--- title: OpenAPI Overlays for Stripping Internal Endpoints Before... description: Internal API endpoints and fields leak not from bad architecture but from manual removal steps that humans forget. OpenAPI Overlays can automate this removal... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/openapi-overlays-for-stripping-internal-endpoints-before-you-publish-2ub7euum8 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: OpenAPI Overlays for Stripping Internal Endpoints Before You Publish | daily.dev og:description: Internal API endpoints and fields leak not from bad architecture but from manual removal steps that humans forget. OpenAPI Overlays can automate this removal... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/openapi-overlays-for-stripping-internal-endpoints-before-you-publish-2ub7euum8 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/2Ub7euUM8.png og:image:alt: OpenAPI Overlays for Stripping Internal Endpoints Before You Publish og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # OpenAPI Overlays for Stripping Internal Endpoints Before You Publish **[API Evangelist](https://daily.dev/sources/apievangelist)** · 4 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Internal API endpoints and fields leak not from bad architecture but from manual removal steps that humans forget. OpenAPI Overlays can automate this removal as a CI build step, making leaks structurally impossible rather than merely unlikely. Two approaches are covered: explicit named removal of specific paths and schema properties, and convention-based removal using an x-internal extension flag. Tools like openapi-filter and Redocly decorators support the convention approach. A key gotcha is that removing operations doesn't automatically clean up dangling $ref references, so post-removal validation in CI is essential. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [OpenAPI Overlays for Filtering One Spec Into Public, Partner, and Internal Audiences](https://daily.dev/posts/openapi-overlays-for-filtering-one-spec-into-public-partner-and-internal-audiences-f5svczuz9) · API Evangelist · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [OpenAPI Overlays for Splitting Public and Internal Documentation](https://daily.dev/posts/openapi-overlays-for-splitting-public-and-internal-documentation-nv1nvt7xd) · API Evangelist · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [OpenAPI Overlays for Separation of Concerns When You Do Not Own the Spec](https://daily.dev/posts/openapi-overlays-for-separation-of-concerns-when-you-do-not-own-the-spec-zhy9th4pq) · API Evangelist · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#cicd](https://daily.dev/tags/cicd), [#openapi](https://daily.dev/tags/openapi) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/openapi-overlays-for-stripping-internal-endpoints-before-you-publish-2ub7euum8) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"OpenAPI Overlays for Stripping Internal Endpoints Before You Publish","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/openapi-overlays-for-stripping-internal-endpoints-before-you-publish-2ub7euum8","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/openapi-overlays-for-stripping-internal-endpoints-before-you-publish-2ub7euum8"},"datePublished":"2026-07-30T02:34:07.440Z","dateModified":"2026-07-31T04:18:22.220Z","description":"Internal API endpoints and fields leak not from bad architecture but from manual removal steps that humans forget. 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