aid: academy-software-foundation name: Academy Software Foundation description: >- The Academy Software Foundation (ASWF) is a Linux Foundation project that supports open source software development for the motion picture, visual effects, and animation industries. ASWF hosts a portfolio of production-proven open source projects including OpenEXR, OpenVDB, OpenColorIO, OpenTimelineIO, OpenShadingLanguage, MaterialX, and more. These projects form the backbone of modern film and media production pipelines worldwide. type: Index position: Consumer access: 3rd-Party image: https://kinlane-productions2.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg tags: - Animation - Color Management - Film - Linux Foundation - Open Source - Rendering - Standards - Visual Effects - VFX created: '2026-03-16' modified: '2026-04-19' url: >- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/academy-software-foundation/refs/heads/main/apis.yml specificationVersion: '0.19' apis: - aid: academy-software-foundation:openexr name: OpenEXR description: >- OpenEXR is an open standard high-dynamic-range (HDR) image file format specification and reference implementation developed by Industrial Light and Magic. It is the industry standard for visual effects and animation and provides a C++ library for reading and writing EXR image files. humanURL: https://openexr.com/ tags: - Image Format - HDR - Standards - C++ properties: - type: Documentation url: https://openexr.com/ - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openexr - aid: academy-software-foundation:openvdb name: OpenVDB description: >- OpenVDB is an Academy Award-winning open source C++ library for efficient storage and manipulation of sparse volumetric data discretized on three-dimensional grids. It is the industry standard for volumetric effects in film and visual effects production. humanURL: https://www.openvdb.org/ tags: - Volumetric Data - C++ - Rendering - Standards properties: - type: Documentation url: https://www.openvdb.org/documentation/ - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openvdb - aid: academy-software-foundation:opencolorio name: OpenColorIO description: >- OpenColorIO (OCIO) is a complete color management solution geared towards motion picture production, enabling color transforms and image display to be handled in a consistent manner across many applications. It is used by major VFX studios and DCC tools including Maya, Nuke, and Houdini. humanURL: https://opencolorio.org/ tags: - Color Management - Standards - C++ properties: - type: Documentation url: https://opencolorio.readthedocs.io/ - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/OpenColorIO - aid: academy-software-foundation:opentimelineio name: OpenTimelineIO description: >- OpenTimelineIO (OTIO) is an open source API and interchange format for editorial timeline information. It is designed to be more expressive than existing formats while still being easy to read and write, enabling better interoperability between editing tools. humanURL: https://opentimeline.io/ tags: - Editorial - Timeline - Standards - Python properties: - type: Documentation url: https://opentimelineio.readthedocs.io/ - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/OpenTimelineIO - aid: academy-software-foundation:openshadinglanguage name: Open Shading Language description: >- Open Shading Language (OSL) is a small but rich language for programmable shading in advanced renderers and other applications. It is ideal for describing materials, lights, displacement, and pattern generation and is supported by many production renderers. humanURL: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/OpenShadingLanguage tags: - Shading - Rendering - Standards - C++ properties: - type: Documentation url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/OpenShadingLanguage/blob/main/src/doc/osl-languagespec.pdf - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/OpenShadingLanguage - aid: academy-software-foundation:materialx name: MaterialX description: >- MaterialX is an open standard for the exchange of rich material and look-development content between applications and renderers. It provides a language for defining surface and volume shading patterns that can be used across different rendering systems and DCC applications. humanURL: https://www.materialx.org/ tags: - Materials - Shading - Standards - XML properties: - type: Documentation url: https://materialx.org/docs/ - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/MaterialX - aid: academy-software-foundation:opencue name: OpenCue description: >- OpenCue is an open source render management system for visual effects and animation productions. It enables studios to deploy and manage a render farm, schedule jobs, and track progress across large numbers of render nodes. It was originally developed by Sony Pictures Imageworks. humanURL: https://www.opencue.io/ tags: - Render Management - VFX - Python properties: - type: Documentation url: https://www.opencue.io/docs/ - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/OpenCue - url: openapi/academy-software-foundation-opencue.yaml type: OpenAPI - url: json-schema/opencue-job-schema.json type: JSONSchema - url: examples/opencue-job-example.json type: Example - aid: academy-software-foundation:openimagedio name: OpenImageIO description: >- OpenImageIO (OIIO) is a library for