Creating and Using API Spec Fragments

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Using Anypoint Code Builder, you can create your own API fragments and publish them to Anypoint Exchange to share with other people, add fragments from Exchange to your API specification, or create fragments in your project to add directly to your API specification. Alternatively, you can create and add a fragment directly in your project without publishing it to Exchange.

Anypoint Code Builder does not support the scaffolding of AsyncAPI, Avro, OAS, or JSON schema fragment files that are referenced from API specs. The scaffolder does not add these fragments as project dependencies when you import the specification from Exchange. However, you can scaffold and reference fragments that are specified inline, within the spec. RAML fragments imported from Exchange are not affected by this limitation.

The process for adding a fragment from Exchange is:

Add the API fragment from Exchange to your API spec project as a dependency.
Add the API fragment to your API spec using the $ref (OAS and AsyncAPI) or !include (RAML) directives.

The process for adding a fragment without publishing it to Exchange is:

Create and add a fragment directly in your project without publishing it to Exchange.

Use these examples to explore the functionality of Anypoint Code Builder:

example-oas-fragment API spec fragment
example-oas-api-spec API spec
example-asyncapi-avro-fragment AsyncAPI spec Avro schema fragment
example-asyncapi-spec AsyncAPI spec
example-asyncapi-spec-inline-avro AsyncAPI spec (inline Avro)

Before You Begin

Before adding fragments:

Set up and access the web or desktop IDE.
Understand the basics of designing API specifications.

See the Tutorials for details.
Have some familiarity with business groups.

When you publish your API fragment to Exchange from Anypoint Code Builder, the IDE requests the name of the business group. See Business Groups.

Create an API Fragment and Publish it to Exchange

The process for creating and publishing API spec fragments is similar to the process for API specs.

To create an API spec fragment:

In the activity bar of the IDE, click the (Anypoint Code Builder) icon.
From Quick Actions, click Design an API:
In Design an API, click the API Fragment tab:

Ensure that you select the API Fragment tab.

Complete the API Fragment form:

Field Name Field Value

Field Name	Field Value
Project Name	Unique name for your fragment. This name is used as the fragment title in Exchange and name of the fragment file. For example, if the project name is Example OAS Fragment, the specification file name is `example-oas-fragment`. To reuse an existing project name, you must delete the project that is already using the name first. See Deleting API Specs and Fragments.
Project Location	Your home directory or another directory you create. See Adding Folders to Your Home Directory. Don’t create the project within another project directory.
API Specification Language	See Supported Specification Languages for API Fragments. Select OAS 3.0 (YAML) to use the example in this procedure.
<Language> Syntax	The syntax for the selected language. Select YAML to use the example in this procedure.

Project Name

Unique name for your fragment.

This name is used as the fragment title in Exchange and name of the fragment file. For example, if the project name is Example OAS Fragment, the specification file name is example-oas-fragment.

To reuse an existing project name, you must delete the project that is already using the name first. See Deleting API Specs and Fragments.

Project Location

Your home directory or another directory you create.

See Adding Folders to Your Home Directory.

Don’t create the project within another project directory.

API Specification Language

See Supported Specification Languages for API Fragments.

Select OAS 3.0 (YAML) to use the example in this procedure.

<Language> Syntax

The syntax for the selected language.

Select YAML to use the example in this procedure.

Click Create Project.

If prompted, trust the authors of the files in the folder.

When the project is ready for editing, the API fragment project opens in the Explorer view. For example, this OAS 3.0 (YAML) API fragment:
Continue designing your API fragment.

As you enter elements, use auto-complete (or press Ctrl+Space) to display available options within the context.

If you created an OAS 3.0 (YAML) fragment project, you can replace the initial API fragment with the example code to test adding fragments to a spec.
Publish your fragment to Exchange.

The status bar shows the progress. When complete, you see a message that the API fragment successfully published to Exchange.
Navigate to Anypoint Platform and log in using your credentials.
Show me how
US cloud (non-EU host): Anypoint Platform (US)

EU cloud (EU host): Anypoint Platform (EU)
Navigate to Anypoint Exchange.
Show me how
US cloud (non-EU host): Exchange (US)

EU cloud (EU host): Exchange (EU)
Your API specification appears as an API spec fragment type asset in your organization, for example:
If your API spec appears on Exchange as a REST API rather than an API spec fragment, check that the classifier attribute in the exchange.json file in the project folder in your IDE is set to one of the following, depending on the language:
- OAS: oas-components
- RAML: raml-fragment
- JSON Schema: json-schema
If the attribute is set to one of the following, the project is an API spec rather than a fragment:
- OAS: oas
- RAML: raml

Add a Fragment from Exchange to Your Project

To add an API spec fragment from Exchange to the project directory so that you can include the fragment in your spec:

Open your API spec project file, for example, example-oas-spec.
Open the Command Palette.
Show me how
- Use the keyboard shortcuts:
  
  Mac: Cmd+Shift+p
  
  Windows: Ctrl+Shift+p
- In the desktop IDE, select View > Command Palette.
- In the cloud IDE, click the (menu) icon, and select View > Command Palette.

