I sat down today with Marc Laventure of Scalar to talk about their API client and documentation offerings, and how they see OpenAPI as a specification. Marc’s taken a slightly different approach than other API clients solutions and centering their solutions on just OpenAPI, rather than creating another spec. I feel like it is a sensible approach and can help reduce the complexity across API operations. Marc also shared his vision for their business model and where they will make money, and how they intend to balance that with their very modular and local open-source solutions–which is something I can get behind.
The energy with new startups tackling the problems in the API space in new and intereting ways is always fun to see. I like Scalar’s approach to balancing the business model and open-source. I like that they are willing to talk out in the open about their beliefs. Their support of OpenAPI is important, and I look forward to seeing what they end up making happen with overlays, workflows, and further enriching the relationship they have going between client and docs that is centered around the OpenAPI spec.
