---
title: Supporting the Open Knowledge Format
icon: LuFileCode
description: Scaffold a knowledge base that is conformant with Google's Open Knowledge Format (OKF) from the first commit — without enforcing anything.
---
Open Knowledge ships a starter pack named **`okf`** that scaffolds a knowledge base **conformant with Google's [Open Knowledge Format (OKF)](https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/knowledge-catalog/blob/main/okf/SPEC.md) from the first commit** — without enforcing anything. You get a portable, OKF-ready bundle out of the box, and you stay free to author however you like.

<Callout type="info">
  **OKF here means Google's Open Knowledge _Format_** — a vendor-neutral file-format spec (a directory of markdown files with YAML frontmatter), announced by Google Cloud in June 2026. Read the [OKF v0.1 spec](https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/knowledge-catalog/blob/main/okf/SPEC.md).
</Callout>

## What the pack seeds

Run it with `ok seed --pack okf`. It scaffolds:

| Path | Purpose | Template |
|---|---|---|
| `concepts/` | Durable ideas and definitions | `concept` |
| `references/` | External sources and citations | `reference` |
| `notes/` | Working notes and observations | `note` |
| `welcome.md` | A real typed concept, so a strict OKF consumer has something to accept | — (seeded file) |
| `index.md` | Reserved OKF navigation hub | — (reserved) |
| `log.md` | Reserved OKF change history | — (reserved) |

Each of the three content folders (`concepts/`, `references/`, `notes/`) ships its **own template**, so new docs start with the right `type` and section skeleton already in place — you never hand-set the frontmatter. The conventions also ship as a project-local skill (`open-knowledge-pack-okf`) installed alongside the seed, so your agent learns the pack's discipline without a hand-written `CLAUDE.md`.

## Conformance is pre-populated, not enforced

This is the key design decision. OKF asks exactly one thing of every **non-reserved** document: a **non-empty `type`** in its frontmatter. Reserved `index.md` / `log.md` stay frontmatter-free, and links are standard markdown.

The pack bakes those habits into the seeded content and documents them — but it changes nothing about how Open Knowledge itself behaves:

- Open Knowledge's native frontmatter schema stays **open-shaped**.
- Nothing is **linted** for OKF conformance.

So three habits are all it takes to keep the KB handable to a strict OKF consumer as it grows:

1. Every non-reserved doc carries a non-empty `type`.
2. `index.md` / `log.md` stay lowercase and frontmatter-free.
3. Links use standard markdown (`[text](./path.md)`).

Open Knowledge also accepts `[[wiki-link]]` shorthand as a native superset, and the OKF export normalizes it to standard links — but seeded content uses standard links so the bundle is conformant as-is.

## Further reading

- **[Open Knowledge Format spec](https://github.com/GoogleCloudPlatform/knowledge-catalog/blob/main/okf/SPEC.md)** — the canonical OKF v0.1 specification (Google Cloud).
- **[`STARTER_PACKS` registry](https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge/blob/main/packages/server/src/seed/starter.ts)** — canonical source for the `okf` pack content.
- **[Karpathy's LLM wiki workflow](./karpathy-llm-wiki.mdx)** and **[Entity vault workflow](./entity-vault.mdx)** — other starter-pack-driven workflows in Open Knowledge.
