The APIs.json modified date property should be updated to the current date and time anytime a property of the contract is changed. The modified date should demonstrate the short-term freshness of the details of an API contract, and the longer the gap between modified date and the current date, will warrant the certification of a contract to ensure it’s validity.
Every change made to an APIs.json should update the modified date, no matter how minor, and will vary in scope depending if API contract properties use the inline data store or reference external artifacts. The modified date will only increment for properties stored within the APIs.json business artifact, and is just one of several contract properties used to manage the change of our APIs.