MockServer supports OpenAPI v3.0 specifications in either JSON or YAML format.

Note: MockServer uses the swagger-parser library, which targets OpenAPI 3.0.x and has partial support for OpenAPI 3.1. Most 3.1 specifications load, but some 3.1-only constructs (such as $ref siblings, type as an array, and the webhooks top-level key) may not be fully handled. If you hit validation or parsing issues, try converting your specification to OpenAPI 3.0.x.

OpenAPI specifications can be used in request matchers for

OpenAPI specifications can also be used to generate expectations with example responses.

 

Generate Expectations From OpenAPI

MockServer supports open api expectations containing the follow fields:

  • specUrlOrPayload - mandatory value containing an OpenAPI v3 specifications in either JSON or YAML format as an:
  • operationsAndResponses
    • optional value that specifies which specifies operations are included, if not specified all operations are included
    • specified which response body when multiple response bodies are specified (i.e. different status codes), if not specified the first response body is used
    • fields names are operationId indicating the operation in the OpenAPI specification
    • field values are a string statusCode (such as "200", "400" or "default") indicating the response body for the specified operation

For each open api expectations MockServer creates multiple request matcher expectations as follows:

  • request matcher
  • action
    • a response action is added to each expectation using examples provided in the specification
    • if no examples are provided in the specification then the response is auto-generated from schema definitions for response body and headers of the operation
    • if multiple response bodies are specified for an operation (i.e. different status codes) the first response body is used by default, however this can be controlled by using operationsAndResponses

 

If an OpenAPI specification is submitted with operation filtering as follows:

{
    "specUrlOrPayload": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mock-server/mockserver-monorepo/master/mockserver/mockserver-integration-testing/src/main/resources/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json",
    "operationsAndResponses": {
        "showPetById": "200",
        "createPets": "500"
    }
}

Then the following expectations are created:

{
  "priority": 0,
  "httpRequest": {
    "specUrlOrPayload": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mock-server/mockserver-monorepo/master/mockserver/mockserver-integration-testing/src/main/resources/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json",
    "operationId": "showPetById"
  },
  "httpResponse": {
    "statusCode": 200,
    "headers": {
      "content-type": [
        "application/json"
      ]
    },
    "body": {
      "id": 0,
      "name": "some_string_value",
      "tag": "some_string_value"
    }
  },
  "times": {
    "unlimited": true
  },
  "timeToLive": {
    "unlimited": true
  }
}
{
  "priority": 0,
  "httpRequest": {
    "specUrlOrPayload": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mock-server/mockserver-monorepo/master/mockserver/mockserver-integration-testing/src/main/resources/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json",
    "operationId": "createPets"
  },
  "httpResponse": {
    "statusCode": 500,
    "headers": {
      "content-type": [
        "application/json"
      ]
    },
    "body": {
      "code": 0,
      "message": "some_string_value"
    }
  },
  "times": {
    "unlimited": true
  },
  "timeToLive": {
    "unlimited": true
  }
}
 
new MockServerClient("localhost", 1080)
    .upsert(
        openAPIExpectation(
            "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mock-server/mockserver-monorepo/master/mockserver/mockserver-integration-testing/src/main/resources/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json"
        )
    );
var mockServerClient = require('mockserver-client').mockServerClient;
mockServerClient("localhost", 1080).openAPIExpectation({
    "specUrlOrPayload": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mock-server/mockserver-monorepo/master/mockserver/mockserver-integration-testing/src/main/resources/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json"
}).then(
    function () {
        console.log("expectation created");
    },
    function (error) {
        console.log(error);
    }
);

See REST API for full JSON specification

curl -v -X PUT "http://localhost:1080/mockserver/openapi" -d '{
    "specUrlOrPayload": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mock-server/mockserver-monorepo/master/mockserver/mockserver-integration-testing/src/main/resources/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json"
}'

