Hi HN. OpenBindings is an open spec for describing what a service does once and binding it to any protocol. You define operations with input/output schemas, then point at your existing OpenAPI doc, proto file, MCP server, or whatever else. The spec doesn't replace any of them. They're inputs.
The short version of why: programming languages have had interfaces and duck typing forever. You code to a shape, not an implementation. The web never got a successful equivalent at the network boundary. OpenBindings is an attempt at that.
Fastest way to try it:
brew install openbindings/tap/ob
ob demo
That starts a coffee shop service on six protocols. `ob op exec localhost:8080 getMenu` calls it. The CLI discovers the OBI (OpenBindings Interface) at /.well-known/openbindings and handles the rest.
Would love feedback on the spec design.
mindcrime•3h ago
Huh. This sounds really interesting. Will definitely give it a look later this evening. At first blush, this sounds like something I could use.
clevengermatt•3h ago
Thanks! Happy to answer any questions if you're interested. The
ob demo is the fastest way to see it end to end. Starts a
service on six protocols and lets you call it from the CLI.
clevengermatt•4h ago
The short version of why: programming languages have had interfaces and duck typing forever. You code to a shape, not an implementation. The web never got a successful equivalent at the network boundary. OpenBindings is an attempt at that.
What's here today: - The spec (v0.1.0): https://openbindings.com/spec - ob CLI: https://github.com/openbindings/ob - Go SDK: https://github.com/openbindings/openbindings-go - TypeScript SDK: https://github.com/openbindings/openbindings-ts - Binding executors for different protocols
Fastest way to try it: brew install openbindings/tap/ob ob demo
That starts a coffee shop service on six protocols. `ob op exec localhost:8080 getMenu` calls it. The CLI discovers the OBI (OpenBindings Interface) at /.well-known/openbindings and handles the rest.
Would love feedback on the spec design.
mindcrime•3h ago
clevengermatt•3h ago