Stoplight vs Swagger Codegen: What are the differences?

Introduction

This article will compare the key differences between Stoplight and Swagger Codegen, two popular tools for managing and generating documentation for RESTful APIs.

1. Schema Support: The key difference between Stoplight and Swagger Codegen lies in their support for different schema formats. Stoplight supports both OpenAPI (formerly known as Swagger) and JSON Schema, allowing users to define and validate their API schemas using either format. On the other hand, Swagger Codegen is primarily focused on OpenAPI and provides extensive code generation capabilities based on these specifications.

2. Code Generation Capabilities: Stoplight and Swagger Codegen also differ in their code generation capabilities. While both tools offer code generation for various programming languages, Swagger Codegen provides a wider range of options and language support. Swagger Codegen supports more than 50 different programming languages, enabling developers to generate client SDKs, server stubs, and other code artifacts for their API implementation. Stoplight, on the other hand, is more focused on documentation and collaboration features, with limited code generation options.

3. Collaboration and Documentation Features: Stoplight differentiates itself by providing a comprehensive set of collaboration and documentation features for API development. It offers a web-based interface that allows teams to collaborate on API design, documentation, and testing. Stoplight's documentation feature includes a built-in API explorer, API versioning support, and the ability to create reusable API components. Swagger Codegen, however, is primarily focused on code generation and does not provide the same level of collaboration and documentation features as Stoplight.

4. Open Source vs. Commercial Software: Another significant difference between Stoplight and Swagger Codegen is their software licensing model. Swagger Codegen is an open-source project, available under the Apache License 2.0, which allows users to modify and distribute the code. On the other hand, Stoplight is a commercial software product and offers different pricing plans based on the usage and number of team members. This difference in licensing can be a deciding factor for organizations with specific requirements for open-source software usage.

5. Extensibility and Customization: Stoplight and Swagger Codegen also differ in their extensibility and customization options. Swagger Codegen provides a command-line interface (CLI) that allows users to customize the code generation process by providing templates and configuration options. This flexibility enables developers to tailor the generated code to their specific needs. Stoplight, on the other hand, focuses more on providing an intuitive visual interface and may have limited customization options compared to Swagger Codegen.

6. Hosting and Deployment: Stoplight and Swagger Codegen offer different hosting and deployment options for their generated documentation and artifacts. Stoplight provides a cloud-based platform that hosts and deploys the generated documentation to a custom domain. It also offers integration with version control systems like GitHub, allowing teams to manage their API documentation alongside their codebase. Swagger Codegen, on the other hand, generates static HTML and JavaScript files that can be hosted on any web server. Users have the flexibility to choose their preferred hosting and deployment method based on their requirements.

In summary, Stoplight and Swagger Codegen each have their unique strengths. Stoplight focuses on collaboration and documentation features, providing a comprehensive web-based platform for API design, testing, and documentation. Swagger Codegen, on the other hand, excels in code generation capabilities, offering support for a wide range of programming languages and extensive customization options through its CLI. Organizations should consider their specific requirements and priorities to choose the tool that best fits their API development workflow.