Publishing Your First API Doc

You've spent hours designing the perfect User module for the Pet Store. It has clear schemas, meaningful examples, and error responses. Now, how do you get this to your frontend developers or external partners?

Apidog offers two primary ways to share your work: Quick Share and Publish Docs. Understanding the difference is key to establishing the right workflow.

Feature	Quick Share	Publish Docs
Purpose	Internal team collaboration, quick review	Official release, Developer Portals
Persistence	Temporary/Ad-hoc	Long-term, branded site
Customization	Limited	Full (Custom Domain, CSS, Navigation)
Access Control	Password / Expiration	Password, IP Whitelist, SSO
SEO	No	Yes

For this chapter, we are focusing on Publish Docs—creating a permanent, professional home for your API.

Step 1: Initialize Your Docs Site

In your Apidog project, look for Share Docs in the left sidebar.

Click on the Publish tab.

You will see a default "Main Site" created for you. Click Publish to make it live instantly.

By default, Apidog provides a subdomain (e.g., project-id.apidog.io). You can send this link to anyone right now, and they will see your API documentation.

Step 2: Controlling Access

Not all APIs are meant for the public. You might want to share your User module only with a specific partner or internal team.

Click on "Docs Site Visibility" to explore your options:

Public

Anyone with the link can view it. This is great for open-source projects or public platform APIs. You can even choose to publish to the Apidog API Hub for greater discoverability.

Password Protected

The simplest way to restrict access.

Select Password protected.

Enter a password (or generate a random one).

Distribute this password to your stakeholders.

Enterprise Controls

For stricter security, you can use:

IP Allowlist: Restrict access to your company's VPN or office IP range.

Email Allowlist: Only detailed email addresses can access via a verification code.

Custom Login Page: Integrate with your own SSO (Single Sign-On) using JWT. This allows users to log in with their existing company credentials to view the docs.

See details Docs site visibility setting

Step 3: Configuring Content Scope

You might not want to publish everything.

In the publishing settings, look for the Content or Scope section.

Select which folders to include. For our example, prioritize the User Management folder we organized earlier.

You can exclude internal administrative endpoints or "Draft" status folders.

Key Takeaways

Quick Share vs. Publish Docs: Use Quick Share for internal reviews; use Publish Docs for official, persistent documentation sites.

Access Control: Secure your docs with passwords, IP whitelisting, or SSO to protect sensitive API information.

Content Scope: You can selectively publish specific folders or endpoints, keeping internal drafts private.

One-Click Publishing: Apidog generates a ready-to-use site instantly, saving you from building a portal from scratch.

Once you're in, notice how Apidog has automatically rendered your schemas and examples into a readable format. In the next section, we'll make this default site look like your brand.

Continue with → Customizing Documentation Appearance

Publishing Your First API Doc

Quick Share vs. Publish Docs#

Step 1: Initialize Your Docs Site#

Step 2: Controlling Access#

Public#

Password Protected#

Enterprise Controls#

Step 3: Configuring Content Scope#

Key Takeaways#