Unused example component (OpenAPI 3.0)

Description

Examples in components.examples are used through a parameter or media type’s examples field. A standalone definition is not automatically applied to the API description at that location.

Potential impact

The example’s purpose may be unclear, leaving outdated data to maintain.

Remediation

Reference examples where needed and check that they match the schema and actual data format. Check use by other documents before removing unnecessary examples.

Examples

These examples reference objectExample from the JSON response’s examples.

Before

json

{
  "openapi": "3.0.0",
  "info": {
    "title": "Simple API Overview",
    "version": "1.0.0"
  },
  "paths": {
    "/": {
      "get": {
        "operationId": "listVersionsv2",
        "summary": "List API versions",
        "responses": {
          "200": {
            "description": "Success",
            "content": {
              "application/json": {
                "schema": {
                  "$ref": "#/components/schemas/MyObject"
                }
              }
            }
          }
        }
      }
    }
  },
  "components": {
    "schemas": {
      "MyObject": {
        "type": "object",
        "properties": {
          "id": {
            "type": "string"
          },
          "name": {
            "type": "string"
          }
        }
      }
    },
    "examples": {
      "objectExample": {
        "value": {
          "id": "1",
          "name": "new object"
        },
        "summary": "A sample object"
      }
    }
  }
}

After