Add SOAP documentation from a WSDL file

Transform your WSDL files into reference documentation by integrating them into your project. Give your users the tools they need to make the most of your SOAP APIs with comprehensive reference documentation. Either add individual schema files to your project alongside your other content, or use a classic catalog. The catalog showcases your SOAP APIs alongside OpenAPI and AsyncAPI APIs.

The SOAP API documentation plugin (@redocly/portal-plugin-soap-api) uses a SOAP library to generate documentation from your WSDL files. When you add this plugin to your project, it automatically detects WSDL specification files and includes them as SOAP documentation pages. To be recognized, the specification files must have a .wsdl extension.

Make sure you have the following:

• a package.json file in the root of your project
• the Redocly package for the product you use (such as @redocly/realm) listed as a dependency in the package.json file

To generate reference documentation for WSDL files, you must have the Redocly SOAP API plugin installed in your project. If you are working locally, you must install the plugin using a package manager. If you are working in Reunite, you must add the plugin as a dependency in your package.json file.

When you work in Reunite, you do not need to have a package.json file to build your project. However, if you need to install a plugin that is not included in the standard project, you do need a package.json file. You might work in Reunite and generate SOAP reference documentation from a WSDL file. In that case, you must add a package.json file with the Redocly SOAP API plugin listed as a dependency.

Use the following example package.json file that includes the Redocly SOAP API plugin as a dependency, updating * with the latest version:

{
  "name": "demo project",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "private": true,
  "description": "demo",
  "dependencies": {
    "@redocly/portal-plugin-soap-api": "*"
  }
}

Redocly projects can be previewed locally without installing dependencies. However, to add the Redocly SOAP plugin, you must have both Realm and the SOAP plugin installed as local dependencies.

To install the Redocly SOAP plugin, use one of the following commands, depending on the package manager you are using:

npm install @redocly/portal-plugin-soap-api

After you have installed the plugin in your project, you must also enable it in your redocly.yaml file by adding it to the plugins object.

To enable the Redocly SOAP API plugin in your project, add the following configuration to your redocly.yaml file at the root of your project:

plugins:
  - '@redocly/portal-plugin-soap-api/plugin.js'

To add SOAP API documentation to your project, place the WSDL files in your project, either at the root or in a folder. When you run your project, each WSDL file is served as reference documentation with its own automatically generated sidebar.

You can place the reference inside a custom sidebar alongside your other content, with control over its order and grouping. To do that, add your WSDL file to a sidebars.yaml file. You can also link to the reference from anywhere, such as the navbar, an in-page link, a card, or an API catalog.

A sidebars.yaml file includes only the items you add to it, so add any files you want displayed in that sidebar, including WSDL files. For more information on configuring a sidebars.yaml file for your project, see Sidebar configuration.

You can add a WSDL file to your project with a sidebars.yaml file. Add the page and label keys with the corresponding values for the WSDL file to your sidebars.yaml file, as in the following example:

- page: apis/sample-api.wsdl
  label: Sample API

If you have multiple WSDL files, you can use a group key for each so that the different endpoints are only revealed when selected.

To add multiple WSDL files using group keys, update your sidebars.yaml file as in the following example:

- group: Sample product 1 API
  items:
    - page: apis/sample-api-1.wsdl
      label: Sample product 1 API
- group: Sample product 2 API
  items:
    - page: apis/sample-product-2.wsdl
      label: Sample product 2 API

• API catalog configuration - Organize multiple API descriptions including SOAP services with catalogs for better user experience and navigation
• Sidebar navigation setup - Configure navigation structures to help users discover and access your SOAP API documentation content
• Navbar configuration - Add top-level links to your API references and other pages