A linter is a tool used in software development to analyze source code for potential errors, stylistic issues, and adherence to coding standards. It essentially acts as a static code analyzer, examining the code without actually executing it. Linters help developers catch issues early in the development cycle, improving code quality and maintainability
Linters are useful tools for maintaining code quality and consistency in your OpenAPI projects. They analyze code for potential issues, enforce coding standards, and help catch errors before they are pushed into production. Linters are not necessarily a quick fix, can be a distraction, and it’s not inconceivable that they may not be helpful with old, large code bases.
OpenAPI is an industry standard to describe HTTP APIs. When using OpenAPI in your project, you can leverage other tools to help you generate documentation, code, tests, mock results, or even deploy your API. This article picks some useful tools to help you validate OpenAPI in your project.
Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion here.
Click the links in the table below to learn more about each tool.
| OpenAPI Linters | |
|---|---|
| Spectral | Fexible JSON/YAML linter |
| vacuum | OpenAPI and Swagger linter |
| Redocly | All-in-one OpenAPI utility |
| Cherrybomb | Audit, validate, run API tests |
| Zally | Minimalistic, simple-to-use API linter |
| oasdiff | Validate OpenAPI specifications and detect breaking changes |
| Rate My OpenAPI | Improve the quality of your OpenAPI specifications |
| OpenAPI Validator | Configurable and extensible validator/linter |
| OpenAPI Spec validator | Validates OpenAPI Specs |
This article has been updated to reflect the changes outlined in our recent announcement.
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