OSSA Specification
Complete technical specification for defining, validating, and deploying AI agents
Version v0.3.3 • The OpenAPI for AI Agents
Current Version
v0.3.3
Latest stable release
Release Date
January 2026
Status
StableWhy This Specification?
The Problem: Every AI framework defines agents differently. LangChain has "chains," CrewAI has "crews," OpenAI has "assistants," Anthropic has different tools. This creates vendor lock-in and makes it impossible to share agents between teams or frameworks.
The Solution: OSSA provides a single, standard way to describe agents that works everywhere. Like OpenAPI revolutionized REST APIs, OSSA revolutionizes AI agents with a vendor-neutral specification.
The Result: Write your agent definition once, deploy it to any framework. Switch providers without rewriting code. Share agents across organizations. True portability and interoperability.
Specification Structure
1. Core Specification
The fundamental structure of an OSSA agent manifest, including metadata, specification, and extensions.
Read Core Specification →2. Schema Reference
Complete JSON Schema definition with all properties, types, constraints, and validation rules.
Explore Schema →3. Platform Extensions
Framework-specific extensions for Cursor, OpenAI, CrewAI, LangChain, Anthropic, Langflow, AutoGen, and more.
View Extensions →4. Validation Rules
Comprehensive validation rules, error messages, and best practices for creating valid agent manifests.
Try Validation →Key Concepts
Agent Manifest
A YAML or JSON file that describes an AI agent, including its role, LLM configuration, tools, and deployment requirements.
apiVersion: ossa/v0.3.3
kind: Agent
metadata:
name: my-agent
spec:
role: You are a helpful assistant
llm:
provider: openai
model: gpt-4Schema Validation
Every agent manifest must conform to the OSSA JSON Schema. Validation ensures correctness, completeness, and compatibility before deployment.
Platform Extensions
Framework-specific extensions allow agents to leverage platform-specific features while maintaining core OSSA compatibility.
Export/Import
Convert OSSA manifests to framework-specific formats (export) or import existing agents into OSSA format for standardization.
Version History
v0.3.3
CurrentDecember 2024
Updated email references, enhanced platform extensions, and improved validation.
v0.2.8
PreviousNovember 2024
Enhanced platform extensions, improved validation, and expanded tool support.
v0.1.9
LegacySeptember 2024
Initial release with basic agent definition structure.