DOCUMENTATION / API COMPATIBILITY

oasdiff and API code impact analysis answer different questions.

By Soumik Ghosh ยท Published

An OpenAPI diff answers what changed in a contract. Code impact analysis asks which authorized application calls use the changed interface. ParityDiff uses contract findings as input to that second question; it does not make your own tests or review optional.

What does oasdiff check?

oasdiff compares OpenAPI specifications and reports changes, including breaking changes. It also provides changelog and CI integrations. In ParityDiff's OpenAPI path, detector evidence is classified with direction and policy context before supported repository usage is analyzed.

Different checks for different decisions
CheckEvidenceNext question
Contract diffOperation, field, constraint, source revisionDoes my application use this interface?
Repository analysisSupported call-site match and scanned commitWhat behavior does this application need?
Proposal validationSchema, type, and configured runtime resultsAre required checks available and current?
Repository CI and reviewYour application tests and approvalShould this candidate be merged and released?

How is this different from Dependabot?

Dependency update tooling proposes changes to package versions. An upstream specification revision can change without a dependency version update. Contract monitoring and call-site analysis add evidence about that interface; dependency maintenance remains useful alongside it. See GitHub's Dependabot documentation for its package update workflow.

Can a specification diff prove a migration is safe?

No. The application might not call the changed operation, a dynamic call might not be matched, or a proposed replacement might need an explicit business decision. Missing proof stays visible. Inspect the coverage matrix and execution boundaries before relying on any result.

Inspect a proposed migration and compare request and response compatibility.

API compatibility guides and tools

Rule reference