See REST API for full JSON specification

Map<String, String> operationsAndResponses = new HashMap<>();
operationsAndResponses.put("showPetById", "200");
operationsAndResponses.put("createPets", "500");
new MockServerClient("localhost", 1080)
    .upsert(
        openAPIExpectationWithStringResponses(
            "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mock-server/mockserver-monorepo/master/mockserver/mockserver-integration-testing/src/main/resources/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json",
            operationsAndResponses
        )
    );
var mockServerClient = require('mockserver-client').mockServerClient;
mockServerClient("localhost", 1080).openAPIExpectation({
    "specUrlOrPayload": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mock-server/mockserver-monorepo/master/mockserver/mockserver-integration-testing/src/main/resources/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json",
    "operationsAndResponses": {
        "showPetById": "200",
        "createPets": "500"
    }
}).then(
    function () {
        console.log("expectation created");
    },
    function (error) {
        console.log(error);
    }
);

See REST API for full JSON specification

curl -v -X PUT "http://localhost:1080/mockserver/openapi" -d '{
    "specUrlOrPayload": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mock-server/mockserver-monorepo/master/mockserver/mockserver-integration-testing/src/main/resources/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json",
    "operationsAndResponses": {
        "showPetById": "200",
        "createPets": "500"
    }
}'

See REST API for full JSON specification

new MockServerClient("localhost", 1080)
    .upsert(
        openAPIExpectation(
            "file:/Users/jamesbloom/git/mockserver/mockserver/mockserver-core/target/test-classes/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json"
        )
    );
var mockServerClient = require('mockserver-client').mockServerClient;
mockServerClient("localhost", 1080).openAPIExpectation({
    "specUrlOrPayload": "file:/Users/jamesbloom/git/mockserver/mockserver/mockserver-core/target/test-classes/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json"
}).then(
    function () {
        console.log("expectation created");
    },
    function (error) {
        console.log(error);
    }
);

See REST API for full JSON specification

curl -v -X PUT "http://localhost:1080/mockserver/openapi" -d '{
    "specUrlOrPayload": "file:/Users/jamesbloom/git/mockserver/mockserver/mockserver-core/target/test-classes/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json"
}'

See REST API for full JSON specification

new MockServerClient("localhost", 1080)
    .upsert(
        openAPIExpectation("org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json")
    );
var mockServerClient = require('mockserver-client').mockServerClient;
mockServerClient("localhost", 1080).openAPIExpectation({
    "specUrlOrPayload": "org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json"
}).then(
    function () {
        console.log("expectation created");
    },
    function (error) {
        console.log(error);
    }
);

See REST API for full JSON specification

curl -v -X PUT "http://localhost:1080/mockserver/openapi" -d '{
    "specUrlOrPayload": "org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json"
}'

See REST API for full JSON specification

new MockServerClient("localhost", 1080)
    .upsert(
        openAPIExpectation(FileReader.readFileFromClassPathOrPath("/Users/jamesbloom/git/mockserver/mockserver/mockserver-core/target/test-classes/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json"))
    );
var fs = require('fs');
try {
    var mockServerClient = require('mockserver-client').mockServerClient;
    mockServerClient("localhost", 1080).openAPIExpectation({
        "specUrlOrPayload": fs.readFileSync("/Users/jamesbloom/git/mockserver/mockserver/mockserver-core/target/test-classes/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json", "utf8")
    }).then(
        function () {
            console.log("expectation created");
        },
        function (error) {
            console.log(error);
        }
    );
} catch (e) {
    console.log('Error:', e.stack);
}

See REST API for full JSON specification

curl -v -X PUT "http://localhost:1080/mockserver/openapi" -d "{
    \"specUrlOrPayload\": `cat /Users/jamesbloom/git/mockserver/mockserver/mockserver-core/target/test-classes/org/mockserver/openapi/openapi_petstore_example.json`
}"

