elements-express 🚀

Express Middleware for Stoplight Elements API Documentation - Beautiful, Interactive, and Zero-Config API Documentation for Express Apps

Enhance your Express.js applications with stunning, interactive API documentation using Stoplight Elements. This middleware seamlessly integrates with your existing Express server to provide a professional documentation experience with minimal setup.

🌟 Features & Benefits

• ✅ Interactive API Console - Test endpoints directly in the documentation
• ✅ Zero Configuration - Get started in seconds with minimal setup
• ✅ Beautiful UI - Modern, responsive design that developers love
• ✅ OpenAPI 3.x Support - Full compatibility with OpenAPI specifications
• ✅ Embedded Assets - No external dependencies or CDN requirements
• ✅ Customizable - Easily configure titles and API spec URLs
• ✅ SEO Optimized - Built-in meta tags for better search engine indexing

📦 Installation

npm install elements-express

🚀 Quick Start

Basic Setup

Using apiDescriptionUrl (External API Spec)

const express = require('express');
const elements = require('elements-express');

const app = express();

// Serve Stoplight Elements documentation with embedded static assets
app.use('/docs', elements({
  apiDescriptionUrl: '/openapi.json',
  title: 'My API Documentation', // Optional: custom page title
}));

// Serve your OpenAPI specification
app.use('/openapi.json', express.static('path/to/your/openapi.json'));

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Documentation available at http://localhost:3000/docs');
});

Using apiDescriptionDocument (Inline API Spec)

const express = require('express');
const elements = require('elements-express');
const fs = require('fs');

const app = express();

// Read the OpenAPI specification directly
const openApiSpec = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('path/to/your/openapi.json', 'utf8'));

// Serve Stoplight Elements documentation with embedded static assets
app.use('/docs', elements({
  apiDescriptionDocument: openApiSpec,
  title: 'My API Documentation', // Optional: custom page title
}));

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Documentation available at http://localhost:3000/docs');
});

ES Modules

import express from 'express';
import elements from 'elements-express';
import fs from 'fs';

const app = express();

// Read the OpenAPI specification directly
const openApiSpec = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('path/to/your/openapi.json', 'utf8'));

// Serve Stoplight Elements documentation with embedded static assets
app.use('/docs', elements({
  apiDescriptionDocument: openApiSpec,
  title: 'My API Documentation', // Optional: custom page title
}));

app.listen(3000, () => {
  console.log('Documentation available at http://localhost:3000/docs');
});

⚙️ Configuration Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
apiDescriptionUrl	string	undefined	URL to your OpenAPI specification (JSON or YAML). Either apiDescriptionUrl or apiDescriptionDocument is required.
apiDescriptionDocument	object/string	undefined	OpenAPI specification as a JavaScript object or JSON/YAML string. Either apiDescriptionUrl or apiDescriptionDocument is required.
title	string	'API Documentation'	Custom title for the documentation page
basePath	string	undefined	Base path to the API
hideTryItPanel	boolean	false	Hide the Try It panel in the documentation
hideInternal	boolean	false	Hide internal operations in the documentation
hideTryIt	boolean	false	Hide the Try It feature in the documentation
hideSchemas	boolean	false	Hide schemas in the documentation
hideExport	boolean	false	Hide export functionality in the documentation
tryItCorsProxy	string	undefined	CORS proxy URL for Try It feature
tryItCredentialPolicy	string	undefined	Credential policy for Try It feature
logo	string	undefined	Logo URL for the documentation
layout	string	'sidebar'	Layout for the documentation ('sidebar', 'responsive', or 'stacked')
router	string	'hash'	Router for the documentation ('history', 'hash', 'memory', or 'static')

💡 How It Works

1. The middleware serves both the static CSS and JavaScript files from the elements-dist package and generates an HTML page that includes the Stoplight Elements web component
2. The web component fetches your OpenAPI specification and renders interactive documentation
3. Developers can browse endpoints, test APIs directly in-browser, and understand your API quickly

📄 Example OpenAPI Specification

Place your OpenAPI specification file in your project and serve it with Express:

app.use('/openapi.json', express.static('public/openapi.json'));

🔍 Keywords

Stoplight Elements, Express middleware, API documentation, OpenAPI documentation, Swagger alternative, Redoc alternative, interactive API docs, REST API documentation, developer portal, API explorer, Express.js documentation, API reference, documentation generator, API visualization, OpenAPI 3.0, OpenAPI 3.1

📄 License

MIT

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