Fumadocs for Products with Rapidly Evolving SPIs & SDKs

What You'll Learn

In this article, you'll discover how Fumadocs streamlines documentation for rapidly evolving APIs and SDKs. This guide is ideal for developers and product teams seeking efficient documentation solutions that keep pace with fast-changing software environments.

Introduction

Fumadocs is an open-source documentation system designed to support products with rapidly evolving APIs and SDKs. It automates documentation updates, ensuring accuracy and relevance without manual intervention. This capability is crucial as it helps teams maintain up-to-date documentation, which is essential for user adoption and satisfaction. In a fast-paced development environment, having accurate and timely documentation can be a competitive advantage.

Concept Explanation

Fumadocs leverages modern web technologies, particularly React and Next.js, to create a dynamic documentation system. It integrates live API metadata, allowing documentation to update automatically as changes occur in the API. This eliminates the need for manual updates, reducing the risk of outdated or inaccurate information. Key features include:

• Live API Metadata: Automatically updates documentation based on real-time API changes.
• OpenAPI Integration: Supports automated generation of API references, ensuring documentation aligns with the latest API specifications.
• Composable Architecture: Allows developers to embed custom React components for interactive documentation experiences.

How It Works / Process Breakdown

Fumadocs operates through a systematic process that ensures seamless integration of documentation with product updates:

1. Input: Documentation content is primarily written in Markdown or MDX format, allowing for easy version control and organization.
2. Processing:
   • Live API Metadata: Fumadocs queries internal API metadata and OpenAPI specifications to fetch the latest data.
   • Real-Time Updates: As API changes occur, such as new endpoints or updated rate limits, Fumadocs automatically reflects these changes in the documentation.
3. Output: The documentation is generated as a static site, optimized for performance and SEO, ensuring fast load times and discoverability.
4. Limitations: While Fumadocs significantly reduces manual documentation efforts, it requires a solid understanding of React and Next.js for effective implementation and customization.

Practical Example / Use Case

Consider a B2B SaaS platform like Unkey, which frequently updates its API. In the first few months, the team might add new endpoints, deprecate old ones, and release SDK updates. With Fumadocs, every time a change is made—such as adding a new endpoint like /v1/keys/rotate—the documentation updates automatically. This ensures that developers always have access to the latest information without needing to manually edit documentation files.

// Example of fetching live API metadata
const fetchMetadata = async () => {
  const response = await fetch('/internal/metadata/endpoints');
  const metadata = await response.json();
  return metadata;
};

Key Takeaways

• Fumadocs automates documentation updates, ensuring real-time accuracy without manual intervention.
• It supports OpenAPI integration for seamless API reference generation.
• The composable architecture allows for interactive documentation experiences.
• Fumadocs is built on Next.js, providing performance and SEO benefits out of the box.
• It is particularly suited for startups and teams with rapidly evolving APIs and SDKs.

Conclusion

Fumadocs offers a robust solution for maintaining accurate and up-to-date documentation in fast-paced development environments. By integrating documentation with the engineering workflow, it eliminates manual processes and ensures that developers have access to the latest information. As your product evolves, Fumadocs can help you keep your documentation aligned, ultimately enhancing user experience and adoption rates.