Interactive Features for Consumers

Static documentation is a thing of the past. Modern developers expect to test an API directly in the browser before writing a single line of code. Apidog's published documentation comes with an embedded API client—the "Try it out" feature.

This interactivity dramatically lowers the "Time to First Call" (TTFC) for your users.

The "Try it out" Console

When you publish your docs, every endpoint page includes a Run or Try it out button (unless disabled).

When a user clicks this:

An API client panel slides open.

They can fill in parameters (e.g., userId).

They can modify the Request Body (using the examples you generated!).

They hit Send and see the real response from your server (or mock server).

Managing Environments

Users need a server to talk to.

Mock Server: By default, Apidog provides a Cloud Mock server. This allows users to get canned responses without hitting your production database. Ideally, enable this for public docs so users can play safely.

Production/Staging: You can configure multiple environments. Users can select "Production" from a dropdown in the docs to make real calls.

Tip: Be careful with exposing Production environments in public documentation. Ensure you have proper Authentication set up (which we covered in Designing APIs).

Request Code Generation

Not every developer knows how to construct an HTTP request in curl or Python. Apidog helps them by auto-generating code snippets.

In your published docs, users will see a Request Samples section. They can toggle between languages:

JavaScript (Fetch, Axios)

Python (Requests)

Java (OkHttp)

cURL

and many more.

This allows a developer to simply copy-paste a working code block into their application.

Customizing Samples

You can add your own manual code samples if the auto-generated ones aren't enough (e.g., if you have a specific SDK).

Go to the Endpoint design.

Scroll to Request Samples.

Add a custom snippet.

Interactive Response Examples

Remember the schemas we designed? In the documentation, they are rendered as interactive trees.

Users can expand/collapse objects.

They can view descriptions and data types for every field.

They can switch between different Response Examples (e.g., "Success - 200" vs "Error - 400") to see what the JSON looks like in different scenarios.

Key Takeaways

"Try it out" Console: Allow users to make real API calls directly from the browser, converting readers into users instantly.

Request Code Generation: Auto-generate code snippets in multiple languages (Python, JavaScript, cURL, etc.) to help developers integrate faster.

Interactive Schemas: Users can explore nested JSON objects and diverse response examples (Success vs. Error) interactively.

Mock vs. Production: Configure environments carefully so public users can test safely against a Mock server while internal teams can hit Staging or Production.

This interactive loop is what makes Apidog documentation superior to static PDF or heavy Word documents.

Continue with → Advanced Publishing Settings

Interactive Features for Consumers

The "Try it out" Console#

Managing Environments#

Request Code Generation#

Customizing Samples#