Documentation Standard
Structure, navigation, manifests, minimum content expectations, and maintainable documentation patterns for open source projects.
Community standards for open infrastructure
Practical standards for projects that need to last.
OSSI develops lightweight, usable specifications for documentation, releases, security, and maintainability in open source. The goal is not bureaucracy. The goal is shared language, predictable practice, and healthier projects.
Open source has plenty of tools. What it often lacks is operational clarity: what good documentation looks like, how releases should be prepared, what maintainers should check, and how projects can signal trust without adding unnecessary weight.
Standards library
Small specifications with real project value.
Release Standard
Release notes, versioning hygiene, changelog structure, artifacts, migration guidance, and release readiness checks.
Security Standard
Security policy expectations, disclosure routes, dependency posture, vulnerability handling, and project-facing security signals.
Maintainability Standard
Issue triage, labels, contributor onboarding, repository health, project ownership, and long-term maintenance continuity.
How OSSI works
Designed like public infrastructure, not product marketing.
Readable first
Every standard should be understandable by maintainers, contributors, reviewers, and project teams without requiring specialist interpretation.
Implementation-ready
Specifications include checklists, schema examples, repository guidance, and adoption notes so teams can apply them directly.
Versioned openly
Standards are developed in the open, versioned over time, and kept compatible with practical repository workflows.
Workbench
From specification to adoption.
- Reference schemasMachine-readable JSON and YAML structures for project metadata and documentation manifests.
- Repository templatesStarter layouts for projects adopting OSSI-aligned documentation, releases, and maintenance practices.
- Review checklistsPlain-language review tools for maintainers, contributors, and project stewards.
- Adoption guidesStep-by-step paths for applying standards without reorganizing an entire project at once.
Journal
Notes on durable open source practice.
Why Open Source Needs Operational Standards
Open source projects do not only need code. They need shared expectations for how documentation, releases, security, and maintenance work in practice.
Designing Standards That Maintainers Will Actually Use
A useful standard should meet maintainers where they are: busy, resource-constrained, and responsible for practical decisions.
Documentation as Project Infrastructure
Documentation is not a side asset. It is one of the primary systems through which an open source project explains itself.
Participate
Help define the baseline for durable open source.
OSSI is community-developed and practical by design. Contributors can propose standards, improve examples, test adoption workflows, review drafts, or bring project experience into the specification process.
Visit osstandards.com