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Apache Ossie (formerly Open Semantic Interchange)

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This page is about Apache Ossie (incubating), formerly Open Semantic Interchange (OSI), a JSON and YAML format for sharing metric and data-model definitions between analytics, BI and AI tools [2][20]. It is not the Open Source Initiative or any other project called OSI; the project took the name Ossie to avoid that confusion [21]. For the format agents use to read knowledge pages, see Open Knowledge Format.

Overview

Apache Ossie is a shared file format for business definitions such as datasets, relationships, fields and metrics, so that a metric defined in one analytics tool means the same thing in another [1][2]. For agents it matters because each definition can carry extra context for AI tools, such as instructions, synonyms and example questions, and the project says inconsistent definitions lead AI agents to unreliable answers [1][2]. Snowflake launched it with a group of data and BI vendors, then moved it to the Apache Incubator, where it was renamed from OSI to Ossie [22][16][17]. The specification is still a draft and has had no Apache release, so products that support it today target an earlier version or use converters [1][17][26][25].

Who uses it

Product pages seen live on 2026-10-29. Membership of the Ossie coalition is not counted as use. Snowflake's own guide says: "Most third-party tools do not import OSI directly today." [25]

Who reads it

Statements dated as published. "Vendor says" marks a company speaking about its own work on Ossie.

