Best / API documentation
Best open-source API documentation
The best self-hosted API-docs split in the c17.io catalog is Docusaurus for MIT product docs (the published ReadMe / Mintlify stack), Starlight when you want that MIT Astro theme, Scalar when the job is MIT OpenAPI references (the published SwaggerHub / Stoplight stack), and Swagger UI when you want that Apache-2.0 renderer. This is not ReadMe's every hub SKU or SwaggerHub's every contract SKU. A team wiki stays on /best/docs-wiki. A static marketing site stays on /best/static-site-hosting.
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Ranked picks
1
DocusaurusMIT docs site generator — the c17 ReadMe / Mintlify path. /compare/docusaurus-vs-starlight.
When to pick it: Product docs you build and serve.
66,576 stars in the catalog
2
StarlightMIT Astro documentation theme — /compare/docusaurus-vs-starlight.
When to pick it: Docs if you already live in Astro.
9,468 stars in the catalog
3
ScalarMIT OpenAPI references and client — the c17 SwaggerHub / Stoplight path.
When to pick it: A spec you render, not a docs site.
16,316 stars in the catalog
4
Swagger UIApache-2.0 OpenAPI renderer already named on /stacks/scalar-api-docs.
When to pick it: A classic Swagger page in front of a file.
29,045 stars in the catalog
How they compare
| Tool | License | Self-host | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Docusaurus | MIT License | Easy | Product docs you build and serve. |
| Starlight | MIT License | Easy | Docs if you already live in Astro. |
| Scalar | MIT License | Easy | A spec you render, not a docs site. |
| Swagger UI | Apache License 2.0 | Easy | A classic Swagger page in front of a file. |
Related pages
- Docusaurus / Starlight stack
- Scalar / Swagger UI stack
- Hoppscotch / Bruno stack
- Hugo / Zola + Caddy stack
- Replace ReadMe
- Replace Mintlify
- Replace SwaggerHub
- Replace Stoplight
- Replace Postman
- Replace Insomnia
- Replace GitHub Pages
- Replace Cloudflare Pages
- Replace Carrd
- Docusaurus vs Starlight
- All best open-source pages
- All compare pages
- All replace pages
- All stacks
- Tools catalog
FAQ
- Docusaurus or Starlight?
- Docusaurus if you want the published ReadMe path. Starlight if you want Astro — /compare/docusaurus-vs-starlight.
- ReadMe or SwaggerHub?
- Product docs stay on /replace/readme-com. An OpenAPI reference stays on /replace/swaggerhub.
- Is this GitBook?
- A team wiki stays on /replace/gitbook (Docmost). This page is docs you build or a spec you render.
- Are these free?
- Docusaurus, Starlight, and Scalar are MIT. Swagger UI is Apache-2.0. You pay hosting. Template users never pay c17.
- How do I deploy it?
- Open /stacks/docusaurus-docs for product docs or /stacks/scalar-api-docs for OpenAPI. Serve the build or the spec.
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