See REST API for full JSON specification

new MockServerClient("localhost", 1080)
    .upsert(
        openAPIExpectation("---\n" +
            "openapi: 3.0.0\n" +
            "info:\n" +
            "  version: 1.0.0\n" +
            "  title: Swagger Petstore\n" +
            "  license:\n" +
            "    name: MIT\n" +
            "servers:\n" +
            "  - url: http://petstore.swagger.io/v1\n" +
            "paths:\n" +
            "  /pets:\n" +
            "    get:\n" +
            "      summary: List all pets\n" +
            "      operationId: listPets\n" +
            "      tags:\n" +
            "        - pets\n" +
            "      parameters:\n" +
            "        - name: limit\n" +
            "          in: query\n" +
            "          description: How many items to return at one time (max 100)\n" +
            "          required: false\n" +
            "          schema:\n" +
            "            type: integer\n" +
            "            format: int32\n" +
            "      responses:\n" +
            "        '200':\n" +
            "          description: A paged array of pets\n" +
            "          headers:\n" +
            "            x-next:\n" +
            "              description: A link to the next page of responses\n" +
            "              schema:\n" +
            "                type: string\n" +
            "              examples:\n" +
            "                two:\n" +
            "                  value: \"/pets?query=752cd724e0d7&page=2\"\n" +
            "                end:\n" +
            "                  value: \"\"\n" +
            "          content:\n" +
            "            application/json:\n" +
            "              schema:\n" +
            "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pets'\n" +
            "        '500':\n" +
            "          description: unexpected error\n" +
            "          headers:\n" +
            "            x-code:\n" +
            "              description: The error code\n" +
            "              schema:\n" +
            "                type: integer\n" +
            "                format: int32\n" +
            "                example: 90\n" +
            "          content:\n" +
            "            application/json:\n" +
            "              schema:\n" +
            "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
            "        default:\n" +
            "          description: unexpected error\n" +
            "          content:\n" +
            "            application/json:\n" +
            "              schema:\n" +
            "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
            "    post:\n" +
            "      summary: Create a pet\n" +
            "      operationId: createPets\n" +
            "      tags:\n" +
            "        - pets\n" +
            "      requestBody:\n" +
            "        description: a pet\n" +
            "        required: true\n" +
            "        content:\n" +
            "          application/json:\n" +
            "            schema:\n" +
            "              $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pet'\n" +
            "          '*/*':\n" +
            "            schema:\n" +
            "              $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pet'\n" +
            "      responses:\n" +
            "        '201':\n" +
            "          description: Null response\n" +
            "        '400':\n" +
            "          description: unexpected error\n" +
            "          content:\n" +
            "            application/json:\n" +
            "              schema:\n" +
            "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
            "        '500':\n" +
            "          description: unexpected error\n" +
            "          content:\n" +
            "            application/json:\n" +
            "              schema:\n" +
            "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
            "        default:\n" +
            "          description: unexpected error\n" +
            "          content:\n" +
            "            application/json:\n" +
            "              schema:\n" +
            "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
            "  /pets/{petId}:\n" +
            "    get:\n" +
            "      summary: Info for a specific pet\n" +
            "      operationId: showPetById\n" +
            "      tags:\n" +
            "        - pets\n" +
            "      parameters:\n" +
            "        - name: petId\n" +
            "          in: path\n" +
            "          required: true\n" +
            "          description: The id of the pet to retrieve\n" +
            "          schema:\n" +
            "            type: string\n" +
            "        - in: header\n" +
            "          name: X-Request-ID\n" +
            "          schema:\n" +
