litestar-openapi

OpenAPI

Execution Workflow

Decide whether OpenAPI should be enabled, restricted, or disabled for the app.
Set app-level OpenAPIConfig for title, version, docs endpoints, servers, tags, and render plugins.
Add route-level metadata deliberately: summary , description , response_description , tags , security , operation_id , raises , and include_in_schema .
Use schema-generation customization only when default model generation is insufficient.
Choose UI render plugins and endpoint paths intentionally for each environment.
Validate that generated docs match real request, auth, and metrics behavior.

Core Rules

Keep documentation truthful to runtime behavior.
Centralize OpenAPI config at app construction.
Use route-level metadata only where it improves clarity or correctness.
Disable schema generation with openapi_config=None only when docs must not be exposed.
Keep request, response, security, and metrics documentation aligned with the skills that own those runtime behaviors.
Prefer current render-plugin configuration over legacy controller-style customization paths.
Treat OpenAPI changes as API changes that require review.

Decision Guide

Use app-level OpenAPIConfig for global schema and docs endpoint strategy.
Use route-level metadata when one operation differs from the app default.
Use operation_class or schema customization only when built-in generation is insufficient.
Use include_in_schema=False for internal or operational routes that should stay out of public docs.
Use UI plugins when interactive docs are required; choose the plugin based on audience and deployment constraints.
Use one of the bundled render plugins rather than hand-building docs pages unless the UI must be bespoke.

Reference Files

Read only the sections you need:

For schema generation, enabling/disabling docs, route-level metadata, and operation customization, read references/schema-and-operations.md.
For UI render plugins, docs endpoints, path customization, and offline/CDN considerations, read references/ui-plugins-and-endpoints.md.

Recommended Defaults

Keep app title, version, and server metadata explicit.
Use route-level descriptions and summaries sparingly but intentionally.
Document security requirements where auth actually applies.
Keep internal or noisy operational endpoints out of the public schema when appropriate.
Prefer a single clear docs UI per environment unless multiple UIs solve a real need.

Anti-Patterns

Documenting contracts that runtime behavior does not actually support.
Leaving stale examples, tags, or security docs after runtime changes.
Overusing route-level overrides until the schema becomes inconsistent.
Exposing internal routes in the schema without intent.
Treating UI plugin choice as purely cosmetic when endpoint paths and asset loading matter operationally.
Customizing schema generation before understanding the default output.

Validation Checklist

Confirm schema generation is enabled or disabled intentionally.
Confirm public routes appear in the schema and internal-only routes are omitted where intended.
Confirm request, response, auth, and metrics surfaces are documented consistently with runtime behavior.
Confirm operation IDs, tags, and summaries are stable and useful.
Confirm documented exceptions and security requirements match the real route behavior.
Confirm chosen UI plugin paths and asset sources are correct for the deployment environment.
Confirm generated JSON and YAML schema endpoints behave as expected.

Cross-Skill Handoffs

Use litestar-requests , litestar-responses , and litestar-dto when schema mismatches originate in transport modeling.
Use litestar-authentication and litestar-security when security scheme docs must match auth backends and guard behavior.
Use litestar-metrics when operational endpoints or metrics docs should be included or excluded intentionally.
Use litestar-testing when schema and docs stability need regression coverage.

Litestar References

Source Transparency