reading, writing, and processing images in a wide variety of file formats. It is used in visual effects and animation production pipelines for texture baking, image compositing, and format conversion. humanURL: https://sites.google.com/site/openimageio/home tags: - Image Processing - C++ - VFX properties: - type: Documentation url: https://openimageio.readthedocs.io/ - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/OpenImageIO - aid: academy-software-foundation:openfx name: OpenFX description: >- OpenFX is an open standard API for visual effects plug-ins used in compositing and image processing applications. It defines how host applications and image processing plug-ins communicate, enabling interoperability across compositing tools. humanURL: https://openfx.io/ tags: - Visual Effects - Plugin API - Standards - C++ properties: - type: Documentation url: https://openfx.io/ - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openfx - aid: academy-software-foundation:openapv name: OpenAPV description: >- OpenAPV is an open, royalty-free video codec specification designed for professional video production and post-production workflows. It is optimized for high-quality intermediate video formats used in camera and on-set production pipelines. humanURL: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openapv tags: - Video Codec - Standards - C properties: - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/openapv - aid: academy-software-foundation:openpbr name: OpenPBR description: >- OpenPBR is an open specification and reference implementation for a physically-based shading model. It defines a standard material definition language that can be used across different renderers to achieve consistent appearance. humanURL: https://academysoftwarefoundation.github.io/OpenPBR/ tags: - Rendering - Materials - Standards properties: - type: Documentation url: https://academysoftwarefoundation.github.io/OpenPBR/ - type: GitHubRepository url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation/OpenPBR common: - type: LinkedIn url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/academysoftwarefoundation - type: Website url: https://www.aswf.io/ - type: Documentation url: https://www.aswf.io/projects/ - type: GitHubOrganization url: https://github.com/AcademySoftwareFoundation - type: Blog url: https://www.aswf.io/news/ - type: GettingStarted url: https://www.aswf.io/get-involved/ - type: TermsOfService url: https://www.aswf.io/terms/ - type: PrivacyPolicy url: https://www.aswf.io/privacy/ - type: Features data: - name: Open Source Governance description: All ASWF projects are governed by open, transparent processes under the Linux Foundation umbrella - name: Production-Proven Projects description: Projects like OpenEXR, OpenVDB, and OpenColorIO are used in major film studios worldwide - name: Vendor-Neutral Collaboration description: ASWF provides a neutral forum where studios, vendors, and developers collaborate on shared technology challenges - name: CI/CD Infrastructure description: ASWF provides shared containerized build and test infrastructure via aswf-docker for consistent CI/CD across all projects - name: Working Groups description: Dedicated working groups address cross-project topics such as CI, color interop, and language interoperability - name: Standards Development description: ASWF projects define and maintain industry standards used across the global VFX and animation pipeline - type: UseCases data: - name: VFX Production Pipeline description: OpenEXR, OpenVDB, OpenColorIO, and OSL form the core of visual effects production pipelines at major studios - name: Render Farm Management description: OpenCue enables studios to build and operate large-scale distributed render farms for animation and VFX - name: Color Pipeline Standardization description: OpenColorIO provides consistent color transforms across all DCC tools in a studio pipeline - name: Editorial Interchange description: OpenTimelineIO enables timeline data exchange between editing applications like Avid, Premiere, and DaVinci Resolve - name: Material Interchange description: MaterialX and OpenPBR enable look development assets to be transferred between different render engines - name: Image Format Standardization description: OpenEXR provides a universal HDR image format for compositing, rendering output, and archiving - type: Integrations data: - name: Autodesk Maya description: Integrates with OpenColorIO, OpenEXR, and other ASWF standards via native plug-ins - name: The Foundry Nuke description: Uses OpenColorIO, OpenEXR, and OpenFX plug-ins extensively in compositing workflows - name: SideFX Houdini description: Deep integration with OpenVDB, OpenColorIO, and OpenEXR for VFX and simulation workflows - name: Blender description: Uses OpenEXR, OpenColorIO, OpenShadingLanguage, and OpenVDB for rendering and compositing - name: Pixar USD description: Works alongside ASWF standards as part of the broader VFX open source ecosystem - name: NVIDIA Omniverse description: Uses MaterialX and OpenColorIO for material interchange and color management - url: rules/academy-software-foundation-spectral-rules.yml type: SpectralRules - url: capabilities/render-farm-management.yaml type: NaftikoCapability - url: vocabulary/academy-software-foundation-vocabulary.yaml type: Vocabulary maintainers: - FN: Kin Lane email: info@apievangelist.com