Writing the part the generator cannot
Generated docs answer “what does this endpoint take”. Nobody was ever blocked by that question.
API Documentation generates from your collections, then gives you a rich text editor, version management, code snippet generation, PDF export and shareable links.
The generated half is complete and correct and does not, on its own, help anyone. What blocks a developer is never the parameter list.
Order the document for a first-time reader
Endpoint lists are usually alphabetical, which is the order that serves nobody. Put the document in the order somebody integrates:
- How to authenticate, with one complete working example.
- The one call that proves the setup works — the smallest possible request that returns something.
- The main flow, in the sequence it happens.
- Everything else, alphabetically, because at that point the reader is searching rather than reading.
A reader who reaches a successful first call becomes patient. A reader who cannot authenticate in ten minutes writes to support and stays annoyed.
Document the errors, not the success
Every generated doc describes the 200. Almost none describe the 409 that means the email is already registered, or what the client should do about it — retry, show a message, or fall back to a different call.
Write the error table by hand. It is the section that gets read most and the only one that shortens support conversations.
When to cut a version
Version management earns its place the day somebody outside your team builds against the API. Cut a version at that moment, not at a release milestone.
The reason is practical: when you later change a field, the person who integrated last quarter needs the document as it was, not a changelog entry explaining that it moved. Sharing a link into a specific version costs nothing and settles the argument before it happens.
For anything with external readers, share a link rather than exporting PDF. The link tracks the version; a PDF starts being wrong the day after you send it.
Questions people actually ask
What order should the documentation be in?
Authentication with a full example, then the smallest call that proves the setup works, then the main flow in sequence, then everything else alphabetically. Alphabetical from the top serves nobody who is integrating for the first time.
What should I write by hand?
The errors and the reason each endpoint exists. The generator covers parameters completely; nobody was ever blocked by a parameter list, and everybody has been blocked by an unexplained 409.
When should I cut a new version?
The day someone outside your team starts building against the API — not at a release milestone. They will need the document as it was when they integrated, not a note saying a field moved.
