Smithy

Windows · Mac · Linux

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Freedom report

One barScore 5.2

Free tierNo free tier on record
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedThinly documented

Smithy is ranked #19 of 26 in API design tools on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.

Compared on API design tools

OpenAPI support: Yes
Team collaboration: Yes

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The record

Product: Smithy is an open-source, protocol-agnostic interface definition language and toolset for defining APIs and generating clients, servers, and documentation.
Code generation: A single model can generate type-safe client SDKs in ten languages, server code, API reference documentation, OpenAPI, and JSON Schema.
API protocols: The same service model can support REST JSON, RPC v2 CBOR, AWS JSON, and AWS Query/XML protocols.
Governance: Smithy validates model standards during smithy build and checks model revisions for backward compatibility.
Modeling: Smithy supports resource-based API modeling, which can be used to generate artifacts including CloudFormation schemas, SDKs, and documentation.
AWS use: Smithy says it was created and is used at AWS, and that it powers AWS APIs and SDKs.
License: The project is open source under the Apache 2.0 license.
CLI: The Smithy CLI can build models, run ad hoc validation, compare models, and query models without requiring users to set up Java or Smithy Gradle Plugins.
Supported CLI platforms: The Smithy CLI is supported on macOS x86 and ARM, Linux x86 and ARM, and Windows x64.
Download verification: Smithy CLI release archives are PGP-signed and hashed, and the installation guide describes verifying their signatures and checksums.
Integrations: Smithy build configurations can load extensions and code generators through Maven dependencies and plugins, including AWS-specific dependencies and an OpenAPI generator.
Support: The CLI guide directs users with suggestions or issues to create an issue in the Smithy GitHub repository.
Intended users: Smithy is presented for teams defining service APIs and generating SDKs, server code, and documentation across programming languages.

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best API Design Tools in 2026#19 of 26

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Sources

smithy.io· checked 4 Oct 2026
smithy.io/2.0/guides/smithy-cli/index.html· checked 4 Oct 2026
smithy.io/2.0/guides/smithy-cli/cli_installation.· checked 4 Oct 2026
smithy.io/2.0/guides/smithy-build-json.html· checked 4 Oct 2026