Do I need to publish multiple versions of my API docs?

Usually, yes—if your API has breaking changes, you should publish versioned docs.

When you should version docs

Publish multiple versions if:

• You have breaking API changes between releases
• Existing clients may still depend on older behavior
• You support more than one active API version at the same time

Examples of breaking changes:

• Renaming or removing endpoints
• Changing request/response schemas
• Making previously optional fields required
• Changing auth requirements or error formats

When one set of docs may be enough

You may only need one docs set if:

• Your API is very small or internal
• You only make backward-compatible changes
• You’re okay with the docs always reflecting only the latest version

Common approach

A good pattern is:

• Keep a latest docs version
• Maintain docs for supported older versions, especially if customers still use them
• Clearly mark the version in the URL, header, or docs selector

Example:

• docs.example.com/api/v1
• docs.example.com/api/v2

Practical recommendation

If your API is public or customer-facing, version your docs whenever you version your API. It reduces confusion and support burden.

If you want, I can also suggest a docs versioning strategy based on whether your API is public, internal, or backward-compatible only.