Why the Swagger Pet Store Doesn’t Cut It for Prototyping Enterprise Applications

Let’s face it. We’ve all used the Swagger Pet Store API at some point. It’s like the “Hello World” of OpenAPI demos. Harmless. Kind of charming, even. But if you're trying to build anything close to a serious enterprise application today—and you're still using a mock API designed for adopting imaginary pets—you’re basically trying to prototype a jet engine using LEGO bricks. The Problem With the Pet Store The Pet Store API is everywhere. It shows up in Swagger tutorials, demo videos, and low-code platform walkthroughs. But it doesn’t reflect anything close to what developers actually build for. Think about it: when was the last time you worked on something involving fictional animals? Meanwhile, the real world runs on things like customer onboarding, invoice processing, inventory tracking, HR systems, logistics pipelines… the gritty, structured, interconnected workflows that move actual businesses forward. But try prototyping around those with Swagger’s default sample, and you’ll be improvising half your stack just to make something useful. The “Prototyping Gap” We All Keep Running Into We’re encouraged to fail fast, iterate quickly, and prototype often—but nobody talks about how little support exists for realistic prototyping. Sure, you can roll your own mock data and design fake APIs on the fly, but then you’re wasting time building scaffolding that gets thrown away later. It's like setting up a movie set to test a script—you spend more time constructing fake walls than writing the dialogue. So at Lonti, we asked ourselves: Why are we still faking business logic with pet names and order forms? Why can’t developers just grab real, reusable, enterprise-style APIs and get to work? Introducing APIExplorer.io: Business-Grade APIs for Developers We built apiexplorer.io as a free resource for anyone who wants to build serious apps—without wasting time on mockups or toy APIs. Think CRM pipelines, invoicing systems, inventory flows, and enterprise data models. You can use the APIs however you want—with Postman, Swagger UI, curl, or in your own app stack. And yes, it’s free. All you need is a Lonti account to grab your credentials. We’re not trying to lock you into our tools. This is about making prototyping better—for everyone. Whether you use Lonti’s products (Martini, Bellini, Negroni) or not, we believe real devs deserve real APIs. Prototyping Shouldn’t Feel Like Pretending When you’re building something serious—something that simulates actual workflows across systems—the last thing you need is a demo API that looks like a kid’s coding project. Prototyping with fake data is fine at first, but it becomes a bottleneck fast when you're trying to validate an actual integration or present your work to a team that expects results. With APIExplorer.io, you can skip the pretend phase and start building immediately with APIs that reflect how businesses actually work. What’s Next? We’re expanding the API library constantly. Got a process you’d love to prototype with better tools? Tell us. We’re here for the devs who are tired of pretending their apps are about fluffy dogs and cat adoptions. You’re building apps that connect ERPs, CRMs, and SaaS platforms. It’s time the APIs you prototype with caught up.

Apr 8, 2025 - 04:10

Why the Swagger Pet Store Doesn’t Cut It for Prototyping Enterprise Applications

Let’s face it. We’ve all used the Swagger Pet Store API at some point. It’s like the “Hello World” of OpenAPI demos. Harmless. Kind of charming, even.

But if you're trying to build anything close to a serious enterprise application today—and you're still using a mock API designed for adopting imaginary pets—you’re basically trying to prototype a jet engine using LEGO bricks.

The Problem With the Pet Store

The Pet Store API is everywhere. It shows up in Swagger tutorials, demo videos, and low-code platform walkthroughs. But it doesn’t reflect anything close to what developers actually build for.

Think about it: when was the last time you worked on something involving fictional animals?

Meanwhile, the real world runs on things like customer onboarding, invoice processing, inventory tracking, HR systems, logistics pipelines… the gritty, structured, interconnected workflows that move actual businesses forward. But try prototyping around those with Swagger’s default sample, and you’ll be improvising half your stack just to make something useful.

The “Prototyping Gap” We All Keep Running Into

We’re encouraged to fail fast, iterate quickly, and prototype often—but nobody talks about how little support exists for realistic prototyping. Sure, you can roll your own mock data and design fake APIs on the fly, but then you’re wasting time building scaffolding that gets thrown away later. It's like setting up a movie set to test a script—you spend more time constructing fake walls than writing the dialogue.

So at Lonti, we asked ourselves: Why are we still faking business logic with pet names and order forms? Why can’t developers just grab real, reusable, enterprise-style APIs and get to work?

Introducing APIExplorer.io: Business-Grade APIs for Developers

We built apiexplorer.io as a free resource for anyone who wants to build serious apps—without wasting time on mockups or toy APIs.

Think CRM pipelines, invoicing systems, inventory flows, and enterprise data models. You can use the APIs however you want—with Postman, Swagger UI, curl, or in your own app stack. And yes, it’s free. All you need is a Lonti account to grab your credentials.

We’re not trying to lock you into our tools. This is about making prototyping better—for everyone. Whether you use Lonti’s products (Martini, Bellini, Negroni) or not, we believe real devs deserve real APIs.

Prototyping Shouldn’t Feel Like Pretending

When you’re building something serious—something that simulates actual workflows across systems—the last thing you need is a demo API that looks like a kid’s coding project. Prototyping with fake data is fine at first, but it becomes a bottleneck fast when you're trying to validate an actual integration or present your work to a team that expects results.

With APIExplorer.io, you can skip the pretend phase and start building immediately with APIs that reflect how businesses actually work.

What’s Next?

We’re expanding the API library constantly. Got a process you’d love to prototype with better tools? Tell us. We’re here for the devs who are tired of pretending their apps are about fluffy dogs and cat adoptions.

You’re building apps that connect ERPs, CRMs, and SaaS platforms. It’s time the APIs you prototype with caught up.