PublicSchema

publicschema.org

Common definitions for public service delivery. Built so programs can coordinate, share data, and reach the people they serve.

What this is

Service delivery systems collect similar data about the same people, but model it differently. PublicSchema provides a shared language: stable definitions, reusable properties, and standardized vocabularies that systems can adopt incrementally.

What's in the vocabulary

• Concepts: semantic entities (Person, Enrollment, PaymentEvent, ...) with clear definitions written for policy practitioners, not developers.
• Properties: named, typed fields that apply to one or more concepts. Defined once and reused.
• Vocabularies: controlled value sets. References international standards (ISO, UN) where they exist. Defines canonical sets where they don't.
• Credential schemas: Verifiable Credential templates for secure data exchange.

Every element gets a stable URI. Everything is optional. Systems adopt what they need.

Quick start

Browse the vocabulary

Visit publicschema.org to explore concepts, properties, and vocabularies.

Build locally

Requires Python 3.12+ (uv), Node.js 22.12+ and just.

just setup      # install Python and Node dependencies
just build      # generate exports and site data from authored LinkML
just dev        # start the dev server

See CONTRIBUTING.md for full development setup and how to add or modify vocabulary entries.

Project structure

schema/                 Authored reference model and supporting data
  publicschema.yaml     Composite LinkML schema and module imports
  core.yaml, ...        Modular LinkML classes, slots, and enums
  credentials.yaml      Credential descriptors
  external/             LinkML partial schemas for external systems
  value_crosswalks/     Authored mappings between value sets
  metric_catalog/       Metric catalog sources
build/                  Python validation and build tools
dist/                   Generated exports (do not edit)
site/                   Astro site, including generated data and public artifacts
tests/                  Python test suite
docs/                   Documentation (rendered on the site)
examples/               Example Verifiable Credentials

For source conventions and examples, see Authoring PublicSchema in LinkML. Edit the source files and regenerate outputs with just build.

License

This project uses a dual license:

• Reference model (everything under schema/): Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
• Code (build tools, site, tests, configuration): Apache License 2.0

See publicschema.org/terms/ for full details.