Create and Deploy Beautiful API Documentation with Redoc - Download Here
How to Download and Use Redoc for API Documentation
If you are looking for a simple and powerful way to create interactive API documentation from your OpenAPI specifications, you might want to check out Redoc. Redoc is an open-source tool that generates API documentation from OpenAPI (fka Swagger) definitions. By default, Redoc offers a three-panel, responsive layout: The left panel contains a search bar and navigation menu. The central panel contains the documentation. The right panel contains request and response examples.
In this article, I will show you how to download and use Redoc to create beautiful API docs in minutes. I will also cover some of the customization options and features that make Redoc stand out among other documentation tools. Finally, I will compare Redoc with some of the alternatives that are available for generating API docs from OpenAPI specs.
download redoc
How to Install Redoc
Installing Redoc is very easy. There are actually four different ways to deploy the tool, depending on your preference and needs. Here are the steps for each method:
Install Redoc via npm or yarn
If you are using npm or yarn as your package manager, you can install Redoc as a dependency in your project. Just run the following command in your terminal:
npm install redoc --save # or yarn add redoc
This will download the latest version of Redoc and add it to your package.json file.
How to download redoc and generate API documentation
Download redoc via npm or yarn
Download redoc React component for interactive API docs
Download redoc open source tool for OpenAPI definitions
Download redoc and customize it with configuration options
Download redoc and deploy it on your website
Download redoc and compare it with Redocly products
Download redoc and use it with OpenAPI 3.1
Download redoc and integrate it with Swagger UI
Download redoc and learn from the demo examples
Download redoc and contribute to the GitHub repository
Download redoc and install it via CDN
Download redoc and use it with TypeScript
Download redoc and run it as a Docker container
Download redoc and publish your APIs as interactive documentation
Download redoc and use it with JSON5
Download redoc and enable search bar and navigation menu
Download redoc and add request and response examples
Download redoc and use it with Webpack 5
Download redoc and support the open source community
Download redoc and create three-panel design documentation
Download redoc and use it with React hooks
Download redoc and optimize it for performance
Download redoc and enable authentication for your API docs
Download redoc and use it with GraphQL schemas
Download redoc and add custom tags to your API docs page
Download redoc and use it with ReDocly Workflows and Developer Portals
Download redoc and display deprecation labels for your API endpoints
Download redoc and use it with async APIs
Download redoc and add logo, colors, fonts, etc. to your API docs page
Download redoc and use it with gRPC services
Download redoc and enable code samples for your API docs
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Download redoc and enable theme switcher for your API docs page
Reference the JS in HTML locally or via CDN
If you don't want to use a package manager, you can simply reference the JavaScript file for Redoc in your HTML page. You can either host the file yourself or use a public CDN. For example, you can add the following script tag to your HTML page:
<script src="
This will load the latest version of Redoc from jsDelivr CDN.
Use the Redoc React component
If you are using React as your front-end framework, you can use the Redoc React component to render your API documentation. First, you need to install the redoc-react package:
npm install redoc-react --save # or yarn add redoc-react
Then, you can import the component and use it in your JSX code:
import React from 'react'; import RedocStandalone from 'redoc-react'; class App extends React.Component render() return ( <RedocStandalone specUrl=" /> );
This will render your API documentation using the petstore example spec.
Install Redoc via Docker
If you prefer to use Docker, you can also install Redoc as a Docker image. First, you need to pull the image from Docker Hub:
docker pull redocly/redoc
Then, you can run the image with your OpenAPI spec URL as an environment variable:
docker run -it --rm -p 8080:80 -e SPEC_URL=' redocly/redoc
This will start a web server on port 8080 and serve your API documentation using the petstore example spec.
<h How to Use Redoc
Once you have installed Redoc, using it is very simple. All you need is a valid OpenAPI specification file in JSON or YAML format. You can either use an existing file or create one from scratch using a tool like [OpenAPI GUI](^6^) or [Swagger Editor](^7^). You can also use [Redocly Workflows](^8^) to create and manage your OpenAPI definitions in a collaborative way.
To use Redoc, you just need to pass the URL of your OpenAPI spec file to the specUrl attribute of the <redoc> element in your HTML page. For example:
<redoc spec-url="
This will render your API documentation using the petstore example spec. You can also use a relative path to your spec file if you host it on the same server as your HTML page.
If you want to use the React component, you need to pass the URL of your OpenAPI spec file to the specUrl prop of the <RedocStandalone> component in your JSX code. For example:
<RedocStandalone specUrl=" />
This will render your API documentation using the petstore example spec as well.
If you want to use the Docker image, you need to pass the URL of your OpenAPI spec file as an environment variable to the docker run command. For example:
docker run -it --rm -p 8080:80 -e SPEC_URL=' redocly/redoc
This will start a web server on port 8080 and serve your API documentation using the petstore example spec as well.
How to Customize Redoc
One of the advantages of Redoc is that it allows you to customize the appearance and behavior of your API documentation. You can use various options and extensions to tweak the layout, colors, fonts, menus, samples, and more. Here are some of the customization options that Redoc offers:
Theming options
To customize the style of your API documentation, you can use the theme option in your HTML page or JSX code. This option takes an object with various properties that control the colors, fonts, breakpoints, and code blocks of your documentation. For example:
<redoc spec-url=" theme="colors: primary: main: '#dd3333'"></redoc>
This will change the primary color of your documentation to red. You can find a full list of theming options on [Redoc's documentation](^9^).
x-tagGroups extension
To group your tags into high-level categories in the side menu, you can use the x-tagGroups extension in your OpenAPI spec file. This extension takes an array of objects with name and tags properties. For example:
x-tagGroups: - name: Pets tags: - pet - store - name: Users tags: - user
This will create two groups in the side menu: Pets and Users, each containing the corresponding tags.
x-logo extension
To display your brand logo in the documentation header, you can use the x-logo extension in your OpenAPI spec file. This extension takes an object with various properties that control the logo image, URL, background color, and alt text. For example:
x-logo: url: " backgroundColor: "#FFFFFF" altText: "Example logo" href: "
This will display a logo image that links to your website.
x-codeSamples extension
To add custom code samples for different languages and frameworks, you can use the x-codeSamples extension in your OpenAPI spec file. This extension takes an array of objects with lang and source properties . For example:
x-codeSamples: - lang: "JavaScript" source: const axios = require('axios'); axios.get(' .then(response => console.log(response.data)) .catch(error => console.error(error)); - lang: "Python" source: import requests response = requests.get(' print(response.json())
This will display two code samples for JavaScript and Python in the right panel of your documentation.
x-examples extension
To add custom examples for your request and response bodies, you can use the x-examples extension in your OpenAPI spec file. This extension takes an object with summary and value properties. For example:
<co