Enter mulesoft and select the following command:

MuleSoft: Add Fragment dependency from Exchange

If prompted, log in to Anypoint Platform.
In the Search for Asset field, provide the name of the data type asset to add.

To search for assets, type the search term and press Enter, for example:
Select the fragment from the Assets From Exchange menu.
Select a version of the fragment.

The status bar shows the progress. When complete, you see a message that the selected API fragment was successfully added to the project.
Verify that the fragment dependency was added by checking the dependencies section of the exchange.json file, for example:

You can also see the fragment in the Explorer view under Project Dependencies, for example:

The fragment files are located in your home directory on your system in the .exchange_modules directory, for example, ~/.exchange_modules (Mac).

Add an API Fragment to Your API Spec

To add an API spec fragment to a spec:

Open your API spec project file, for example, example-oas-spec.
Place the cursor where you want to add the fragment.

Depending on the API spec language, select the directive to add the fragment to your specification.

OAS and AsyncAPI specs: Use the $ref directive.
RAML specs: Use the !include directive.

OAS Example
RAML Example
AsyncAPI Example

This $ref directive adds the AmericanFlightDataType from example-oas-fragment as a data type:

schema:
  $ref: exchange_modules/e91cab06-650b-4634-9c6f-5bc4f4fc4d17/example-oas-fragment/1.0.0/example-oas-fragment.yaml#/components/schemas/AmericanFlightDataType

This !include directive adds the AmericanFlight object from AmericanFlightDataType.raml as a data type:

types:
  AmericanFlight: !include exchange_modules/68ef9520-24e9-4cf2-b2f5-620025690913/training-american-flight-data-type/1.0.1/AmericanFlightDataType.raml

This $ref directive adds the AmericanFlightDataType from example-asyncapi-fragment as a data type:

payload:
  $ref: exchange_modules/e91cab06-650b-4634-9c6f-5bc4f4fc4d17/example-asyncapi-fragment/1.0.0/example-asyncapi-fragment.json#/components/schemas/AmericanFlightDataType

Use auto-complete (or press Ctrl+Space) to display available options within each context, for example:
To reference an element within a component defined in the fragment file:
1. Select the fragment file name.
2. Enter #/.
3. Press Ctrl+Space.
4. Select the element from the options, for example:

After adding the fragment to your spec, you can:

Navigate to the dependency:

Place the cursor on the fragment reference and press Command+Click. For example:
View the dependency in the API Console:

Place the cursor on the fragment reference and click the (API Console) icon to open the fragment in the console.

For more information, see Review Your Spec in the API Console.

Create and Add a Fragment Directly in Your Spec

To create a fragment in your project and include it in your specification:

Open your API spec project file, for example, example-oas-spec.
In the Explorer view, right-click on an empty space, and create a folder for your fragments, such as fragments.
In the fragments folder, create a new file, such as my-fragment and add your fragment code.
Place the cursor where you want to add the fragment.
Depending on the API spec language, select the directive to add the fragment from the folder to your spec:
- OAS and AsyncAPI specs: Use the $ref directive.
- RAML specs: Use the !include directive.
- OAS Example
- RAML Example
- AsyncAPI Example
This $ref directive adds the api_key object from the my-fragment.yaml file:
api-key: $ref: fragments/my-fragment.yaml#/components/securitySchemes/api_key
This !include directive adds the AmericanFlightsExample.raml example:
examples: output: !include examples/AmericanFlightExample.raml
This $ref directive adds the fragments/my-fragment example:
payload: $ref: fragments/my-fragment
Use auto-complete (or press Ctrl+Space) to display available options within each context, for example:
To reference an element within a component defined in the fragment file:
1. Select the fragment file name.
2. Enter #/.
3. Press Ctrl+Space.
4. Select the element from the options, for example:

After adding the fragment to your spec, you can:

Navigate to the dependency:

Place the cursor on the fragment reference and press Command+Click. For example:
View the dependency in the API Console:

Place the cursor on the fragment reference and click the (API Console) icon to open the fragment in the console.

