# Why IndieOpenAPI exists

> A quick OpenAPI check with useful findings, a named source, and no account.

By turushan.

Published: 2026-09-03T00:00:00.000Z

Updated: 2026-09-18T20:00:55Z

Canonical: https://indieopenapi.com/blog/why-indieopenapi-exists/

An OpenAPI file can parse cleanly and still leave the next developer guessing. A reference points to
a component that moved. A path parameter exists in the URL but not in the operation. Two operations
share one ID. Responses or authentication rules go missing.

IndieOpenAPI checks one JSON or YAML document against the published OpenAPI schemas. It then checks
references, operation documentation and IDs, response coverage, examples, and declared security.
Every finding points to a document path. The result links back to the OpenAPI Specification that
defines the structure.

Paste a document or drop a file and the check runs in your browser. The file does not leave the
page. Enter a public URL and the Worker fetches it, follows a small number of redirects, and checks a
capped set of external references. Private and reserved network destinations are blocked.

The answer describes the file, not the running API. IndieOpenAPI does not send test requests to your
servers, prove that authentication works, or verify response bodies in production. It also has no
account, card, premium plan, or public record of what anyone checked. Analytics is currently off, so no tracker receives document contents.

If the API uses JWTs, [inspect a token's claims and signature locally](https://indiejwt.com/) when debugging authentication. A valid API description does not validate a credential.

Read [description validation and runtime testing](https://indieopenapi.com/#does-a-valid-openapi-document-mean-my-api-works). Use [IndieOpenAPI](https://indieopenapi.com/) to validate an API description without sending requests to the described operations.

## Sources

- https://spec.openapis.org/oas/
- https://github.com/scalar/scalar/tree/main/packages/openapi-validator