For years, Swagger has been the go-to for API documentation. And while itās solid, letās be honestāit feels kinda outdated in todayās developer workflow.
Thatās why I built Bytedocs: a fresh, modern alternative to Swagger that not only documents your APIs but also helps you test, explore, and even stress-test them.
š Check it out: bytedocs.dev
š¤ What Makes Bytedocs Different?
Unlike traditional tools that stop at generating static docs, Bytedocs is designed to be multi-language, interactive, and developer-friendly from day one.
Hereās what it brings to the table:
š Modern API Documentation
- Clean, responsive, and easy-to-use docs.
- Looks great across devices.
- Not just another Swagger clone.
š Multi-Language Support
- Dedicated repos for different stacks.
- Example: bytedocs-laravel
- More languages coming soon (Go, Node.js, etc.).
šÆ Scenario Runner
- Group multiple endpoints into a single scenario.
- Run complete flows in one click (e.g., login ā create ā fetch ā delete).
- Great for integration and workflow testing.
š¤ AI Assistant
- Ask AI about your endpoints directly.
- No more hunting through pages of docs to figure out required params.
ā” Roadmap: Load & Performance Testing
- Planned native integration with K6.
- Run load tests without leaving your API docs.
š Getting Started
Want to try it out? Start with the Laravel package:
š bytedocs-laravel
Installation is simple, and youāll have your docs live in minutes.
š The API Documentation Landscape
Swagger may be the most widely known, but itās not the only player in the game:
Scalar: a newer open-source project with a sleek UI and growing community (~12k GitHub stars). Great for modern docs, but still focused mostly on visualization.
Redoc: clean and minimal OpenAPI renderer, often used for public-facing docs.
Stoplight: more of a design-first platform with collaboration features.
ReadMe / Bump.sh / Mintlify: commercial platforms that bring analytics, portals, and customization on top of docs.
These tools are all awesome in their own ways, but most of them stay within the boundary of ādocumentationā
Thatās where Bytedocs is differentāitās not just another viewer for your OpenAPI spec. Itās a developer toolkit that connects docs with scenarios, AI, and testing.
šÆ The Vision
I donāt want Bytedocs to just be āSwagger 2.0ā.
The goal is to make it the all-in-one developer tool for APIs:
- Write less boilerplate
- Get clearer insights
- Test faster
- Scale with confidence
š¤ Join the Journey
This is just the beginning. Iād love your feedback, contributions, and ideas.
š bytedocs.dev
š bytedocs-laravel
š” With Bytedocs, API documentation is no longer staticāitās interactive, intelligent, and future-ready.
Top comments (2)
While the idea is good and quite well executed, I truly dislike it presents completely different format for API description. Swagger/OpenAPIās wide adoption is a major asset, providing a REST counterpart to WSDL for SOAP and making API documentation clear and standardized.
Creating a competing format creates fragmentation (look at video streaming services!), where two teams trying to integrate may face unnecessary problems just because their tools use incompatible documentation.
A more constructive approach would be to extend Swagger, like TypeScript extends JavaScript, rather than reinventing the good-enough wheel that Swagger is.
hey, thanks a lot for the feedback š. I totally get your point, OpenAPI is a huge standard and super valuable.
But just to clarify, Bytedocs isnāt really trying to ācompeteā with OpenAPI. The idea is more about the developer experience, not just static docs, but being able to run flows, test scenarios end-to-end, and soon even do load tests.
Think of it less as a new format, more like a toolkit on top. And yeah, Iām already considering adding OpenAPI support so existing specs can plug right in and still use all the features