            "            type: string\n" +
            "            format: uuid\n" +
            "          required: true\n" +
            "      responses:\n" +
            "        '200':\n" +
            "          description: Expected response to a valid request\n" +
            "          content:\n" +
            "            application/json:\n" +
            "              schema:\n" +
            "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pet'\n" +
            "              examples:\n" +
            "                Crumble:\n" +
            "                  value:\n" +
            "                    id: 2\n" +
            "                    name: Crumble\n" +
            "                    tag: dog\n" +
            "                Boots:\n" +
            "                  value:\n" +
            "                    id: 3\n" +
            "                    name: Boots\n" +
            "                    tag: cat\n" +
            "        '500':\n" +
            "          description: unexpected error\n" +
            "          content:\n" +
            "            application/json:\n" +
            "              schema:\n" +
            "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
            "        default:\n" +
            "          description: unexpected error\n" +
            "          content:\n" +
            "            application/json:\n" +
            "              schema:\n" +
            "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
            "components:\n" +
            "  schemas:\n" +
            "    Pet:\n" +
            "      type: object\n" +
            "      required:\n" +
            "        - id\n" +
            "        - name\n" +
            "      properties:\n" +
            "        id:\n" +
            "          type: integer\n" +
            "          format: int64\n" +
            "        name:\n" +
            "          type: string\n" +
            "        tag:\n" +
            "          type: string\n" +
            "      example:\n" +
            "        id: 1\n" +
            "        name: Scruffles\n" +
            "        tag: dog\n" +
            "    Pets:\n" +
            "      type: array\n" +
            "      items:\n" +
            "        $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pet'\n" +
            "    Error:\n" +
            "      type: object\n" +
            "      required:\n" +
            "        - code\n" +
            "        - message\n" +
            "      properties:\n" +
            "        code:\n" +
            "          type: integer\n" +
            "          format: int32\n" +
            "        message:\n" +
            "          type: string\n")
    );
}
var mockServerClient = require('mockserver-client').mockServerClient;
mockServerClient("localhost", 1080).openAPIExpectation({
    "specUrlOrPayload": "---\n" +
        "openapi: 3.0.0\n" +
        "info:\n" +
        "  version: 1.0.0\n" +
        "  title: Swagger Petstore\n" +
        "  license:\n" +
        "    name: MIT\n" +
        "servers:\n" +
        "  - url: http://petstore.swagger.io/v1\n" +
        "paths:\n" +
        "  /pets:\n" +
        "    get:\n" +
        "      summary: List all pets\n" +
        "      operationId: listPets\n" +
        "      tags:\n" +
        "        - pets\n" +
        "      parameters:\n" +
        "        - name: limit\n" +
        "          in: query\n" +
        "          description: How many items to return at one time (max 100)\n" +
        "          required: false\n" +
        "          schema:\n" +
        "            type: integer\n" +
        "            format: int32\n" +
        "      responses:\n" +
        "        '200':\n" +
        "          description: A paged array of pets\n" +
        "          headers:\n" +
        "            x-next:\n" +
        "              description: A link to the next page of responses\n" +
        "              schema:\n" +
        "                type: string\n" +
        "              examples:\n" +
        "                two:\n" +
        "                  value: \"/pets?query=752cd724e0d7&page=2\"\n" +
        "                end:\n" +
        "                  value: \"\"\n" +
        "          content:\n" +
        "            application/json:\n" +
        "              schema:\n" +
        "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pets'\n" +
        "        '500':\n" +
        "          description: unexpected error\n" +
        "          headers:\n" +
        "            x-code:\n" +
        "              description: The error code\n" +
        "              schema:\n" +
        "                type: integer\n" +
        "                format: int32\n" +
        "                example: 90\n" +
        "          content:\n" +
        "            application/json:\n" +
        "              schema:\n" +
        "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
