b2KIT

API Schema Visualizer

Paste OpenAPI/Swagger JSON and visualize endpoints, request/response schemas as interactive diagrams.

Tested tool guide Tested browser tools Checked August 16, 2026

What API Schema Visualizer does, with a checked example

Paste an OpenAPI or Swagger JSON document and this renders every path, method, and referenced schema as a connected diagram: one node per endpoint, one node per object definition, with edges showing which endpoint sends or returns which schema. It resolves $ref pointers so nested and reused schemas appear as their own linked nodes instead of inline blobs. The most common surprise is a spec with $ref targets outside the pasted document (external files, other services) - those nodes render empty or unlinked, since the tool only resolves references it can find inside what you pasted.

Worked example

A concrete input and expected output from the current implementation.

Input

{
  "openapi": "3.0.0",
  "info": {"title": "Demo", "version": "1.0.0"},
  "paths": {
    "/users": {
      "get": {
        "summary": "List users",
        "responses": {
          "200": {
            "description": "OK",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "type": "array",
                  "items": {"$ref": "#/components/schemas/User"}
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "components": {
    "schemas": {
      "User": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "id": {"type": "integer"},
          "name": {"type": "string"}
        }
      }
    }
  }
}

Expected output

One endpoint node, 'GET /users' (summary: List users), with an edge to a 200-response schema node labeled 'User' (array), which lists two fields: id - integer, name - string.

The $ref in the response schema points to components/schemas/User inside the same document, so the visualizer resolves it into its own node with the two declared properties rather than showing the response as an unresolved reference.

How the result is produced

1

Parsing and reference resolution

The pasted JSON is read as an OpenAPI 3.x or Swagger 2.0 document: paths (and their methods) become the endpoint list, and components/schemas (or definitions in Swagger 2.0) become the reusable schema pool. Every $ref pointer inside the document is matched against that pool and resolved so a schema used by three endpoints appears as one shared node with three edges, not three separate copies.

2

Diagram layout

Each endpoint node shows its method, path, and summary; each schema node lists its properties and types, sourced directly from the spec's declared property names and type keywords. Edges connect an operation to its request-body schema and to each response schema. Rendering happens in the browser from the pasted text, so nothing is sent anywhere for the diagram to appear.

Good uses

  • Reviewing a third-party API's OpenAPI file before writing an integration, to see every endpoint and its request/response shape without reading raw JSON top to bottom.
  • Checking your own service's generated Swagger/OpenAPI output before publishing docs, to spot schemas that aren't linked from any endpoint or endpoints missing a response schema.
  • Getting oriented in an unfamiliar codebase's API surface by pasting its spec and following the diagram from an endpoint into its nested object definitions.

Limits and checks

  • $ref pointers to files or URLs outside the pasted document can't be resolved, so those schema nodes will show up empty, unlinked, or missing entirely.
  • Specs with hundreds of paths produce a correspondingly large diagram; at that scale the layout can become dense enough that tracing a single endpoint's edges by eye is impractical.
  • Polymorphic constructs (oneOf, anyOf, allOf) describe conditional or composed shapes - depending on how the tool renders them, the diagram may flatten or simplify that branching, so don't treat the node's field list as the only valid shape without checking the source spec.

Common questions

Does it accept YAML, since most OpenAPI files I have are .yaml?

The tool is described as taking OpenAPI/Swagger JSON specifically, so paste JSON. If your spec is in YAML, convert it to JSON first (most OpenAPI editors and CLI tools, e.g. swagger-cli or yq, can do this) before pasting it here.

Will it tell me if my spec is invalid or violates the OpenAPI schema?

No - this is a visualizer, not a validator. A malformed or non-conformant section is more likely to be skipped or shown incomplete than flagged with a specific error. Use a dedicated OpenAPI validator or linter first if you need conformance checking.

References and verification

The example and behavioral notes were checked against the browser implementation. Standards and primary references below define the relevant format, formula, or platform behavior.

Related Tools