# Technical **URL:** https://forum.openreferral.org/c/technical/7.md [Latest](https://forum.openreferral.org/latest.md) · [Categories](https://forum.openreferral.org/categories.md) · [Tags](https://forum.openreferral.org/tags.md) --- ## [About the Technical category](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/about-the-technical-category/28)
**Author:** [@MikeThacker-iStandUK](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/MikeThacker-iStandUK)\ **Replies:** 0
The data structure, API, tools and points related to storing, publishing and consuming data in Open Referral’s standardized format (HSDS). --- ## [Opportunities to apply AI to Open Referral](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/opportunities-to-apply-ai-to-open-referral/873)
**Author:** [@Paul\_D](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/Paul_D)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [October 6, 2026, 4:15pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/opportunities-to-apply-ai-to-open-referral/873 "2026-10-06T16:15:31Z")
Hi. At iStandUK we done some thinking about how AI techniques could be applied, to the ORUK journey. We have a discussion paper at ORUK and AI - Google Docs . We’d welcome comments and suggestions for how to join up an… --- ## [Standing Technical Meetups](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/standing-technical-meetups/454)
**Author:** [@Dan-ODS](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/Dan-ODS)\ **Replies:** 107\ **Last updated:** [September 29, 2026, 12:49pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/standing-technical-meetups/454 "2026-09-29T12:49:49Z")
Thread for following up on Standing Technical Meetups. --- ## [Please review some draft HSDS documentation!](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/please-review-some-draft-hsds-documentation/867)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [September 16, 2026, 10:19am UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/please-review-some-draft-hsds-documentation/867 "2026-09-16T10:19:36Z")
Hey folks, We’re working on drafting some HSDS Guidance at the moment, taking steer from our documentation backlog. Documentation backlog I’ve done a first draft of a How-To: “How to Use the HSDS Profile Wizard to Ge… --- ## [Compiled Schemas Considered Harmful](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/compiled-schemas-considered-harmful/839)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [September 11, 2026, 11:54am UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/compiled-schemas-considered-harmful/839 "2026-09-11T11:54:08Z")
I’ve been sitting on this for a while and finally had a few moments to finish it up and post it to github: Refactor and remove compiled schemas · Issue #592 · openreferral/specification · GitHub The details are in the… --- ## [Connect211 Proposal for New Field of HSDS Standardized Objects](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/connect211-proposal-for-new-field-of-hsds-standardized-objects/849)
**Author:** [@CheetoBandito](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/CheetoBandito)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [August 5, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/connect211-proposal-for-new-field-of-hsds-standardized-objects/849 "2026-08-05T15:50:44Z")
Hi all — I’d like to open a discussion around adding a small set of new objects to HSDS for exchanging feedback on existing records, and I’d appreciate a read-through and critique from this community. Because of our requ… --- ## [HSDS Lite - Scratching my personal itches with HSDS Schemas](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/hsds-lite-scratching-my-personal-itches-with-hsds-schemas/857)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [July 31, 2026, 2:09pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/hsds-lite-scratching-my-personal-itches-with-hsds-schemas/857 "2026-07-31T14:09:38Z")
Hi folks, I’ve been working on an experimental, proof-of-concept version of HSDS which I’ve called “HSDS Lite”. It’s my personal work, so not officially endorsed by Open Data Services. I’ve done this to scratch a few … --- ## [Seeking input on draft proposals pertaining to Schedules](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/seeking-input-on-draft-proposals-pertaining-to-schedules/843)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [June 24, 2026, 3:37pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/seeking-input-on-draft-proposals-pertaining-to-schedules/843 "2026-06-24T15:37:50Z")
Hi all! After the last Standing Technical Committee meeting where we presented a formal proposal to update the schedule schema; we got the feedback that the Proposal was trying to do too much and I agree. In response to… --- ## [Challenges with the \`schedule\` table for organizations in the USA](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/challenges-with-the-schedule-table-for-organizations-in-the-usa/429)
**Author:** [@skyleryoung](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/skyleryoung)\ **Replies:** 16\ **Last updated:** [June 16, 2026, 3:25pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/challenges-with-the-schedule-table-for-organizations-in-the-usa/429 "2026-06-16T15:25:47Z")
I’ve been working with the National 211 Data Platform (NDP) in conjunction with a data managers from several 211s towards creating, among other things, a 211 Profile for HSDS. We’ve hit a snag trying to use the schedule … --- ## [HSDS Transformer Use Cases](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/hsds-transformer-use-cases/718)
**Author:** [@ananya\_iyer](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/ananya_iyer)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [June 9, 2026, 3:16pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/hsds-transformer-use-cases/718 "2026-06-09T15:16:05Z")
Hi all, My name is Ananya Iyer, I am a member of Blueprint @ Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken NJ working with Open Referral to work on the transformer project. I’ve been drafting some user stories for the Tran… --- ## [Strengthening the Open Referral Validator: iStandUK’s Next Steps](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/strengthening-the-open-referral-validator-istanduk-s-next-steps/830)