        "        default:\n" +
        "          description: unexpected error\n" +
        "          content:\n" +
        "            application/json:\n" +
        "              schema:\n" +
        "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
        "    post:\n" +
        "      summary: Create a pet\n" +
        "      operationId: createPets\n" +
        "      tags:\n" +
        "        - pets\n" +
        "      requestBody:\n" +
        "        description: a pet\n" +
        "        required: true\n" +
        "        content:\n" +
        "          application/json:\n" +
        "            schema:\n" +
        "              $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pet'\n" +
        "          '*/*':\n" +
        "            schema:\n" +
        "              $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pet'\n" +
        "      responses:\n" +
        "        '201':\n" +
        "          description: Null response\n" +
        "        '400':\n" +
        "          description: unexpected error\n" +
        "          content:\n" +
        "            application/json:\n" +
        "              schema:\n" +
        "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
        "        '500':\n" +
        "          description: unexpected error\n" +
        "          content:\n" +
        "            application/json:\n" +
        "              schema:\n" +
        "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
        "        default:\n" +
        "          description: unexpected error\n" +
        "          content:\n" +
        "            application/json:\n" +
        "              schema:\n" +
        "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
        "  /pets/{petId}:\n" +
        "    get:\n" +
        "      summary: Info for a specific pet\n" +
        "      operationId: showPetById\n" +
        "      tags:\n" +
        "        - pets\n" +
        "      parameters:\n" +
        "        - name: petId\n" +
        "          in: path\n" +
        "          required: true\n" +
        "          description: The id of the pet to retrieve\n" +
        "          schema:\n" +
        "            type: string\n" +
        "        - in: header\n" +
        "          name: X-Request-ID\n" +
        "          schema:\n" +
        "            type: string\n" +
        "            format: uuid\n" +
        "          required: true\n" +
        "      responses:\n" +
        "        '200':\n" +
        "          description: Expected response to a valid request\n" +
        "          content:\n" +
        "            application/json:\n" +
        "              schema:\n" +
        "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pet'\n" +
        "              examples:\n" +
        "                Crumble:\n" +
        "                  value:\n" +
        "                    id: 2\n" +
        "                    name: Crumble\n" +
        "                    tag: dog\n" +
        "                Boots:\n" +
        "                  value:\n" +
        "                    id: 3\n" +
        "                    name: Boots\n" +
        "                    tag: cat\n" +
        "        '500':\n" +
        "          description: unexpected error\n" +
        "          content:\n" +
        "            application/json:\n" +
        "              schema:\n" +
        "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
        "        default:\n" +
        "          description: unexpected error\n" +
        "          content:\n" +
        "            application/json:\n" +
        "              schema:\n" +
        "                $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error'\n" +
        "components:\n" +
        "  schemas:\n" +
        "    Pet:\n" +
        "      type: object\n" +
        "      required:\n" +
        "        - id\n" +
        "        - name\n" +
        "      properties:\n" +
        "        id:\n" +
        "          type: integer\n" +
        "          format: int64\n" +
        "        name:\n" +
        "          type: string\n" +
        "        tag:\n" +
        "          type: string\n" +
        "      example:\n" +
        "        id: 1\n" +
        "        name: Scruffles\n" +
        "        tag: dog\n" +
        "    Pets:\n" +
        "      type: array\n" +
        "      items:\n" +
        "        $ref: '#/components/schemas/Pet'\n" +
        "    Error:\n" +
        "      type: object\n" +
        "      required:\n" +
        "        - code\n" +
        "        - message\n" +
        "      properties:\n" +
        "        code:\n" +
        "          type: integer\n" +
        "          format: int32\n" +
        "        message:\n" +
        "          type: string\n"
}).then(
    function () {
        console.log("expectation created");
    },
    function (error) {
        console.log(error);
    }
);

