Framework

The ICD Framework

Open, transparent, and neutral.

The ICD Framework extends the community backed excellence of open-source development for national security technology. ICD gives government and industry a better way to build, share, and protect mission software without renegotiating IP, reinventing structure, or rebuilding tools from scratch.

This free toolkit provides simple, proven templates and guidance that protect your intellectual property, enable technical reuse, and let you get back to building.

Download the frameworkRequest the starter kit

What’s Inside

ICD consists of three components that work as a single system:

1. An Overlay License (Dual-License Model)

A tiered IP model that balances openness with protected innovation.

  • Open Commons License for reusable, unclassified work
  • Secure Commons License for sensitive or commercially protected work
  • Both include attribution, provenance, and clear IP boundaries.

Enable reuse without losing ownership. Obtain clear rights, expectations, and unlocked organizational growth.

→ Read the License Set

2. Access

Stop waiting on signatures and start building. The Open Commons License makes reusable, unclassified components available to anyone who passes the trusted background-screening process at SAM.gov. You get back to building with instant access to publicly funded code, data, and tools.

Save time and get started building with end-users from day one. Reuse what's already built, share modules, and accelerate delivery without being blocked by bespoke negotiations or deferred complicated approvals.

This enables:

  • shared building blocks
  • transparent lineage
  • secure, sovereign development
→ View Repo Structure

3. Technical Guidance

The playbook for securing and growing the defense industrial base. This community-maintained guidance defines how contributors build, validate, and release components inside the Commons.

It includes:

  • contribution rules and provenance and authorship requirements
  • SBOM/HBOM requirements
  • versioning and release conventions
  • interoperability and compliance expectations

What this enables: predictable integration, consistent audits, module-level interoperability.

→ Read the Specification

Core Principles

  • Build Together. Common, open standards encourage speed, reuse and efficiency.
  • Share Access. Streamlined identity and federated repositories enable reuse across programs and vendors.
  • Protect Critical Assets. Dual licensing preserves commercial advantage while meeting government transparency needs.

Why ICD Works

  1. Stop Negotiating IP from Scratch. Clear rights up front, before contract award.
  2. Stop Reinventing Components. Reusable modules replace bespoke one-offs.
  3. Stop “black box” technology. SBOM, HBOM, authorship, and version lineage attached to every component.

ICD in Procurement

A simple clause:

“Use, reuse, or development of software components shall comply with the ICD Framework and applicable ICD licenses. All components shall include SBOM/HBOM and provenance metadata as defined in the ICD Specification.”

Aligns naturally with

SHARE-IT Act MOSA DevSecOps / Platform One Software Acquisition Pathway OTA, rapid prototyping, and MTA pathways
  1. SHARE-IT Act
  2. MOSA
  3. DevSecOps / Platform One
  4. Software Acquisition Pathway
  5. OTA, rapid prototyping, and MTA pathways
→ Download contract language

How Organizations Use ICD

  1. Request the Starter Kit.

    Includes licenses, templates, repo instructions, and the full compliance packet.

  2. Access the Commons Repo.

    Start building with Defense Commons in your own environment in minutes.

  3. Simplify your next contract.

    Apply ICD templates, license, and metadata standards to start building faster.

Governance

ICD is maintained by a rotating Steering Body of 15 organizations spanning industry, government, and research. Transparent, RFC-style process built to keep pace with modern technical development.

→ View Governance Model

FAQ

→ Jump to FAQ section

In work, contribute today.

Download the Framework

  • Starter Kit — licenses, templates, repo structure.
  • Specifications — technical definition.
  • Compliance Kit — SBOM/HBOM templates, metadata schema.
Download Starter KitView Templates