How do I generate SDKs and docs from the same spec?

A common way is to keep one source-of-truth API spec and run multiple generators from it.

Typical setup

Use a spec format like:

• OpenAPI for REST APIs
• GraphQL schema for GraphQL APIs
• AsyncAPI for event-driven APIs

Then generate:

• SDKs with a code generator
• Docs with a documentation generator

Example with OpenAPI

If you have an openapi.yaml, you can generate both:

SDKs

Use tools like:

• OpenAPI Generator
• Swagger Codegen

Example:

openapi-generator-cli generate -i openapi.yaml -g typescript-axios -o ./sdk

Docs

Use tools like:

• Redoc
• Swagger UI
• Stoplight Elements

Example with Redoc:

redocly build-docs openapi.yaml

Recommended workflow

1. Write and maintain the spec in version control.
2. Validate the spec in CI.
3. Generate SDKs for each target language.
4. Generate docs from the same spec.
5. Publish both on release.

Good practice

• Keep the spec authoritative; don’t hand-edit generated SDKs.
• Use templates/config to customize generated output.
• Version the spec so SDKs and docs stay in sync.

Minimal pipeline example

# Generate docs
redocly build-docs openapi.yaml -o docs.html

# Generate SDK
openapi-generator-cli generate -i openapi.yaml -g python -o ./python-sdk

If you want, I can give you:

• a full CI pipeline example
• a GitHub Actions workflow
• or a setup for OpenAPI + TypeScript/Python SDKs + docs