See REST API for full JSON specification

 

Incremental / Idempotent Re-import

Calling PUT /mockserver/openapi with a spec you have already imported is safe and idempotent. MockServer performs an incremental sync rather than duplicating expectations:

  • Updated in place — operations that already exist are replaced with the latest generated response.
  • New operations added — operations added to the spec since the last import are created.
  • Removed operations pruned — expectations for operations that are no longer present in the spec are automatically deleted.
  • Other expectations untouched — manually created expectations and expectations from other specs are never affected.

Incremental sync is scoped by spec identity. MockServer assigns each OpenAPI-generated expectation a stable id of the form openapi:<specKey>:<operationId>, where specKey is derived from the spec title (lowercased, non-alphanumeric characters replaced with _) or, when no title is present, from an 8-character hash of the spec URL or payload. Re-importing a spec with the same title updates exactly those expectations; importing a differently titled spec creates a separate namespace of expectations and does not affect the first.

This means you can safely call PUT /mockserver/openapi on every test run or CI build — you will always end up with a consistent set of mock expectations matching the current spec, with no stale duplicates.

 

OpenAPI Callbacks (Webhooks)

When an OpenAPI specification includes callbacks on an operation, MockServer automatically generates webhook expectations that send HTTP requests to the callback URLs after the main response is returned. This allows you to simulate webhook-style interactions where an API notifies the client asynchronously after processing a request.

The callback URL, method, and request body are derived from the OpenAPI callback definition. OpenAPI runtime expressions (such as {$request.body#/callbackUrl}) are resolved at callback fire-time using values from the triggering request. Supported expressions:

  • {$request.body#/<json-pointer>} — extracts a value from the triggering request body using a JSON Pointer
  • {$request.query.<name>} — query parameter value from the triggering request
  • {$request.header.<name>} — header value from the triggering request
  • {$request.path.<name>} — path parameter value (best-effort)
  • {$request.method} — HTTP method of the triggering request
  • {$url} — reconstructed URL of the triggering request

Expressions that cannot be resolved (unknown format, missing values) are replaced with an empty string. Response-based expressions ({$response.body#/...}) are not currently supported because the response is not available at after-action dispatch time.

For example, given the following OpenAPI specification with a callback:

paths:
  /subscribe:
    post:
      operationId: createSubscription
      requestBody:
        content:
          application/json:
            schema:
              type: object
              properties:
                callbackUrl:
                  type: string
                  format: uri
      responses:
        '201':
          description: Subscription created
          content:
            application/json:
              schema:
                type: object
                properties:
                  id:
                    type: string
      callbacks:
        onEvent:
          '{$request.body#/callbackUrl}':
            post:
              requestBody:
                content:
                  application/json:
                    schema:
                      type: object
                      properties:
                        event:
                          type: string
                        subscriptionId:
                          type: string
              responses:
                '200':
                  description: Callback acknowledged

MockServer will create:

  1. An expectation matching POST /subscribe that returns a 201 response with an auto-generated body
  2. An after-action (webhook) that sends a POST request to the callback URL with an auto-generated request body based on the callback schema

This feature works automatically when loading OpenAPI specifications via any method (REST API, Java client, initializer file, or classpath). No additional configuration is required.

 

Generate Expectations From WSDL (SOAP)

MockServer supports WSDL 1.1 documents as an alternative to OpenAPI for generating mock expectations. Submitting a WSDL causes MockServer to create one expectation per SOAP operation found across all service/port bindings in the document.

Both SOAP 1.1 and SOAP 1.2 bindings are supported. Each generated expectation:

  • Matches POST requests to the path taken from the soap:address (or soap12:address) location attribute, plus one of:
    • the SOAPAction header (SOAP 1.1), when a soapAction is declared on the binding operation;
    • the action parameter of the content-type header (SOAP 1.2), when a soapAction is declared;
    • or an XPath body check on the operation element local-name (fallback when no SOAP action is declared in the WSDL).
  • Responds with HTTP 200 and a skeleton SOAP envelope containing a <{Operation}Response/> element in the WSDL target namespace.

The WSDL document is parsed with XXE protections (DOCTYPE and external entity resolution disabled) so that importing an untrusted WSDL cannot trigger an XML External Entity attack.

MockServer returns HTTP 201 with the created expectations as JSON.

 
curl -v -X PUT "http://localhost:1080/mockserver/wsdl" \
  -H "content-type: text/xml" \
  --data-binary @my-service.wsdl

The request body must be a raw WSDL 1.1 XML document. MockServer returns 201 Created with the generated expectations as JSON.