manage-openapi-overlays

name: manage-openapi-overlays description: Use when creating, applying, or using overlays to customize SDK generation without editing the source spec. Triggers on "create overlay", "apply overlay", "overlay file", "customize SDK", "can't modify spec", "x-speakeasy extensions", "fix with overlay", "overlay fix", "overlay apply" license: Apache-2.0

Overlays let you customize an OpenAPI spec for SDK generation without modifying the source. This skill covers creating overlay files, applying them to specs, and using them to fix validation errors.

Authentication

Set SPEAKEASY_API_KEY env var or run speakeasy auth login.

When to Use

You need to customize SDK output but cannot modify the source spec
Adding x-speakeasy extensions for grouping, naming, or retries
Fixing lint issues without editing the original file
Applying an existing overlay file to a spec
Testing overlay changes before adding to workflow
Lint errors exist but the source spec cannot be edited
Adding missing descriptions, tags, or operation names via overlay
User says: "create overlay", "apply overlay", "customize SDK", "can't modify spec", "fix with overlay"

Inputs

Input	Required	Description
Target spec	Yes	OpenAPI spec to customize or fix
Customizations	Depends	Changes to apply (groups, names, retries, descriptions)
Overlay file	Depends	Existing overlay to apply (for apply workflow)
Lint output	Helpful	Validation errors to fix (for fix workflow)

Outputs

Output	Description
Overlay file	YAML file with JSONPath-targeted changes
Modified spec	Transformed OpenAPI spec (when applying)

Commands

Generate an Overlay by Comparing Specs

speakeasy overlay compare -b <before-spec> -a <after-spec> -o <output-overlay>

Use this when you have a modified version of a spec and want to capture the differences as a reusable overlay.

Apply an Overlay to a Spec

speakeasy overlay apply -s <spec-path> -o <overlay-path> --out <output-path>

Validate an Overlay

speakeasy overlay validate -o <overlay-path>

Creating an Overlay Manually

Create an overlay file with this structure:

overlay: 1.0.0
info:
  title: My Overlay
  version: 1.0.0
actions:
  - target: "$.paths['/example'].get"
    update:
      x-speakeasy-group: example
      x-speakeasy-name-override: getExample

Each action has a target (JSONPath expression) and an update (object to merge) or remove (boolean to delete the target).

Example: SDK Method Naming and Grouping

overlay: 1.0.0
info:
  title: SDK Customizations
  version: 1.0.0
actions:
  - target: "$.paths['/users'].get"
    update:
      x-speakeasy-group: users
      x-speakeasy-name-override: list
  - target: "$.paths['/users'].post"
    update:
      x-speakeasy-group: users
      x-speakeasy-name-override: create
  - target: "$.paths['/users/{id}'].get"
    update:
      x-speakeasy-group: users
      x-speakeasy-name-override: get
  - target: "$.paths['/users/{id}'].delete"
    update:
      x-speakeasy-group: users
      x-speakeasy-name-override: delete
      deprecated: true

This produces SDK methods: sdk.users.list(), sdk.users.create(), sdk.users.get(), sdk.users.delete().

Example: Apply Overlay

# Apply overlay and write merged spec
speakeasy overlay apply -s openapi.yaml -o sdk-overlay.yaml --out openapi-modified.yaml

# Compare two specs to generate an overlay
speakeasy overlay compare -b original.yaml -a modified.yaml -o changes-overlay.yaml

Using in Workflow (Recommended)

Instead of applying overlays manually, add them to .speakeasy/workflow.yaml:

sources:
  my-api:
    inputs:
      - location: ./openapi.yaml
    overlays:
      - location: ./naming-overlay.yaml
      - location: ./grouping-overlay.yaml

Overlays are applied in order. Later overlays can override earlier ones. This approach ensures overlays are always applied during speakeasy run.

Common Fix Patterns

Use overlays to fix validation issues when you cannot edit the source spec.

Issue	Overlay Fix
Poor operation names	Add `x-speakeasy-name-override` to the operation
Missing descriptions	Add `summary` or `description` to the operation
Missing tags	Add `tags` array to the operation
Need operation grouping	Add `x-speakeasy-group` to operations
Need retry config	Add `x-speakeasy-retries` to operations or globally
Deprecate an endpoint	Add `deprecated: true` to the operation
Add SDK-specific metadata	Add any `x-speakeasy-*` extension

Fix Workflow

# 1. Validate the spec to identify issues
speakeasy lint openapi --non-interactive -s openapi.yaml

# 2. Create an overlay file targeting each issue (see patterns above)

# 3. Add overlay to workflow.yaml under sources.overlays

# 4. Regenerate the SDK
speakeasy run --output console

JSONPath Targeting Reference

Target	Selects
`$.paths['/users'].get`	GET /users operation
`$.paths['/users/{id}'].*`	All operations on /users/{id}
`$.paths['/users'].get.parameters[0]`	First parameter of GET /users
`$.components.schemas.User`	User schema definition
`$.components.schemas.User.properties.name`	Name property of User schema
`$.info`	API info object
`$.info.title`	API title
`$.servers[0]`	First server entry

What NOT to Do

Do NOT use overlays for invalid YAML/JSON syntax errors -- fix the source file
Do NOT try to fix broken $ref paths with overlays -- fix the source spec
Do NOT use overlays to fix wrong data types -- this is an API design issue
Do NOT try to deduplicate schemas with overlays -- requires structural analysis
Do NOT ignore errors that require source spec fixes -- overlays cannot solve everything
Do NOT modify source OpenAPI specs directly if they are externally managed
Do NOT use a speakeasy overlay create command -- it does not exist

Troubleshooting

Error	Cause	Solution
"target not found"	JSONPath does not match spec structure	Verify exact path and casing by inspecting the spec
Changes not applied	Overlay not in workflow	Add overlay to `sources.overlays` in `workflow.yaml`
"invalid overlay"	Malformed YAML	Check overlay structure: needs `overlay`, `info`, `actions`
YAML parse error	Invalid overlay syntax	Check YAML indentation and quoting
No changes visible	Wrong target path	Use `$.paths['/exact-path']` with exact casing
Errors persist after overlay	Issue not overlay-appropriate	Check if the issue requires a source spec fix instead
Overlay order conflict	Later overlay overrides earlier	Reorder overlays in `workflow.yaml` or merge into one file