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Lift Wing API documentation standardization
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Description

This task captures work required to bring the Lift Wing API documentation (currently on Wikitech and api.wikimedia.org) into alignment with the standard documentation patterns defined as part of FY25/26 API and documentation strategy. It excludes work related to OpenAPI-based reference documentation, which is tracked separately (see parent and related tasks).

Baseline metrics and other content analysis details for this API doc collection are at: https://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Technical_Documentation_Team/API_documentation_strategy/Gaps#Lift_Wing_API

IA requirements

  • The landing page supports navigation to each of the types of content required by the guidelines.
  • The sequencing of information in the navigation menu follows the sequence outlined in the guidelines.
  • Each content page (including sandbox/explorer UI) supports navigation back to the API's landing page.

Content requirements

  • The API doc collection has a landing page that includes each piece of content specified in the guidelines. Any content that doesn't appear on https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Machine_Learning/LiftWing/API has been placed elsewhere for reasons specific to this API (see subsequent items about Quick Start and Authentication guides)
  • The API overview section or page covers the minimum required content.
  • The API doc collection includes a quick start tutorial.
    • Quick Start instructions vary by user group, so the standard quick start content is embedded in the audience-specific User Guides.
  • The API doc collection includes an authentication how-to guide.
  • The API doc collection includes recipes or real-world examples for common tasks
    • Updated quick start examples to highlight different query structure for models.
    • Added links to self-contained / stand-alone featured apps that show working code using the API.
    • Created a new ORES to Lift Wing migration guide that integrates and clarifies specific tasks for migration.
  • The API doc collection includes a changelog.
  • The API's documentation content follows the Wikimedia documentation style guide.

Event Timeline

TBurmeister changed the task status from Open to In Progress.Jan 15 2026, 6:10 PM
TBurmeister triaged this task as Medium priority.

First draft of a revised Lift Wing API landing page is now visible and being worked on at https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:TBurmeister_(WMF)/Sandbox/Machine_learning/API.

Status update:

  • Iterated on content, structure, and design of Lift Wing API landing page. The current (final?) draft brings it into alignment with the API doc patterns outlined in the task description checklist.
  • Wrote new overview content and started user guide for "find and understand models" user journey (still an messy draft)
  • Started work on breaking the existing Usage page into two user guides, separated by audience (internal vs. external). The external guide includes the required authentication section, and both contain examples. For this doc collection, these pages will replace the standard "quick start" guide, since the way to start quickly differs by audience.

Change #1260048 had a related patch set uploaded (by Triciaburmeister; author: Triciaburmeister):

[machinelearning/liftwing/inference-services@main] ores-legacy: update doc links

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1260048

Summary of Lift Wing API doc changes

  • Revised content about external usage:
    • Changed usage examples to show only curl instead of including Python and Javascript. Reasoning: most API users can easily translate from curl to other languages, and examples in those languages already exist in the API reference documentation.
    • Changed usage examples to show example calls for models that have different request parameters and output schema, to teach that essential nuance of using Lift Wing API to call different models.
    • Changed authentication content to link to https://api.wikimedia.org/wiki/Authentication. Reasoning: All the information was duplicated there. (This link will be updated when that API portal page is migrated as part of the portal shutdown.)
    • Changed rate limit content to integrate information at https://api.wikimedia.org/wiki/Lift_Wing_API/Rate_limits and existing content that mentions tiers. This section and the related docs need to be updated as the rate limit implementation evolves. See the previous tab in this doc.
    • Updated everything to comply (as much as possible) with Style Guide and API documentation standard patterns.
    • Added links to Reference docs.
  • Revised content about internal usage:
    • Made recommendation about using stat100x nodes more prominent; added link to relevant Data Platform page.
    • Changed rate limit content to integrate information at https://api.wikimedia.org/wiki/Lift_Wing_API/Rate_limits and existing content that mentions tiers.
    • Updated everything to comply (as much as possible) with Style Guide and API documentation standard patterns.
    • Added links to Reference docs.

Old to new content map

https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Machine_Learning/LiftWing/Usage is redirected and replaced by https://wikitech.wikimedia.org/wiki/Machine_Learning/LiftWing/API. Below is a mapping of where the major contents of the old page appear in the new structure:

Page intro section
→ API#Access_policy

#Internal_endpoints
→ Machine_learning/API/Internal_usage

#External_endpoints
→Machine_learning/API/External_usage

#ML_Admins_only
→ Becoming irrelevant as rate limits enforcement is being centralized

#Differences_using_Lift_Wing_instead_of_ORES
→ Machine_learning/API/ORES_migration_tutorial

TBurmeister updated the task description. (Show Details)
TBurmeister moved this task from In progress to Done on the Tech-Docs-Team board.

Change #1260048 merged by jenkins-bot:

[machinelearning/liftwing/inference-services@main] ores-legacy: update doc links

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1260048

Change #1264365 had a related patch set uploaded (by Ilias Sarantopoulos; author: Ilias Sarantopoulos):

[operations/deployment-charts@master] ml-services: update doc links in ores-legacy

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1264365

Change #1264365 merged by Ilias Sarantopoulos:

[operations/deployment-charts@master] ml-services: update doc links in ores-legacy

https://gerrit.wikimedia.org/r/1264365