Recent coverage

See also

References

  1. Apache Ossie Core Specification, core-spec/spec.md (main branch, undated), checked 2026-10-29: "DRAFT version — in development, schema may change before 0.2.0 is released." "Version: 0.2.0.dev0" "Each JSON or YAML document represents exactly one semantic model." "Logical datasets represent business entities or concepts (fact and dimension tables)." "Relationships define how logical datasets are connected through foreign key constraints." "Quantitative measures defined on business data, representing key calculations like sums, averages, ratios, etc." "The `ai_context` field can be either a simple string or a structured object with specific keys:" "Custom extensions allow vendors to add platform-specific metadata without breaking core compatibility." "0.2.0.dev0 (Unreleased): In-development next minor release. Schema is mutable; do not depend on this version in production." "0.1.1 (2025-12-11): Initial release" — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/apache/ossie/main/core-spec/spec.md
  2. apache/ossie, README.md, checked 2026-10-29: "Apache Ossie was formerly known as Open Semantic Interchange (OSI)." "Apache Ossie provides a single JSON- and YAML-based specification that any tool can read and write" "Reference converters that translate between Ossie and other semantic formats (e.g., dbt, GoodData, Polaris, Salesforce) live in the" — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/apache/ossie/main/README.md
  3. apache/ossie, core-spec/ossie-schema.json, checked 2026-10-29: "title": "Apache Ossie Core Metadata Specification" "const": "0.2.0.dev0" — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/apache/ossie/main/core-spec/ossie-schema.json
  4. GitHub API, apache/ossie repository record (UTC), checked 2026-10-29: "created_at": "2025-11-18T23:27:51Z" "spdx_id": "Apache-2.0" — https://api.github.com/repos/apache/ossie
  5. GitHub API, apache/ossie tags, checked 2026-10-29: "name": "osi-0.1.1-rc1" — https://api.github.com/repos/apache/ossie/tags?per_page=100
  6. GitHub API, apache/ossie commit faf5810 (UTC), checked 2026-10-29: "message": "Bump version to 0.1.1" "date": "2026-05-19T22:32:55Z" — https://api.github.com/repos/apache/ossie/commits/faf581054dcf7964d5fe0ceae7d6f415c8ce32a5
  7. GitHub, apache/ossie Releases page, checked 2026-10-29: "There aren't any releases here" — https://github.com/apache/ossie/releases
  8. apache/ossie Discussion #80, OSI Specification Version Change, 2026-02-27, checked 2026-10-29: "We are updating the published OSI specification version from 1.0 to 0.1.1, effective March 6th." "Assigning it version 1.0 implies a level of stability and completeness that does not match our current goals." "khush-bhatia Feb 27, 2026" — https://github.com/apache/ossie/discussions/80
  9. apache/ossie-converters, README.md, checked 2026-10-29: "Reference converters that translate between Apache Ossie semantic models and other semantic formats." — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/apache/ossie-converters/main/README.md
  10. Ossie dev mailing list, "The converters moved to the ossie-converters repository" (lists.apache.org API; time UTC), 2026-10-21, checked 2026-10-29: "I inform you that the converters moved to the ossie-converters repository." "2026/10/21 08:16:38" — https://lists.apache.org/api/email.lua?id=j7dyl0o8qch8tnyj5o4spd1qrjlx7dtv
  11. apache/ossie, DISCLAIMER, checked 2026-10-29: "Apache Ossie is an effort undergoing incubation at the Apache Software Foundation (ASF), sponsored by the Apache Incubator PMC." — https://raw.githubusercontent.com/apache/ossie/main/DISCLAIMER
  12. Apache Incubator, Ossie podling status page, checked 2026-10-29: "Apache Ossie comes from Open Semantic Interchange. It is an open specification that defines a vendor-neutral format for expressing business metrics, dimensions, and their relationships." "2026-06-22 Project enters incubation." "Champion jbonofre JB Onofre Mentors jbonofre JB Onofré. holden Holden Karau. tison Zili Chen. russellspitzer Russell Spitzer" — https://incubator.apache.org/projects/ossie.html
  13. Apache Incubator, Clutch status for Ossie, checked 2026-10-29: "Started: 2026-06-19" "Committers: 17 PPMC members: 7" "Reporting: March, June, September, December" — https://incubator.apache.org/clutch/ossie.html
  14. Apache Whimsy, public podlings data, checked 2026-10-29: "startdate": "2026-06-19" "status": "current" — https://whimsy.apache.org/public/public_podlings.json
  15. Incubator general list, "[VOTE] Accept Ossie into the Apache Incubator" (lists.apache.org API; time UTC), 2026-06-16, checked 2026-10-29: "[VOTE] Accept Ossie into the Apache Incubator" "2026/06/16 13:31:22" "I call for a formal vote to accept Ossie into the Apache Incubator." — https://lists.apache.org/api/email.lua?id=mytp5k22lxnvg8yysnv3ksm54knmxj1w
  16. Incubator general list, "[RESULT][VOTE] Accept Ossie into the Apache Incubator" (lists.apache.org API; time UTC), 2026-06-19, checked 2026-10-29: "[RESULT][VOTE] Accept Ossie into the Apache Incubator" "2026/06/19 06:03:11" "This vote passed with the following result:" — https://lists.apache.org/api/email.lua?id=fjkqj5s23pxx946sxbfqc7218mc9k4or
  17. Apache Incubator, September 2026 board report (Ossie section), checked 2026-10-29: "Ossie has been incubating since 2026-06-19." "(Spec is currently at v0.1, pre-Apache-release.)" "Date of last release: None yet — no Apache release has been made since entering incubation." "The multi-vendor coalition behind Ossie continues to broaden: the contributor/participant base has grown past 50 organizations, well beyond the original launch partners." "The project was deliberately renamed from OSI to "Ossie" ahead of incubation to avoid acronym confusion." — https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/spaces/INCUBATOR/pages/449282805/September2026
  18. Ossie dev mailing list, "First Apache Ossie (incubating) releases" (lists.apache.org API; time UTC), 2026-10-26, checked 2026-10-29: "Re: [DISCUSS] First Apache Ossie (incubating) releases" "2026/10/26 05:21:08" "Now that the converters have moved to apache/ossie-converters, I will start opening pull requests to prepare for a valid ASF release." "0.3.0-incubating" — https://lists.apache.org/api/email.lua?id=nqnnzw42f1f4t35gqd1pxo69b7rpx39p
