Unveiling ClearlyDefined: this free SBOM service gets cleared for takeoff

With all the buzz around SBOMs and Open Source supply chain compliance and security, a new revolution is igniting at ClearlyDefined. This amazing project has been flying under the radar since its inception six years ago, but now this free service and open source project from the Open Source Initiative (OSI) gets cleared for takeoff with the launch of a new website focused on stellar documentation, excellent engineering, and healthy community growth.

Generating SBOMs at scale for each stage on the supply chain, for every build or release, has proven to be a real challenge for organizations. And fixing the same missing or wrongly identified licensing metadata over and over again has been a redundant pain for everyone. This is where ClearlyDefined shines, as it makes it really easy for organizations to fetch a cached copy of licensing metadata for each component through a simple API, which is always up-to-date thanks to its crowdsourced database.

The all-new ClearlyDefined website was completely revamped to welcome community members and foster collaboration united by a shared vision of Open Source excellence. The website is divided into three sections: Docs, Resources, and Community.

Under Docs, both new and existing community members will find several comprehensive guides and tutorials. The main guide is “Getting involved,” where members will embark on a journey to learn how to use the data, curate the data, contribute data, contribute code, add a harvest and adopt practices. The “Roles” guide provides a detailed description of how different roles can master ClearlyDefined, from data consumer and data curator to data contributor and code contributor. Other guides that will expand in the coming months include the “Curation” and “Harvest” guides. Curation is the process of fixing or identifying missing licensing metadata and sharing that with the community, while harvest is the process of fetching licensing metadata directly from the source (package managers like npm and PyPi), processing the license definitions, and making them available through an API.

Under Resources, members will find a rich collection of content: Blog, FAQ, Glossary, Providers, Architecture and Roadmap. The roadmap was created in collaboration with members of the community, who provided input into what they would like to see in 2024 and how they would be able to contribute towards these goals.

Under Community, members will find links to various channels where they can engage with others online or in-person: GitHub, Forum, Events and Meetings. They’ll also find a list of other community members with whom they can forge connections, as well as the Code of Conduct and the project Charter.

We would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to our existing community members who have been instrumental with the launch of the new website and welcome new ones who are learning about the project. Besides expanding the “Curation” and “Harvest” guides, next steps include enhancing the user experience by implementing sitewide search and adding case studies filled with rich media. Come and join the ClearlyDefined community here and get ready to take off together with us. Let’s define the future of Open Source, one definition at a time!