**Author:** [@Mevish-iStandUK](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/Mevish-iStandUK)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [June 3, 2026, 1:50pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/strengthening-the-open-referral-validator-istanduk-s-next-steps/830 "2026-06-03T13:50:36Z")
Following the transition of the Open Referral UK (ORUK) standard to iStandUK, as of 01st April 2026, the iStandUK Technical Team recently convened to align on the architectural and governance roadmap for the ORUK Validat… --- ## [What is good vocabulary for describing Data Quality?](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/what-is-good-vocabulary-for-describing-data-quality/816)
**Author:** [@skyleryoung](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/skyleryoung)\ **Replies:** 21\ **Last updated:** [June 2, 2026, 2:28pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/what-is-good-vocabulary-for-describing-data-quality/816 "2026-06-02T14:28:16Z")
In our Validator and HSDS validation conversations, we’ve been dancing around different words and concepts relating to the quality of data coming through APIs. Reasons for doing so include: As @oughnic pointed out most… --- ## [How would you use a hosted validator?](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/how-would-you-use-a-hosted-validator/803)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [May 29, 2026, 1:35pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/how-would-you-use-a-hosted-validator/803 "2026-05-29T13:35:54Z")
With the advent of Jeff’s re-working of the ORUK validator to be more flexible and suitable for multiple audiences, we’ve started discussion about what it looks like to have a hosted instance of the validator for the com… --- ## [Record Matcher / Deduplication demo](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/record-matcher-deduplication-demo/825)
**Author:** [@skyleryoung](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/skyleryoung)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [May 1, 2026, 7:14pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/record-matcher-deduplication-demo/825 "2026-05-01T19:14:07Z")
Hi all, At the behest of Greg and some of the other ServiceNet members, we’re putting together a small demo of the Record Matcher tool. This is an interface we created to deduplicate and verify duplicates in Enterprise … --- ## [HSDS Profile Generation - to compile or not to compile?](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/hsds-profile-generation-to-compile-or-not-to-compile/776)
**Author:** [@jeffc](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/jeffc)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 18, 2026, 6:28pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/hsds-profile-generation-to-compile-or-not-to-compile/776 "2026-03-18T18:28:47Z")
Thank you to Matt for running the walkthrough on the schema generation tooling recently. I usually harass Matt with my rants, he grabs his keyboard, opens up Vim, turns the lights off, and responds… It seems an appropr… --- ## [How do we rank contact methods across different method types?](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/how-do-we-rank-contact-methods-across-different-method-types/742)
**Author:** [@skyleryoung](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/skyleryoung)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [March 12, 2026, 5:40pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/how-do-we-rank-contact-methods-across-different-method-types/742 "2026-03-12T17:40:20Z")
As of today, a necessity across almost all of the data Connect 211 ingests is to prioritize the order in which phone numbers are displayed. We receive up to 11 phone numbers (or more) per resource from certain data sourc… --- ## [Enhancing Open Referral UK API Validation: New Features and Architectural Progress](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/enhancing-open-referral-uk-api-validation-new-features-and-architectural-progress/795)
**Author:** [@jeffc](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/jeffc)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [March 11, 2026, 6:03pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/enhancing-open-referral-uk-api-validation-new-features-and-architectural-progress/795 "2026-03-11T18:03:37Z")
Hi everyone, This will probably be my final update on the Open Referral API Validator as the project transitions to iStandUK. Keep an eye on the repository for an official URL I wanted to share an update on the latest … --- ## [Technical Report on the ORUK Validator](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/technical-report-on-the-oruk-validator/677)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 6\ **Last updated:** [February 12, 2026, 3:52pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/technical-report-on-the-oruk-validator/677 "2026-02-12T15:52:28Z")
Hi all, As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been investigating the ORUK Validator to see how much work it would take to adapt it to general use with “vanilla” HSDS or other Profiles. To that end, I’ve produced a short Technical Re… --- ## [Should we add \`$id\` properties to the HSDS Schemas?](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/should-we-add-id-properties-to-the-hsds-schemas/725)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [February 11, 2026, 9:29am UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/should-we-add-id-properties-to-the-hsds-schemas/725 "2026-02-11T09:29:53Z")
Having $id properties is generally considered good practice for JSON Schemas for a few reasons, and becomes particularly important when we consider validators, SSOTs for versions of the schema files, and people cacheing … --- ## [New tool: the HSDS Profile Wizard](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/new-tool-the-hsds-profile-wizard/782)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [February 4, 2026, 12:39pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/new-tool-the-hsds-profile-wizard/782 "2026-02-04T12:39:17Z")
Hi everyone, I’d like to announce the first release of the “HSDS Profile Wizard”. This is a CLI tool which aims to make it as easy as possible to create and manage new (and existing) HSDS Profiles in accordance with the… --- ## [Removing the automated "database schema" builds](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/removing-the-automated-database-schema-builds/779)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [January 13, 2026, 12:16pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/removing-the-automated-database-schema-builds/779 "2026-01-13T12:16:39Z")
