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Open-Source Terminology Infrastructure
One Concept,
Many Languages
Manage multilingual concept systems with structured terminology. Built on ISO standards and Semantic Web technology.
SKOSTBXJSON-LDTurtleYAML
How It Works

From Concept to Publication

A structured pipeline that takes you from domain modeling to multilingual terminology publication

1. Model

Define your concept system using the rich Glossarist domain model — 24 ontology classes, 32 relationship types, 7 designation types, SHACL validation shapes.

Concept Model →

2. Author

Write terminology concepts in human-readable YAML (V2 or V3 schema). ManagedConcept, LocalizedConcept, designations, sources — all in structured YAML.

YAML Schema Ref →

3. Process

Read, validate, transform, and export using the Ruby gem or JavaScript SDK. GCR packages, TBX, SKOS, Turtle, JSON-LD output.

JS SDK →orRuby Gem →

4. Publish

Deploy as an interactive multilingual concept browser, SKOS thesaurus, or TBX exchange format — ready for standards bodies and domain communities.

See Geolexica →
The Foundation

The Glossarist Concept Model

A rich, standards-aligned domain model for structured terminology — the heart of everything Glossarist does

ManagedConcept

The top-level entity. Contains a UUID, lifecycle status, domain references, and maps language codes to LocalizedConcept instances.

statusnotValid · valid · superseded · retired
localized_conceptsHash of lang → LocalizedConcept
related32 typed relationship kinds
domainsSubject area references
Concept docs →

LocalizedConcept

Per-language realization of a concept. Each language gets its own definition, terms, notes, examples, and classification.

designationsTyped term entries
definitionDetailedDefinition array
notes / examplesSupplementary content
language_codeISO 639 3-letter code
Localization →

Designations

7 designation types in a MECE hierarchy — expression, abbreviation, symbol, letter_symbol, graphical_symbol, prefix, suffix.

Designation Expression → Abbreviation Symbol → Letter · Graphical Prefix · Suffix
Designation types →

Relationships

32 typed semantic links spanning 4 ISO standards — hierarchical, partitive, associative, equivalence, mapping, spatiotemporal.

broader/narrowergeneric/partitiveexact_matchdeprecatescompare/contrast+ 27 more
All 32 types →

Sources

Provenance tracking with authoritative and lineage sources, status tracking (identical, modified, restyled, generalisation).

typeauthoritative · lineage
statusidentical · modified · restyled · +4
originCitation reference
Source model →

Semantic Web & Linked Data

Formal ontology with SHACL shapes for validation. Aligned with SKOS, SKOS-XL, ISO 25964, PROV-O, and Dublin Core — ready for the linked data ecosystem.

24Classes
48Properties
24SHACL Shapes
7Concept Schemes
Browse ontology →
Developer Experience

Structured Data, Any Language

Author in YAML, process with Ruby or JavaScript, export to TBX/SKOS/Turtle/JSON-LD

V3 YAML — Human-Readable Concept Data

Write terminology concepts in structured YAML. Each file contains a ManagedConcept with all its localizations, designations, and relationships.

Schema Reference
# concepts/3.1.1.1.yaml
termid: "3.1.1.1"
termid_uuid: "uuid-..."
status: valid

eng:
  terms:
    - type: expression
      designation: "entity"
      normative_status: preferred
  definition:
    - content: "A concrete or abstract thing"
  notes:
    - "This includes objects and concepts"
  sources:
    - type: authoritative
      origin: "ISO 19107:2003"

fra:
  terms:
    - type: expression
      designation: "entité"
      normative_status: preferred
  definition:
    - content: "chose concrète ou abstraite"

glossarist-js — Node.js SDK

Read, write, validate, and manage GCR packages with bidirectional YAML serialization. Stream concepts for memory-efficient processing of large datasets.

JS SDK Docs
import { loadGcr, readConcepts } from 'glossarist';

// Read a GCR package (streaming)
const pkg = await loadGcr(
  fs.readFileSync('geolexica.gcr')
);
await pkg.eachConcept((concept) => {
  console.log(concept.id, concept.primaryDesignation('eng'));
});

// Read from directory
const concepts = readConcepts('./geolexica-v2/');

// Write GCR package
const buf = await createGcr([concept], {
  shortname: 'my-dataset'
});

glossarist-ruby — Ruby Gem

The original Glossarist library. Full CRUD for concept management, multi-format serialization, TBX/SKOS/Turtle export, and GCR package support.

Ruby Gem Docs
require 'glossarist'

# Load a concept collection
collection = Glossarist::ManagedConceptCollection.new
collection.from_yaml('./concepts/')

# Access concepts
concept = collection['3.1.1.1']
puts concept.localizations['eng'].definition
puts concept.localizations['fra'].designations

# Export to multiple formats
collection.to_tbx('output.tbx')
collection.to_skos('output.ttl')
collection.to_jsonld('output.jsonld')

Universal Interchange

Export your concept system to any standard format. Import from existing terminology datasets. Full round-trip support.

TBX-XMLISO 30042 terminology markup
SKOS/RDFW3C knowledge organization
TurtleRDF triples, human-readable
JSON-LDLinked data in JSON
YAMLNative Glossarist format
JSONLStreaming line-delimited
Compliance

Built on International Standards

Every entity in the Glossarist model maps to established terminology and knowledge organization standards

Ecosystem

End-to-End Tooling

Libraries and applications for every stage of terminology management

{ }
Core

glossarist-ruby v2.8.1

Ruby gem implementing the Glossarist concept model. Read, write, validate, and manage terminology concepts with multi-language YAML serialization, GCR packages, and TBX/SKOS/Turtle export.

{ }
Core

glossarist-js v0.2.1

JavaScript SDK for Glossarist GCR packages. Read, write, validate, and manage terminology concepts with bidirectional YAML serialization and cross-reference resolution.

{ }
Core

glossarist-desktop v1.6.14

Desktop viewer and editor for concept registries. Manage concepts, propose changes, and review change requests from a native app on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

{ }
Core

concept-browser

Interactive browser for terminology datasets. Multi-dataset, multilingual concept browsing with history timeline, cross-reference graph, and math rendering.

In Production

Trusted by Standards Bodies

Glossarist powers multilingual terminology registries for international standards organizations

An open source project of Ribose