# Describe Your API with OpenAPI

By Ben Ramsey

- **Date:** May 20, 2026
- **Event:** [PHP Tek](https://2026.phptek.io)
- **Venue:** Sheraton Suites Chicago O'Hare

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- [View slides](https://speakerdeck.com/ramsey/describe-your-api-with-openapi-php-tek-2026)
- [Download PDF](https://files.benramsey.com/talks/2026/php-tek/ben-ramsey-openapi-phptek2026.pdf)
- [Read feedback](https://joind.in/event/php-tek-2026/describe-your-api-with-openapi)

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No matter how big or small your API, no matter the audience, internal or external, you need to provide clear and precise documentation for your API. Since its inception as Swagger, OpenAPI has seen wide adoption as the de facto specification for describing APIs. Whether your API is yet to be built or has been around for a decade, you can use OpenAPI to document all the parts of your APIs.

In this talk, I’ll introduce you to the basic concepts of OpenAPI, we’ll use it to create documentation for a simple API, and I’ll leave you with a few tips, tricks, and gotchas I’ve learned along the way. You should be able to take what you’ve learned and immediately begin describing your APIs with OpenAPI.