For more information, see Review Your Spec in the API Console.

Example OAS 3.0 (YAML) API Spec Fragment

If you created an OAS 3.0 (YAML) fragment project, you can replace the initial API fragment with following example code:

Example OAS 3.0 (YAML) API Spec Fragment

openapi: "3.0.0"
info:
  version: 1.0.0
  title: ExampleComponents
paths: {}

components:
  schemas:
    AmericanFlightDataType:
      type: object
      description: American Flight Data Type
      properties:
        ID:
          type: number
        code:
          type: string
        price:
          type: number
        departureDate:
          type: string
        origin:
          type: string
        destination:
          type: string
        emptySeats:
          type: number
        plane:
          type: object
          properties:
            type:
              type: string
            totalSeats:
              type: number
      example:
        ID: 1
        code: ER38sd
        price: 400
        departureDate: 2017/07/26
        origin: CLE
        destination: SFO
        emptySeats: 0
        plane:
          type: Boeing 737
          totalSeats: 150

Example OAS 3.0 (YAML) API Spec

If you created an OAS 3.0 (YAML) API spec project, you can replace the initial API spec with following example code to test adding the API spec fragments:

Example OAS 3.0 (YAML) API Spec

openapi: "3.0.0"
info:
  version: 1.0.0
  title: Example OAS Spec
paths:

  /flights/{ID}:
    get:
      parameters:
        -
          name: ID
          required: true
          in: path
          schema:
            type: string
      responses:
        "200":
          description: "Flight with ID"
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:

Example AsyncAPI Spec Avro Schema Fragment

If you created an Avro schema fragment, you can replace the initial API fragment with following example code:

Example AsyncAPI Spec Avro Schema Fragment

{
  "name": "AmericanFlightDataType",
  "type": "record",
  "fields": [
    {"name": "ID", "type": "int", "example": 1},
    {"name": "code", "type": "string", "example": "ER38sd"},
    {"name": "price", "type": "int", "example": 400},
    {"name": "departureDate", "type": "string", "example": "2017/07/26"},
    {"name": "origin", "type": "string", "example": "CLE"},
    {"name": "destination", "type": "string", "example": "SFO"},
    {"name": "emptySeats", "type": "int", "example": 0},
    {
      "name": "plane",
      "type": {
        "name": "Plane",
        "type": "record",
        "fields": [
          {"name": "type", "type": "string"},
          {"name": "totalSeats", "type": "int"}
        ]
      }
    }
  ]
}

Example AsyncAPI Spec

If you created an AsyncAPI spec project, you can replace the initial API spec with following example code to test adding the API spec fragments:

Example AsyncAPI Spec

asyncapi: 2.6.0
info:
  title: Example AsyncAPI Spec
  version: '1.0.0'
channels:
  myChannel:
    publish:
      message:
        schemaFormat: application/vnd.apache.avro;version=1.9.0
        payload:
          $ref: exchange_modules/e91cab06-650b-4634-9c6f-5bc4f4fc4d17/example-asyncapi-fragment/1.0.0/example-asyncapi-fragment.json

Example AsyncAPI Spec (Inline Avro)

If you created an AsyncAPI spec project, you can replace the initial API spec with following example code to test inlining the API spec fragments:

Example AsyncAPI Spec (Inline Avro)

asyncapi: 2.6.0
info:
  title: Example AsyncAPI Spec (Inline Avro)
  version: '1.0.0'
channels:
  myChannel:
    publish:
      message:
        schemaFormat: 'application/vnd.apache.avro;version=1.9.0'
        payload:
          name: AmericanFlightDataType
          type: record
          fields:
            - name: ID
              type: int
              example: 1
            - name: code
              type: string
              example: ER38sd
            - name: price
              type: int
              example: 400
            - name: departureDate
              type: string
              example: 2017/07/26
            - name: origin
              type: string
              example: CLE
            - name: destination
              type: string
              example: SFO
            - name: emptySeats
              type: int
              example: 0
            - name: plane
              type:
                name: Plane
                type: record
                fields:
                  - name: type
                    type: string
                  - name: totalSeats
                    type: int

Creating and Using API Spec Fragments

Before You Begin

Create an API Fragment and Publish it to Exchange

Add a Fragment from Exchange to Your Project

Add an API Fragment to Your API Spec

Create and Add a Fragment Directly in Your Spec

Example OAS 3.0 (YAML) API Spec Fragment

Example OAS 3.0 (YAML) API Spec

Example AsyncAPI Spec Avro Schema Fragment

Example AsyncAPI Spec

Example AsyncAPI Spec (Inline Avro)

See Also