API Version Lifecycle
Stop losing track of which API versions are live, deprecated, or mid-sunset.
What changes when you build this
The gaps you're living with today,
and what this tool fixes.
Problems
- Version status is spread across changelogs, wiki pages, and Slack — nobody knows which versions are actually deprecated
- Consumers find out about breaking changes after they break, not before
- Deprecation timelines slip because there's no single view of which consumers still call old endpoints
- Platform engineers spend 30+ minutes per release manually updating version docs and notifying downstream teams
- Sunset decisions get delayed for months because migration progress is invisible
Solutions
- One dashboard shows every API version's status — draft, active, deprecated, sunset — in real time
- Deprecation timelines are visible to consumers and platform teams with automated alerts before deadlines
- Consumer migration progress is tracked per version so sunset decisions are backed by actual traffic data
- Version releases update one source of truth instead of 4+ places manually
- Sunset dates are enforced with clear gates: no version retires until consumer migration hits threshold
Mistakes to avoid
These are the failure patterns teams hit most often
when building this.
Deprecation without consumer notificationFix: Trigger automated alerts to all registered consumers when a version status changes to deprecated.
Deprecation without consumer notification
Fix:Trigger automated alerts to all registered consumers when a version status changes to deprecated.
Sunset date with no migration trackingFix: Block sunset status until consumer migration percentage crosses your threshold — 90% or higher.
Sunset date with no migration tracking
Fix:Block sunset status until consumer migration percentage crosses your threshold — 90% or higher.
Orphaned versions nobody ownsFix: Require an owner assignment for every version; flag unowned versions weekly in standups.
Orphaned versions nobody owns
Fix:Require an owner assignment for every version; flag unowned versions weekly in standups.
Version sprawl from skipped sunsetsFix: Set a maximum active version count per API and surface violations on the dashboard.
Version sprawl from skipped sunsets
Fix:Set a maximum active version count per API and surface violations on the dashboard.
Breaking changes without version bumpFix: Link deployment records to version entries so every breaking change maps to a new version row.
Breaking changes without version bump
Fix:Link deployment records to version entries so every breaking change maps to a new version row.