API Breaking Change Detector

Detect 27 types of API changes — 17 breaking, 10 non-breaking — before they reach production. Runs in CI, in your terminal, or in the browser.

What Are Breaking API Changes?

A breaking change is any modification to an API that causes existing clients to fail. Removing an endpoint, changing a field type from string to integer, or adding a new required parameter — these all break clients that rely on the previous contract.

Breaking changes in production cause outages, support tickets, and lost trust. Delimit catches them at the pull request stage — before merge, before deploy, before anyone notices.

17 Breaking Change Types

TypeDescriptionSeverity
endpoint_removedAn API endpoint was removed entirelyhigh
method_removedAn HTTP method (GET, POST, etc.) was removed from an endpointhigh
required_param_addedA new required parameter was added to an operationhigh
param_removedA parameter was removed from an operationhigh
response_removedA response status code was removedhigh
required_field_addedA new required field was added to a request bodyhigh
field_removedA field was removed from a response schemahigh
type_changedA schema property type was changed (e.g., string to integer)high
format_changedA schema property format was changed (e.g., int32 to int64)medium
enum_value_removedAn allowed enum value was removedhigh
param_type_changedA parameter type was changedhigh
param_required_changedA parameter changed from optional to requiredhigh
response_type_changedA response schema type was changedhigh
security_removedA security requirement was removedmedium
security_scope_removedAn OAuth scope was removed from a security requirementmedium
max_length_decreasedA maxLength constraint was made more restrictivemedium
min_length_increasedA minLength constraint was made more restrictivemedium

10 Non-Breaking Change Types

TypeDescription
endpoint_addedA new API endpoint was added
method_addedA new HTTP method was added to an endpoint
optional_param_addedA new optional parameter was added
response_addedA new response status code was added
optional_field_addedA new optional field was added to a schema
enum_value_addedA new enum value was added
description_changedA description or summary was updated
security_addedA new security requirement was added
deprecated_addedA deprecation marker was added
default_changedA default value was changed

How to Detect Breaking Changes

GitHub Action

Runs on every PR. Posts a comment with all detected changes, severity grades, and migration steps. Blocks merge on breaking changes.

uses: delimit-ai/delimit-action@v1
View on Marketplace →

CLI

Run locally or in any CI pipeline. Returns exit code 1 on policy violation so you can gate deployments.

$ npx delimit-cli lint api.yaml
View on npm →

Playground

Paste two specs in the browser. No install, no account. See results instantly with severity badges and migration guides.

Open Playground →

Stop Shipping Breaking Changes

Add breaking change detection to your CI pipeline in under a minute.

$ npx delimit-cli setup