---
kind: guide
status: active
---

# API Documentation

> **Status:** Scaffold only. The canonical gateway contract has not yet been migrated into this directory.

This directory is the single API documentation boundary. `OPENAPI.yaml` will be the machine-readable contract, and `ENDPOINTS.md` will provide the human-readable endpoint, authentication, permission, and error index. Neither file exists here yet; do not describe this scaffold as a complete API reference.

## Start here

- [Documentation atlas](../README.md) — placement rules and source-of-truth boundaries.
- [Documentation sitemap](../SITEMAP.md) — current API transition status and authority-gated backlog.
- [Documentation catalog audit](../reports/documentation/2026-08-10-docs-catalog-audit.md) — current API artifact inventory and migration evidence.

## Contract map

| Artifact                                       | Purpose                                                           | Status                                                  |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| `OPENAPI.yaml`                                 | Canonical machine-readable HTTP/WebSocket API contract.           | Planned; not present yet.                               |
| `ENDPOINTS.md`                                 | Human index for endpoint behavior, auth, permissions, and errors. | Planned; not present yet.                               |
| [`../openapi-tess.yaml`](../openapi-tess.yaml) | Legacy Tess-scoped OpenAPI artifact with 17 paths.                | Migration candidate; not the complete gateway contract. |

A contract migration must verify paths, schemas, authentication, permissions, error behavior, and generated/client references before the legacy artifact is retired. Keep scoped contracts explicitly labeled if they remain alongside the consolidated contract.

## Authoring boundary

New API contracts belong here. Use `OPENAPI.yaml` for machine-readable authority and `ENDPOINTS.md` for human-readable constraints that OpenAPI cannot fully express. Guide books may explain usage workflows, but must link back to this directory rather than copying endpoint definitions.

## Related

- [[README|Documentation contract]]
- [[DEVELOPER-GUIDE/architecture/README|Architecture index]]
- [[ADMIN-GUIDE/security/README|SSO provider chapter]]
