Apiary is a hosted API documentation solution, founded in 2011. It was one of the first API description based tools to bring modern looking “Stripe-like” three column API documentation to teams which would otherwise have been documenting their APIs with a generic CMS or Wiki. Apiary created their own description format called API Blueprint based on Markdown, but eventually added support for OpenAPI v2.0 and v3.0.
Apiary was also well known for two open-source projects: Dredd and Gavel. These tools offered powerful testing functionality which helped teams make sure their API matched the OpenAPI which was describing it, pointing out discrepancies in a test suite instead of having complaints from users. These have both sadly been archived and will see no further development.
As is so often the case in API industry, they have been assimilated by a giant corporation. Oracle bought Apiary back in 2017, paid plans had been deprecated since 2018, and now finally users are seeing warnings that Apiary is finally going to turn off September 9th 2025.
API teams are looking for a safe harbour, a simple API description and documentation system that works with GitHub to allow any workflow, and they want to do that without having to grapple with the behemoth of Oracle Cloud. Bump.sh is that API documentation solution: we focus on building the best API reference publication platform, and making sure it integrates in any of your current tooling, workflows and existing developer portals.
Top 3 reasons to choose Bump.sh to replace Apiary for your API documentation
Support for the latest standards and advanced customization
Apiary offers a clean UI for rendering OpenAPI descriptions, as well as a “try-it-out”/interaction API console. This was revolutionary at the time, but Bump.sh does all of this and more.
- Active development: After being bought out by Oracle, the entire Apiary ecosystem went into maintenance mode and whilst support for OpenAPI v3.0 was released, generally the feature releases ground to a halt. Bump.sh is alive and kicking. We’re actively adding brilliant new functionality all the time, actively working with our users to shape the roadmap.
- Modern OpenAPI support: Apiary was primarily built around a propritary format and the OpenAPI support is outdated and “experimental”. OpenAPI won the REST API standards race, so Bump.sh focuses on the best support for modern OpenAPI possible. We’ve been supporting OpenAPI v3.1 for years, writing an extensive educational material to help people learn it, and are actively keeping an eye on OpenAPI v3.2 & 4.0 to be ready for them when they come out.
- Enhanced customization for any level: Apiary always looked like Apiary, with very few customization options and generally hosted on one of their subdomains. Bump.sh has plenty of customization options available through the UI, and a powerful embedded mode for enterprise users to integrate into existing solutions.
- Try it/console: Bump.sh features a beautiful, interactive documentation with Try-It functionality, that doesn’t get stuck to the third column of the doc, offering a full screen to let your build even the most complex requests.
- True embed mode: Apiary offered a client-side solution, with all the limitations that come with it: slower loading times and, most importantly, no SEO support since Google can’t properly index or crawl it. Bump.sh provides a more integrated embed mode, with the fastest loading times on the market, even for rich and extensive documentation, while ensuring optimal SEO.
Integration with your existing workflows and tools
Bump.sh is not about walled-gardens. We do API reference documentation, and we like to focus on doing that as well as we can. We support all common workflows: API design-first, API code-first, with or without Git.
Over the last few years the community has embraced modern ways to design, build and publish APIs and docs, and we made sure that Bump.sh could support you there, so having up-to-date and user-friendly docs is simple.
- The API contract becomes a single source of truth, Git-managed, with preview, versioning, and breaking change alerts, right from the API development stage.
- Use Bump.sh’s GitHub Action, API and CLI to power any workflow, and integrate with other source control such as Gitlab, Azure DevOps and Bitbucket.
- Bump.sh integrates with the best open-source software: integrates with powerful open-source solutions like Vacuum for API style guides, and Microcks for mocking and testing, instead of trying to do everything in a single interface.
API catalog and full access management
- Today isn’t just about simple REST APIs: Architectures evolve, APIs complexify, new technologies rise. We know that very well and monitor it closely at Bump.sh. That why we support the latest OpenAPI versions (including webhooks), OpenAPI Overlays, and also AsyncAPI for your event-driven APIs. After all, why would they require a different API reference tool, with a different UI, UX, and to be hosted on a different domain? We help you publish centralized docs for all your API ecosystem.
- Multiple APIs can be wrapped in API documentation portals called Hubs which provide easy navigation for users browsing through your API catalog, whilst also benefitting from unified search capabilities which scour through descriptions, parameters, and endpoints to find the exact bit of the documentation you need.
- Publishing documentation for your clients or internal teams requires fine-grained access control. Bump.sh offers a range of advanced options such as multiple SSO and access management, from a single doc to your entire catalog, so you can deliver the best possible experience through both public and private developer portals.
Worried about Apiary shutting down and looking for a solution for your API documentation? Transitioning from their old Blueprint format or in the process of adopting OpenAPI? You’re not alone and we’ve got the tools and resources to support you.
Talk to a real human and expert on the subject (not just a bot): get in touch with us!