What is the Open Media Streaming Foundation?

Learn about OMSS, its mission, and the projects that make interoperable media streaming possible.

The Open Media Streaming Foundation is the open-source community behind the Open Media Streaming Standard (OMSS). OMSS defines a unified API for streaming backends so that a frontend can work with different providers without implementing a separate integration for each one.

The foundation maintains the specification, reference implementations, developer tools, and documentation needed to build interoperable media applications.

The problem we solve

Streaming applications often need to connect to multiple backends. Without a shared contract, every frontend must learn a different set of endpoints, response shapes, source formats, subtitle representations, and proxy conventions.

OMSS provides that shared contract. A compliant backend exposes standardized resources for movies, TV shows, episodes, streaming sources, and subtitles. Clients can then use the same integration model across implementations.

The OMSS ecosystem

The organization maintains several complementary projects:

• The OMSS specification defines the standard REST API, schemas, OpenAPI documents, compliance requirements, and implementation registries.
• OMSS Core is the official TypeScript runtime and plugin orchestrator for building OMSS-compliant streaming services.
• The OMSS SDK is a TypeScript frontend SDK for consuming any OMSS-compliant backend.
• The OMSS template provides a ready-to-use starting point for building a backend.
• The documentation site contains guides, references, and project information.

Together, these projects make OMSS useful at three levels: a protocol for interoperability, tools for backend authors, and a client library for application developers.

Our principles

Open by default

The standard and its implementations are developed in public repositories. Proposals, clarifications, bug reports, and improvements should be visible to the community and easy to review.

Interoperability first

The specification is designed to keep clients independent from individual providers. Implementations should prefer predictable schemas, explicit behavior, and compatibility over proprietary extensions.

Practical implementation

OMSS is supported by usable TypeScript tooling rather than being only a document. The SDK, Core runtime, and template help developers move from a specification to a working service quickly.

Responsible development

Streaming integrations can involve third-party services and sensitive operational details. Contributors should respect applicable law, provider terms, security practices, and the project’s responsible disclosure process.

Get involved

Read the contribution guide, explore the OMSS specification, or start with the backend template. If you are building a frontend, the SDK repository is the best place to begin.