "get_user", "tags": ["users"], "parameters": [ { "name": "user_id", "in": "path", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "integer" } } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "Successful response" } } } } } }
Prerequisites
- Python 3.8+
- No additional dependencies required — uses only the Python standard library
- The scanned project must use one of the supported web frameworks listed above
