Offering a standardized set of API support for consumers to tap into helps ensure that onboarding is as frictionless as possible while helping build trust with consumers. Support can be as simple as email, or as structured as a ticketing system, but whatever is offered, it should work to keep API consumers taken care of throughout their journey.

Also known as: Help, Helpdesk, Customer Service

Example

- type: Support
  url: https://support.example.com/

Standards

• schema.org schema.org ContactPoint
• schema.org schema.org contactType (customer support)
• IETF RFC 9457 — Problem Details for HTTP APIs
• IETF RFC 7807 — Problem Details (obsoleted by 9457)
• IETF RFC 8288 — Web Linking
• IANA IANA Link Relation — help

HTTP Headers

Media Types

• application/problem+json — RFC 9457
• application/problem+xml — RFC 9457

OpenAPI Expression

• info.contact.url (OpenAPI 3.x) — Often points to a support portal or contact form.
• info.contact.email (OpenAPI 3.x) — Direct support mailbox for the API.
• externalDocs (OpenAPI 3.x) — Frequently references a support / help center URL.

Link Relations

• help — IANA (HTML 4.01 origin)

Governance Rules

• oas-info-contact (Spectral built-in) — info.contact must be present so consumers can reach support.
• oas-info-contact-properties (Spectral built-in) — info.contact should include name, url, and email.

Risk & Compliance

Compliance:

• GDPR Art. 12 — transparent communication channels for data-subject requests
• SOC 2 CC2.2 — internal and external communication of responsibilities

Security: Support channels are a frequent social-engineering target. Verify identity before resetting credentials; never accept tokens or full card numbers in ticket bodies; sanitize attachments.

Tools

• Zendesk — Ticketing platform
• Intercom — Messaging / support
• Freshdesk — Ticketing platform
• HubSpot Service Hub — CRM / support
• Jira Service Management — Service desk
• GitHub Support — Provider helpdesk

Suggested Metrics

• first_response_p50_hours — Median time to a human first response on a ticket.
• time_to_resolution_p90_hours — 90th-percentile time from ticket open to resolved.
• csat_score — Customer satisfaction score on closed tickets.
• deflection_rate — Share of help-center visitors who do not open a ticket.

Example Implementations

• Stripe — 24/7 chat plus email support tied to dashboard identity.
• Twilio — Tiered support plans with SLAs.
• GitHub — support.github.com with separate enterprise channels.
• AWS — AWS Support API for programmatic case management.

Related Properties

• Contact
• Forums
• Status
• Error codes
• Sla

Tags

• Support
• Help
• Troubleshooting

All Common Properties