Overview

Buf builds an end-to-end platform for API development centered on Protobuf, gRPC, and Kafka. Its main offering is the Buf Schema Registry (BSR), which provides a single view of Protobuf schemas across all repositories, helping teams collaborate on schemas, dependencies, and Software Development Kits (SDKs). Beyond BSR, Buf offers API discovery, documentation browsing, code generation management, and SDK integration through package managers like NPM and Maven, plus breaking change detection to prevent backward-incompatible API changes from reaching production. The platform targets tech teams of all sizes who want to streamline API development and collaboration. It differentiates itself by tying together schema management, code generation, and change tracking in one platform with cross-repo visibility, aimed at reducing outages and speeding workflows. The goal is to simplify and align API development work so teams can build and evolve APIs safely and efficiently.