Openness is the experience of an API built on open standards, open source, and transparent practices rather than proprietary walls. Open specifications, permissive licensing, and public tooling let consumers understand, extend, and trust what they are building on. Openness lowers the cost of adoption and raises the ceiling on what an ecosystem can do together. I have always argued for openness because it is what keeps the API economy from collapsing into a handful of closed platforms. Choosing open standards and open source over proprietary shortcuts is a political act as much as a technical one, and it compounds in value across an entire community. The most durable API operations treat openness as a principle, not a marketing checkbox.
Openness
Policies
Open Source Tooling Preferred
Require that an API operation prefers open source tooling and applies open licensing to its definitions, SDKs, and supporting tools wherever practical. Open source lets consumers understand, extend...
Open Standards Adopted
Require that APIs are defined and delivered using open standards such as OpenAPI, AsyncAPI, and JSON Schema rather than proprietary formats. Open specifications lower the cost of adoption, enable i...
Strategies
APIs Avoid Vendor Lock-In
Lock-in is a choice, and I want API operations to choose against it. Building on open standards, avoiding proprietary traps, and giving consumers a clear way out are what let people commit to an AP...
APIs Prefer Open Standards and Open Source
Every proprietary shortcut an API takes becomes a tax paid by everyone downstream. I want API operations to prefer open standards like OpenAPI, AsyncAPI, and JSON Schema, and to lean on open source...
APIs Serve the Public Interest
APIs are increasingly the infrastructure of public and economic life, and that comes with responsibility. I believe API operations should weigh the interests of consumers, communities, and the publ...
