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OpenAPI specification

As explained in LLMs in Production

OpenAPI is a specification standard for describing HTTP APIs so that their operations, inputs, outputs, and security requirements can be understood by tools and clients.

OpenAPI turns an HTTP API into a standardized description that tools and clients can consume. It makes operations, inputs, outputs, authentication, and other usage details easier to expose consistently. section 7.4.1

A practical use case is connecting an external API to an LLM. OpenAI Plugins required an OpenAPI config file plus ai-plugin.json, hosted alongside the API, so ChatGPT could discover and call the service. section 7.4.1

Use OpenAPI to:

  • Standardize an API so customers, clients, and tooling can understand how to consume it. section 7.4.1
  • Support tool selection and external API calls, while recognizing that tool construction and prompting remain error-prone. section 7.4.1

How LLMs in Production covers it

How deep it goes
Defines the standard’s role and integration workflow but does not detail its schema or implementation.
Examples
Uses an OpenAPI config file, ai-plugin.json, hosted APIs, and ChatGPT plugin registration as concrete integration artifacts.
What it assumes
Assumes an API to describe and teaches why standardizing that API helps external consumers.
What you can do after
Apply it via an OpenAPI configuration to make an API easier for external tools and clients to consume.
How it connects
Connects HTTP APIs with API clients, authentication, LLM tools, and ChatGPT plugins.
Cover of LLMs in Production
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