OpenStrata (ost)

OpenStrata turns VFX compatibility into executable, validated, distributable runtime layers.

OpenStrata is a VFX Reference Platform aware runtime / build / extension / validation platform for VFX and OpenUSD work. The CLI is ost. It treats each VFX Reference Platform calendar year as a machine-readable target and turns it into certified, reproducible runtime layers, extension artifacts, and builds.

See docs/ — overview, architecture, examples, roadmap, and the full design.

Status

Phases 0–3 are implemented, and Phase 4 (the OpenUSD plugin verification harness) is largely in: a real OpenUSD runtime can be adopted (--from-usd) or built from source (--build, via build_usd.py or CMake-direct), and the plugin pyramid runs Levels 0–5 (ost plugin new|inspect|build|doctor|run|test). ost plugin build also regenerates co-hosted schema.usda contracts and can link generated typed schema APIs into an existing plugin library. Tagged binary releases (v*) are live via cargo-dist. The digest-addressed artifact registry, plugin publishing, artifact-backed runtime pulls (local and read/write OCI transport), and GitHub support-matrix generation are in, along with a portable CI contract (runner profiles, lanes, digest-pinned hosted source-CI).

The current release is v0.23.5 — the root build materializes digest-pinned external bundles and tools and exports their paths to CMake, so root CTest suites can use the same artifacts as member sessions. Bundle and tool outputs are staged per target for testing and packaging. Generated and externally managed CI share version and support checks; workspace tests report per-member evidence; library packages retain their own installed-file inventories and can consume digest-pinned external libraries; and first-class usdview add-ons plus Formation- pinned Maya/Houdini launches use the canonical runtime identity. Per-release detail (objective, shipped capabilities, compatibility, known limitations) lives in docs/releases/; active, incomplete work is in the roadmap.

Post-release work covers hosted consumer and macOS evidence, downstream package loadability and external-library adoption, and the full DCC host matrix. Release defects will be fixed in v0.23.x. See the composition guide, v0.23.5 record, current roadmap and downstream report intake.

Reference projects

OpenStrata is developed against real OpenUSD projects rather than isolated examples. Its reference projects validate or prepare to validate the plugin-workspace, renderer, plain-library, artifact, CI, and execution contracts across repository boundaries:

• USD 3DGS Plugins — a read-only Gaussian PLY SdfFileFormat bundle plus a format-independent ordinary library. It demonstrates bootstrapping a real plugin workspace from the OpenStrata scaffold, a bundle-to-library dependency, OpenUSD 26.05 Gaussian schema authoring, three-OS generated CI, package-origin validation, and reproducibility dogfooding.
• USD Point Cloud Plugins — LAS, LAZ, COPC, and PLY SdfFileFormat bundles backed by shared point-cloud authoring and tiling libraries. It demonstrates a four-format OpenUSD 26.08 workspace, digest-pinned generated CI across three operating systems, and strict file-format argument handling in the generic verification pyramid.
• USD HTTP Resolver — a released random-access HTTP/HTTPS ArResolver with aligned memory/disk caches, stable asset identity and measured transfer evidence. It demonstrates the transport provider boundary consumed by independently released file formats.
• USD Raster Plugins — an early GeoTIFF/raster plugin workspace with OpenUSD-independent core libraries, explicit georeferencing and windowed reads. It demonstrates the raster side of transport-neutral runtime composition.
• USD VRM Plugins — a multi-bundle OpenUSD plugin workspace (typed schemas, a VRM file-format plugin, a package resolver, a shared container library). It demonstrates workspace dependency composition, plugin lifecycle testing, packaging, clean-install validation, and generated CI matrices.
• hdMerlin — a host-neutral Vulkan renderer with an optional Hydra 2 adapter. It demonstrates renderer projects that are not plugin workspaces, managed CMake execution, renderer evidence, capability-aware validation, runtime artifact adoption, and the managed usdview workflow.
• USD Motion Plugins — shared motion values, sampling, recording and USD authoring libraries; its installed consumer and VRM migration expose cross-repository package needs.
• USD MMD Plugins — a PMX/VMD workspace that separates MMD format semantics from shared motion.
• Motion Connectors — a documented, currently empty scaffold for live device/protocol inputs and a test of the empty-workspace CI boundary.

