XrmToolSuite.ApiDocumentationBuilder 1.2026.7.12

📘 API Documentation Builder

A read-only XrmToolBox plugin that documents a Dataverse environment's Custom APIs (parameters, response properties, binding, and backing plugin) as a redaction-safe reference and a best-effort OpenAPI 3.0-style JSON spec. It is the OpenAPI + redaction specialist of the suite — complementary to the Custom API Explorer, which browses and (confirmation-gated) invokes APIs. This tool never invokes an API: secret-named parameters are masked in examples and the spec, free-text bearer tokens and URL query strings (SAS / HTTP-trigger secrets) are stripped, and the operator can add their own redaction terms.

Features

Exports

BCL-only — this tool has no export dependency chain (no ClosedXML/PdfSharp/MigraDoc). All formats are produced as plain strings using the base class library and Newtonsoft.Json, so the tool ships as a single DLL. Redaction is applied before anything is written.

Word/PDF via the sanctioned ClosedXML/PdfSharp chains are a documented future extension — this tool does not ship them today.

Help & Support

A right-aligned Help button on the toolbar opens the shared suite Help & Support dialog (Documentation, Report an issue, and a support link, each opened via Process.Start). The control implements IHelpPlugin and IGitHubPlugin, so XrmToolBox's own tool-menu links resolve to the same GitHub project (kkora/XrmToolSuite).

Build & install

This tool is a single DLL — the shared core is compiled in, so there is no ClosedXML/PdfSharp chain to ship alongside it.

Build and deploy straight into your local XrmToolBox in one step:

dotnet build src\Tools\XrmToolSuite.ApiDocumentationBuilder\XrmToolSuite.ApiDocumentationBuilder.csproj -c Release -p:DeployToXTB=true

Then restart XrmToolBox and open API Documentation Builder. For manual/other-machine installs copy only XrmToolSuite.ApiDocumentationBuilder.dll into %AppData%\MscrmTools\XrmToolBox\Plugins (flat in the Plugins root, not a subfolder), Unblock-File it, and restart. Do not copy Newtonsoft.Json.dll or any Microsoft.Xrm.* / Microsoft.Crm.* DLLs — XrmToolBox already ships them.

Full steps and troubleshooting: ./DEPLOYMENT.md and the suite-wide Deployment_Guide_XrmToolBox.md.

Usage

1. Connect to the environment whose Custom APIs you want to document.
2. (Optional) Add any extra redaction terms — comma/semicolon-separated name fragments for parameters your org treats as secret (added to the built-in secret/token/apikey/… heuristics); matching parameter values are masked as ***REDACTED*** in every output.
3. Load Custom APIs — read and documented off the UI thread; they appear in the left list (unchecked).
4. In the left panel, search and check the APIs you want (or Select all — which, while a search is active, checks just the filtered rows). The preview and exports include only the checked APIs.
5. Preview the Markdown / HTML source / OpenAPI JSON; click Open in browser to see the rendered HTML.
6. Export to Markdown, HTML, raw JSON, or OpenAPI JSON — redaction is applied to every output.

Notes & limitations

• Read-only — the tool documents metadata and never invokes an API. To test-invoke a Custom API, use the Custom API Explorer.
• BCL-only — no third-party export dependencies; the tool ships as one DLL.
• The OpenAPI spec is best-effort from Custom API metadata, not a guaranteed live contract — the spec's own description states this.
• Redaction masks secret-named parameters and strips bearer tokens / URL query strings, and is user-controllable, but operators should still review exports before sharing widely.
• The SDK-free model + redaction + emitters (Api/ApiModels.cs, Api/Redactor.cs, Api/ApiDocEmitters.cs, Api/OpenApiEmitter.cs) are unit-tested (testing/UnitTests/ApiDocumentationBuilderTests.cs); the SDK collector (Api/ApiCollector.cs) and the WinForms host are manual-tested against a live connection.
• Unavailable metadata degrades to documented notes rather than a crash; System Customizer or higher is recommended for complete results.