> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.open-metadata.org/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Ontology Library | OpenMetadata

> Install standards-aligned starter ontologies — FIBO, HL7 FHIR, GS1, EPCIS, ISA-95, HR Open — into OpenMetadata as reference glossaries.

# Ontology Library

Most organizations do not need to invent a model of *Customer* from first principles. Their industry already has one. The **Ontology Library** ships compact, standards-aligned starter packs you can install as a reference glossary and adapt.

Open it from the **Library** button in the Ontology Studio header.

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/openmetadata/w4k5vyWFZdWOm-cJ/public/images/how-to-guides/ontology/ontology-library.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=w4k5vyWFZdWOm-cJ&q=85&s=f591f9dea045f5a1def63bb2f3af6d37" alt="Ontology Library catalog in Ontology Studio" width="1680" height="1000" data-path="public/images/how-to-guides/ontology/ontology-library.png" />

## What Ships

| Pack                  | Standard                             | Version      | License                                      | Concepts / relationships | Modules                                                                        |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------ | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **FIBO Starter**      | Financial Industry Business Ontology | `2025Q1-om1` | MIT                                          | 8 / 6                    | Foundations; Business entities *(requires Foundations)*                        |
| **HL7 FHIR Starter**  | HL7 FHIR R5                          | `5.0.0-om1`  | CC0 1.0 (excludes third-party terminologies) | 12 / 9                   | Core resources; Clinical records *(requires Core)*; Workflow *(requires Core)* |
| **GS1 Vocabulary**    | GS1 Web Vocabulary                   | `2025Q1-om1` | MIT                                          | 8 / 4                    | Core vocabulary                                                                |
| **EPCIS**             | GS1 EPCIS supply-chain events        | `2025Q1-om1` | MIT                                          | 10 / 8                   | Event model                                                                    |
| **ISA-95**            | ANSI/ISA-95 manufacturing operations | `2025Q1-om1` | MIT                                          | 9 / 7                    | Manufacturing operations                                                       |
| **HR Open Standards** | HR Open Standards workforce          | `2025Q1-om1` | MIT                                          | 9 / 5                    | Workforce                                                                      |

<Info>
  These are deliberately **starter subsets**, not full standards. FIBO in its entirety is tens of thousands of classes; a compact, curated subset is what actually gets adopted. Each pack links to the upstream `sourceUrl` when you need the complete specification, and each ships under a license that permits redistribution — third-party terminologies with restrictive licensing (for example, in FHIR) are excluded rather than shipped ambiguously.
</Info>

## Installing a Pack

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the catalog">
    Click **Library** in the studio header. The catalog shows each pack with its standard, version, license, and installed state.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose modules">
    Packs are split into modules. Selecting a module automatically selects its dependencies, and the concept and relationship counts update live. A graph preview highlights the selected modules around the standard.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name the target glossary">
    Install into a new glossary (enter a name) or an existing one.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Dry run">
    Validate first. The dry run reports how many concepts and relationships are ready to install and surfaces problems without writing anything.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Install">
    Confirm. OpenMetadata creates the reference glossary, its concepts, typed relationships, and — for admins — any relationship types the pack requires.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Integrity and Governance

* **Content is checksum-verified.** Every module records a SHA-256 of its Turtle payload, checked at install time. A tampered or truncated pack fails to install rather than partially applying.
* **Installation is permissioned.** Installing into an existing glossary requires edit permission on it; installing into a new one requires create permission. Only admins can create the relationship types a pack needs — a non-admin install proceeds without them rather than silently escalating.
* **Installed packs are recorded.** The target glossary's ontology configuration keeps an `installedPacks` list keyed by stable pack ID, so you always know what a reference model was assembled from.
* **Reference models can be read-only.** Set `readOnly` on the glossary's ontology configuration to prevent direct edits to an installed standard — then build your own model at a less foundational [layer](/v2.1.x-SNAPSHOT/how-to-guides/ontology/concepts#ontology-layers) and import it.

<Tip>
  **The recommended shape.** Install standards packs as **L1** models and mark them read-only. Build your enterprise model at **L2**, importing from L1. Give projects **L3** subsets pinned off L2. Layer validation then enforces the dependency direction for you: nothing at L1 can ever end up depending on a project's model.
</Tip>

## Catalog-only Packs

A pack can be listed but still require independently licensed content before installation. Those show an **External payload required** state in the catalog and remain catalog-only until the content is supplied — the metadata is present so you can plan, without OpenMetadata redistributing content it is not licensed to ship.

## API

| Endpoint                                      | Purpose                                                           |
| --------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `GET /api/v1/ontologyPacks`                   | List available packs.                                             |
| `GET /api/v1/ontologyPacks/{packId}`          | Pack manifest: modules, dependencies, counts, checksums, license. |
| `POST /api/v1/ontologyPacks/{packId}/install` | Dry-run or install selected modules into a target glossary.       |

## Next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Import & Export" href="/v2.1.x-SNAPSHOT/how-to-guides/ontology/studio/import-export">
    Bring in an ontology that is not in the library.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Core Concepts" href="/v2.1.x-SNAPSHOT/how-to-guides/ontology/concepts#ontology-layers">
    Layers, imports, and why the dependency direction matters.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>