Together they exercise plugin, ordinary-library, resolver, transport, raster, point-cloud, motion and renderer boundaries, with connector adoption planned. They also exercise cross-repository Formation composition and the planned distributable geospatial runtime. See docs/projects/.

Install

ost is a single self-contained binary. Tagged releases (v*) publish prebuilt binaries, checksums, and installers for Linux (static musl), macOS (arm64 + x86_64), and Windows via cargo-dist. Each release also carries SLSA build-provenance attestations, verifiable with gh attestation verify <asset> --repo animu-sphere/open-strata.

# Linux / macOS — fetch the installer for your host (from v0.1.0 onward)
curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -LsSf \
  https://github.com/animu-sphere/open-strata/releases/latest/download/ost-cli-installer.sh | sh

# Windows (PowerShell)
powershell -c "irm https://github.com/animu-sphere/open-strata/releases/latest/download/ost-cli-installer.ps1 | iex"

# With cargo-binstall (reads the release's dist manifest)
cargo binstall ost-cli

From source (no prebuilt needed):

cargo install --path crates/ost-cli   # installs the `ost` binary

Build

cargo build
cargo test
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets

For Windows or agent-driven local gates, prefer an isolated target directory so stale file locks in target/ do not block Cargo:

$env:CARGO_TARGET_DIR = Join-Path $env:TEMP "ost-cargo-target-$PID"
$env:CARGO_INCREMENTAL = "0"
cargo clippy --workspace --all-targets --locked -- -D warnings
cargo test --workspace --locked

Native build/package lifecycle tests run automatically on non-Windows hosts when cmake, ninja, and a compiler are available. On Windows they are skipped by default; opt in explicitly when you want that coverage:

$env:OST_RUN_NATIVE_LIFECYCLE = "1"
cargo test -p ost-cli --test lifecycle --locked -- --nocapture

Commands

ost platform   list | show <cy> | diff <a> <b>     inspect VFX platform years
ost init [--template cpp-library|renderer|usd-plugin|usd-plugin-workspace|--bare]  scaffold a buildable project
ost runtime    compose | pull | list | show | validate | repair | explain | export   resolve and manage runtimes
ost env <cy> --profile <p> [--shell bash|pwsh]      print the activating environment
ost devshell <cy> --profile <p>                     enter an interactive runtime shell
ost doctor [<cy> --profile <p>]                     host + tools + runtime diagnostics
ost configure [--target <cy>] [--profile <p>]       generate toolchain + CMake presets
ost presets    install | diff | uninstall           wire per-target presets into CMakePresets.json
ost build [--check] [--dry-run] [--jobs N]          preflight, then cmake build (Ninja)
ost package                                         install + tar.zst artifact + manifest
ost validate                                        validate a built/packaged target
ost extension  list | why <id> | add <id>           inspect/request controlled extensions
ost plugin     new | inspect | build | doctor | run | test | view | test-view | schema add | package | publish   OpenUSD plugin bundles + workspace graph validation
ost renderer   view [scene]                          open a built Hydra renderer in the matching usdview session
ost artifact   import | list | show | verify | export | extract   local digest-addressed artifact registry
ost ci         init | validate | plan | generate github    runtime×plugin support matrix -> CI workflow
ost lock [--check]                                  generate/verify strata.lock
ost uv <args...>                                    run uv pinned to the runtime Python

Every command accepts --json for machine-readable output: a single, versioned {ok, schema, data, warnings} envelope on stdout, with structured errors (error.code / error.category) and category-based exit codes for CI. See docs/reference/json-output.md for the contract and docs/guides/examples.md for a copy-pasteable tour of every command.

ost runtime pull materializes a runtime from a backend source: a placeholder mock layout, an adopted existing install (--from-usd), a from-source build (--build, via build_usd.py or CMake-direct with --deps), or a prebuilt registry artifact (--from-artifact <digest>, produced by ost runtime export).

