OAA is an open, portable archive format for original comic art collection data.
Specification release 1.0.0 uses manifest version “1.0”. See the specification, migration guide, and decision index. The base field set is frozen; deferred features are not part of this release.
The reference validator implements 1.0 only. Unsupported versions and incomplete processing are distinct from invalid archives. Historical 0.1 schemas, catalogs, and public tags are retained.
The reference suite checks manifests, paths, identities, unknown optional/provider data, primitive values, embedded sizes, Store/Deflate and ZIP64 handling, bounded processing, version dispatch, and malformed input. It includes the 65,537-byte Deflate trailing-garbage regression and legacy BZIP2 version-dispatch regression. Distribution checks exercise installed-package imports and its bundled schema.
The requirement catalog contains 117 requirements, including 89 with automated rule and expected-finding coverage. The fixtures include five valid definitions and 77 mutation definitions. Tests check source-byte preservation, prohibit extraction/network/process-launch calls in the privacy check, and verify that private marker values do not appear in diagnostics. Diagnostics remain potentially private local output.
The reference implementation does not extract, render, publish, or migrate collections. Verification does not certify any application’s extraction safety, privacy controls, lossless preservation, or independent interoperability. Testing recorded for this release preparation used Windows and Python 3.12; it is not a claim of completed macOS/Linux verification. No application must adopt OAA as a condition of this release.
Release assets are listed on the
specification release
and validator release.
Use each release’s SHA256SUMS to check its attached downloads. GitHub-generated
source downloads are separate from the explicitly named, checksummed source bundles.
The four example .oaa files contain synthetic collection metadata and approved
fixture media. Their embedded SOURCE.md files retain source attribution and
rights information; third-party media is not relicensed. The repository’s
split licenses and names-and-marks policy remain in force.
Independent exchange, the expanded preservation profile, deferred metadata, and MIME registration remain separate follow-ups. This release makes no IANA registration claim. See open questions.