API Commons Governance Rules
The 776 rules of the openly-governed API Commons catalog, written in the ruleset format specified by OpenLint. Each rule is a single, testable assertion about an API artifact, spanning 12 artifact types from OpenAPI and AsyncAPI to APIs.json, JSON Schema, Arazzo, MCP, and agent skills. Rules ship at info by default — educate first, then raise to warn or error to enforce. Expand any rule for its full definition; each one has its own link to share.
Run these rules
The same catalog runs everywhere — on the command line, in the browser, over HTTP, from an AI client, or as a CI gate. Bundle rules by experience ruleset, or extend the built-ins.
CLI
Lint locally or in CI with the OpenLint CLI (or Spectral). Download an experience ruleset and run it.
npx openlint lint api.yaml --ruleset <ruleset>Browser validator
Lint in the browser — no install — with AI fixes and utilities.
validator.apicommons.org →No rules match that filter.
OpenAPI · 469 rules
REST API descriptions — paths, operations, schemas, and security.
APIs.json · 106 rules
API discovery metadata — providers, APIs, and their artifacts.
AsyncAPI · 75 rules
Event-driven API descriptions — channels, messages, and operations.
Arazzo · 33 rules
API workflow descriptions — multi-step calls across operations.
JSON Schema · 9 rules
JSON Schema documents — types, constraints, and validation.
JSON Structure · 12 rules
JSON Structure documents — data shapes and modeling.
JSON-LD · 6 rules
Linked-data JSON — context, identifiers, and vocabularies.
MCP · 14 rules
Model Context Protocol servers — tools, resources, and prompts.
Plans · 13 rules
API product plans — tiers, limits, and pricing.
Rate Limits · 10 rules
Rate-limit descriptions — quotas, windows, and policies.
FinOps · 11 rules
FinOps artifacts — cost, usage, and billing governance.
Agent Skill · 18 rules
Agent skills — SKILL.md metadata and tooling.