# Generate the API reference from the handlers

Reference documentation generated from the code it describes, so the two cannot disagree.

Category: Documentation and knowledge
Source: https://letsship.ai/use-cases/generate-the-api-reference
Published: 2026-08-25

## Goal

Generate the API reference from the handlers rather than maintaining it by hand.

## Acceptance criteria

- The reference is generated by a committed command
- Generation runs in the pipeline and fails when output is stale
- The hand-written reference it replaces is removed
- Prose that generation cannot produce is kept in a separate, linked file

## What lands as proof

A pipeline check failing on a stale reference, which is what removes drift as a possibility.

## Prompt

Copy this to an agent to open the ticket:

```text
Create a Linear issue in my team and assign it to the SHIP agent.

Title: Generate the API reference from code

Description: Generate the API reference from the handlers rather than maintaining it by hand.

Acceptance criteria:
- The reference is generated by a committed command
- Generation runs in the pipeline and fails when output is stale
- The hand-written reference it replaces is removed
- Prose that generation cannot produce is kept in a separate, linked file

Before you create the issue, check whether this repository's API reference is hand-written and how far it has drifted.
```

## Questions

### What does the agent actually change?

The ticket is scoped to one outcome: generate the API reference from the handlers rather than maintaining it by hand. Work that serves that outcome is in scope, and anything outside it is left for a separate ticket, so the pull request stays reviewable.

### How do I know the work is done?

The pull request carries the evidence, not only the diff. Here that means reference and code cannot drift apart again, so a reviewer can confirm the result without reproducing the work locally.

### How much oversight does this need?

None is required before the run starts. Every claim this ticket makes can be checked by machine, so the agent works straight through and a person reviews the finished pull request like any other.