  19. Ossie dev mailing list, "Publishing the apache-ossie Python package" (lists.apache.org API; time UTC), 2026-10-28, checked 2026-10-29: "Publishing the apache-ossie Python package" "2026/10/28 18:43:40" "I'd like to start a discussion about publishing the apache-ossie Python package (python/ in apache/ossie) to PyPI" — https://lists.apache.org/api/email.lua?id=tvlhmc7x7sqpkzgw4ty4z1cd5hz8s7vs
  20. Apache Ossie, home page, checked 2026-10-29: "Apache Ossie (incubating) is an industry-wide specification effort to standardize how we exchange semantic metadata across analytics, AI and BI platforms, providing a vendor neutral, single source of truth for semantic data." — https://ossie.apache.org/
  21. Apache Ossie, Apache Ossie (Incubating): The New Name for Open Semantic Interchange, 2026-07-10, checked 2026-10-29: "As the community prepared for incubation — the next step in the project's open source journey — they decided to rename the project "Ossie" to avoid confusion with other projects in the open source ecosystem that share the OSI acronym." "July 10, 2026 Josh Klahr" — https://ossie.apache.org/updates/ossie-enters-apache-incubator/
  22. Snowflake press release, Snowflake, Salesforce, dbt Labs, and More, Revolutionize Data Readiness for AI with Open Semantic Interchange Initiative, 2025-09-23, checked 2026-10-29: "September 23, 2025 – Snowflake (NYSE: SNOW), the AI Data Cloud company in partnership with leading industry partners and ecosystem vendors, including Salesforce, BlackRock, dbt Labs, and RelationalAI, announced a bold commitment to lead the Open Semantic Interchange (OSI), a new open source initiative." "Alation, Atlan, BlackRock, Blue Yonder, Cube, dbt Labs, Elementum AI, Hex, Honeydew, Mistral AI, Omni, RelationalAI, Salesforce, Select Star, Sigma, Snowflake, and ThoughtSpot." — https://www.snowflake.com/en/news/press-releases/snowflake-salesforce-dbt-labs-and-more-revolutionize-data-readiness-for-ai-with-open-semantic-interchange-initiative/
  23. Snowflake blog, Open Semantic Interchange (OSI) Specification Finalized (page heading: "Specification Now Live"), 2026-01-27, checked 2026-10-29: "The first version of the OSI specification is now available via an Apache 2 licensed Git repository at https://github.com/open-semantic-interchange/OSI." "We view this specification as a starting point, not an endpoint." "As the initiative matures, we will transition OSI to a neutral, foundation-led governance model." "AtScale, Coalesce, Collate, Credible, Databricks, JetBrains, Lightdash and Qlik." — https://www.snowflake.com/en/blog/open-semantic-interchanges-specs-finalized/
  24. Snowflake Documentation, SYSTEM$CREATE_SEMANTIC_VIEW_FROM_OSSIE_YAML (undated), checked 2026-10-29: "Preview Feature — Open Available to all accounts." "Creates a semantic view from a semantic model specification written in Apache Ossie (incubating) YAML format." — https://docs.snowflake.com/en/sql-reference/stored-procedures/system_create_semantic_view_from_ossie_yaml
  25. Snowflake developer guide, Getting Started with Apache OSI: An Open Source of Truth for Metrics (undated), checked 2026-10-29: "Most third-party tools do not import OSI directly today." — https://www.snowflake.com/en/developers/guides/getting-started-with-apache-osi/
  26. dbt Developer Hub, Apache Ossie semantic layer documents, last updated 2026-09-25, checked 2026-10-29: "dbt v1.12 supports the Apache Ossie standard for defining semantic models and metrics." "Ossie documents must use version 0.1.0 or 0.1.1." — https://docs.getdbt.com/docs/build/ossie-semantic-models
  27. Cube blog, Introducing Apache Ossie Integration, 2026-10-15, checked 2026-10-29: "You can now convert a Cube data model to Apache Ossie and back." "Ossie is a file format, not a semantic layer." "October 15, 2026" — https://cube.dev/blog/introducing-apache-ossie-integration
  28. Cube Documentation, Apache Ossie (modified 2026-10-09), checked 2026-10-29: "Apache Ossie conversion is currently in preview." — https://docs.cube.dev/docs/integrations/apache-ossie
  29. Veezoo, Veezoo & Apache Ossie (undated), checked 2026-10-29: "Veezoo reads Apache Ossie documents as a native source for its Knowledge Graph, the semantic layer behind its agentic analytics." — https://www.veezoo.com/apache-ossie
  30. Honeydew Documentation, Apache Ossie (OSI) (modified 2026-10-04), checked 2026-10-29: "Honeydew provides a bidirectional converter between Apache Ossie and the Honeydew workspace format" "Because Apache Ossie is still evolving, the converter tracks the current draft of the specification and may change as the specification stabilizes." — https://honeydew.ai/docs/integration/apache-ossie-osi
  31. ThoughtSpot blog, ThoughtSpot Joins Apache Ossie (page metadata 2026-07-27; no date shown), checked 2026-10-29: "ThoughtSpot was a founding member of OSI, and we're continuing that commitment under its new name and its new home at the ASF." "Looking ahead, we're building a translation layer between ThoughtSpot Modeling Language (TML)—the format ThoughtSpot uses to define and version semantic models—and the Ossie specification." "This is an active workstream and we'll share specifics as the translation layer takes shape." — https://www.thoughtspot.com/blog/apache-ossie
  32. CIO, Microsoft, Google back Apache Ossie to make enterprise data and AI platforms more interoperable, 2026-10-01, checked 2026-10-29: "Microsoft and Google are joining a project to create an open specification for exchanging semantic models across data, analytics, and AI platforms." "The core specification covers datasets, relationships, fields, and metrics, but doesn't mention row-level security, access policies, or certification status as first-class elements." — https://www.cio.com/article/4229751/microsoft-google-back-apache-ossie-to-make-enterprise-data-and-ai-platforms-more-interoperable.html
  33. The Vertex Journal, Open Semantic Interchange became Apache Ossie: fifty logos, one YAML file, verdict pending, 2026-08-05, checked 2026-10-29: "By The editors · August 5, 2026" "A published spec is not the same thing as native support, and the version number is still below 1.0." — https://www.vertexjournal.com/reviews/osi-fifty-logos-one-yaml/
  34. CIO, Universal semantic layers: critical infrastructure or the next data fabric?, 2026-06-15, checked 2026-10-29: "Opinion Jun 15, 2026" "Yet OSI is still in early development, and major players including Microsoft and SAP haven't signed up." — https://www.cio.com/article/4177840/universal-semantic-layers-critical-infrastructure-or-the-next-data-fabric.html

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