Try it

ost="cargo run -q -p ost-cli --"

# Inspect a platform year and scaffold a project
$ost platform show cy2026
$ost init --name my-show --platform cy2026

# Pull a USD runtime: mock (offline), or a real one via --from-usd / --build
$ost runtime pull cy2026 --profile usd                       # mock layout
$ost runtime pull cy2026 --profile usd --from-usd /opt/usd   # adopt a real install
$ost runtime explain cy2026 --profile usd      # capability -> extension graph

# Activate it
$ost env cy2026 --profile usd --shell bash     # eval "$(... )"
$ost devshell cy2026 --profile usd

# Build a project against the runtime, then package and validate
$ost configure                                  # writes .strata/targets/... + strata.lock
$ost build                                       # cmake --preset + cmake --build (Ninja)
$ost package                                     # dist/<name>/<ver>/<target>/*.tar.zst
$ost validate

# Diagnose, lock, and run uv pinned to the runtime Python
$ost doctor cy2026 --profile usd
$ost lock --check
$ost uv sync --locked

# Scaffold and verify an OpenUSD plugin (L2+ need a real runtime)
$ost plugin new usd-fileformat toy --extension toy
$ost plugin build toy --target cy2026 --profile usd
$ost plugin test  toy --target cy2026 --profile usd   # L0..L5 + report
$ost plugin test --workspace --up-to 1                # validate graph, then test every bundle
$ost plugin package toy --target cy2026 --profile usd
$ost plugin publish toy --target cy2026 --profile usd   # register by digest
$ost artifact list                                       # what the registry holds

On Windows, ost build auto-loads the MSVC developer environment (vcvars64.bat); pass --no-vcvars to opt out.

Workspace layout

crates/
  ost-cli/        the `ost` binary (argument parsing + rendering)
  ost-core/       shared primitives: catalog loader, paths, host, variant, digest, tools
  ost-platform/   platform manifest model, loader, diff
  ost-runtime/    runtime identity, profiles, env generation, runtime manifest + validation
  ost-build/      build target model, toolchain/preset generation, packaging, MSVC bootstrap
  ost-extension/  controlled extensions: model, loader, capability resolver
  ost-plugin/     OpenUSD plugin bundles: model, scaffold, verification levels, reports
  ost-artifact/   artifact registry: identity records, content-addressed store, verification
  ost-ci/         CI support matrix (openstrata.ci.yaml) and workflow generation
  ost-manifest/   project (openstrata.toml) + lock (strata.lock) models
platforms/        built-in VFX Reference Platform calendar-year manifests
profiles/         capability bundles (core / dev / usd / lookdev)
extensions/       controlled extension manifests (openusd / materialx)
templates/        project + plugin scaffolds (including codeless/compiled USD schemas)
schemas/          JSON schemas for platform / project / lock / plugin-report documents

Store and overlays

State lives under ~/.ost (override with OST_HOME): runtimes/, extensions/, artifacts/, cache/, sessions/, logs/. User-provided manifests in ~/.ost/{platforms,profiles,extensions}/*.yaml are layered over the built-in definitions and override them by id.

Tool overrides for non-PATH installs: OST_NINJA (ninja), OST_UV (uv). Runtime source fallbacks for ost runtime pull: OST_USD_ROOT (adopt), OST_USD_SRC (build), OST_USD_DEPS (CMake deps).

On macOS source builds, full Xcode may be needed for upstream codesign; with CMake 4 and bundled dependencies, retry with --build-arg -DCMAKE_POLICY_VERSION_MINIMUM=3.5 if configure fails.

Security

OpenStrata is being hardened across build, runtime, plugins, CI, and the distribution path. Landed so far:

• Packaging rejects symlinks and special files (FIFO/socket/device) anywhere in the staging tree, so an artifact cannot absorb a link target's bytes or recurse outside the tree.
• Plugin manifests may only reference paths inside their bundle; .., absolute, drive, and UNC paths are refused when the bundle loads.
• Atomic writes create their temp file with O_EXCL under an unpredictable name and refuse to write through a symlinked destination.
• CI pins every third-party GitHub Action to a full commit SHA, and release artifacts carry SLSA build-provenance attestations.

Remaining work — installer/asset signature verification and a runtime trust policy — is tracked in the roadmap backlog (shipped baseline detail: delivery history).

To report a vulnerability, see SECURITY.md (private disclosure).

License

OpenStrata is licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0; see also NOTICE. Source files carry an SPDX header (SPDX-License-Identifier: Apache-2.0).

Third-party components that OpenStrata bundles, links, or distributes (Rust dependencies and runtime/extension content such as OpenUSD, MaterialX, and their transitive dependencies) retain their own upstream licenses. Complete per-artifact third-party attribution is tracked in the roadmap backlog.