Hi all, I’ve put together a few thoughts and opened an issue for discussion on Github, mirroring it here to get the wider community involved: Remove database schemas from Specification repo · Issue #578 · openreferral… --- ## [Normalized Email object](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/normalized-email-object/741)
**Author:** [@skyleryoung](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/skyleryoung)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 11, 2025, 1:35pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/normalized-email-object/741 "2025-12-11T13:35:06Z")
Hello everyone. This post is overdue. IN 2023 I proposed a normalized URL object: We need a normalized \`url\` table in the pattern of the \`phone\` table I have use cases to do the same for email now. For example, I have d… --- ## [Recording services with a physical location that is not specific](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/recording-services-with-a-physical-location-that-is-not-specific/774)
**Author:** [@MikeThacker-iStandUK](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/MikeThacker-iStandUK)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [December 5, 2025, 10:59am UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/recording-services-with-a-physical-location-that-is-not-specific/774 "2025-12-05T10:59:19Z")
We have a service record from an Open Referral UK API that fails validation because it has no postcode. The service in question has a service\_at\_locations.name of “In the client’s home or outside in a park”. How should … --- ## [Full or partial validation of API feeds](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/full-or-partial-validation-of-api-feeds/773)
**Author:** [@MikeThacker-iStandUK](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/MikeThacker-iStandUK)\ **Replies:** 3\ **Last updated:** [December 2, 2025, 5:53pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/full-or-partial-validation-of-api-feeds/773 "2025-12-02T17:53:10Z")
The current UK Validator of API feeds checks for compliance of lists of services, organizations etc and then checks 10 (or fewer if there are not 10) random records (e.g. 10 services) for compliance of detailed data. Th… --- ## [The use of UUIDs in the UK](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/the-use-of-uuids-in-the-uk/770)
**Author:** [@iansingo](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/iansingo)\ **Replies:** 14\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2025, 12:29pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/the-use-of-uuids-in-the-uk/770 "2025-11-27T12:29:23Z")
This is a technical request from a logical person so please go easy with technical answers, I am looking for the benefits rather than simply meeting the standard. I understand that UUIDs are necessary for the prime enti… --- ## [Can we constrain required (HSDS) attributes in JSON Schema?](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/can-we-constrain-required-hsds-attributes-in-json-schema/771)
**Author:** [@skyleryoung](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/skyleryoung)\ **Replies:** 1\ **Last updated:** [November 27, 2025, 9:37am UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/can-we-constrain-required-hsds-attributes-in-json-schema/771 "2025-11-27T09:37:49Z")
@mrshll I’m thinking is an easy answer, but wanted to get the answer from the lips of the master in case there are peculiarities with our implementation of HSDS in JSON Schema. Connect 211 is currently storing priority … --- ## [How should we mark endpoints as required in the OpenAPI Spec?](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/how-should-we-mark-endpoints-as-required-in-the-openapi-spec/649)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 5\ **Last updated:** [November 17, 2025, 5:10pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/how-should-we-mark-endpoints-as-required-in-the-openapi-spec/649 "2025-11-17T17:10:22Z")
I’m seeking input from people if you have an opinion on the technical method we use to mark HSDS API endpoints as REQUIREd in the OpenAPI.json file. This is to a) support future validation tooling producing a compliance … --- ## [Licence / license to be used for open source software](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/licence-license-to-be-used-for-open-source-software/727)
**Author:** [@MikeThacker-iStandUK](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/MikeThacker-iStandUK)\ **Replies:** 2\ **Last updated:** [October 1, 2025, 12:47pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/licence-license-to-be-used-for-open-source-software/727 "2025-10-01T12:47:52Z")
In the thread Technical Report on the ORUK Validator, @mrshll introduced his report Technical Report: ORUK Validator which includes a section entitled The license is very unusual for a software project. I commented that… --- ## [HSDS Validator Technical Requirements](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/hsds-validator-technical-requirements/736)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 4\ **Last updated:** [September 19, 2025, 1:38pm UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/hsds-validator-technical-requirements/736 "2025-09-19T13:38:23Z")
Hi all, I’ve started work on a draft set of technical requirements for a HSDS Validator tool, which you can review in the following doc: HSDS Validator Requirements (GDoc) EDIT: Use this link to the requirements on th… --- ## [FYI: Draft Guidance for using general-purpose validation tools with HSDS](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/fyi-draft-guidance-for-using-general-purpose-validation-tools-with-hsds/737)
**Author:** [@mrshll](https://forum.openreferral.org/u/mrshll)\ **Replies:** 0\ **Last updated:** [September 10, 2025, 7:43am UTC](https://forum.openreferral.org/t/fyi-draft-guidance-for-using-general-purpose-validation-tools-with-hsds/737 "2025-09-10T07:43:02Z")
I’ve drafted some guidance on using general purpose JSON Schema validation tools to validate HSDS data. We’ll be looking to add this to the non-normative guidance section of the docs site in due course, but Greg and I th… [Next page](https://forum.openreferral.org/c/technical/7.md?page=1)