OpenPOWER Foundation specifications are publicly available, royalty-free standards that define the POWER architecture ecosystem — from the instruction set through platform interfaces.
The POWER ISA is the foundational specification for all OpenPOWER-compliant processors. It is maintained by the OpenPOWER Foundation and published as an open standard.
| Specification | Version | Status | Description | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| POWER ISA | v3.1C | Current | Latest POWER Instruction Set Architecture specification including Matrix Math Assist (MMA) and all current extensions | PDF ↗ |
| POWER ISA | v3.1B | Stable | POWER ISA specification including all extensions | PDF ↗ |
| POWER ISA | v3.0C | Stable | Previous major version of the POWER ISA | PDF ↗ |
| POWER ISA | v2.07B | Stable | POWER8-era ISA specification | PDF ↗ |
Platform specifications define the system-level interfaces that ensure interoperability across OpenPOWER-compliant hardware and software.
| Specification | Version | Status | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenPOWER Platform Requirements | v2.0 | Current | Defines minimum hardware requirements for OpenPOWER-compliant server platforms | View ↗ |
| OPAL (OpenPOWER Abstraction Layer) | Current | Current | Firmware API between hypervisor/OS and platform firmware (Skiboot) | Docs ↗ |
| OpenCAPI Interface Specification | v4.0 | Stable | High-speed, low-latency coherent interface between processors and accelerators | View ↗ |
| ELFv2 ABI Specification | v1.5 | Current | 64-bit PowerPC ELF Application Binary Interface — defines calling conventions and binary format | PDF ↗ |
| Linux on Power Architecture | Current | Current | Guidelines and requirements for Linux distributions on OpenPOWER platforms | View ↗ |
Technical specifications produced by OpenPOWER Foundation Working Groups, covering hardware interfaces, AI acceleration, and security.
| Specification | Working Group | Status | Description | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Secure Boot and Trusted Computing | Security WG | Stable | Secure boot implementation requirements for OpenPOWER platforms | View ↗ |
| AI Acceleration Interface | AI SIG | Draft | Standard interface definitions for AI accelerator integration on OpenPOWER systems | GitHub ↗ |
| OpenPOWER Compliance Test Suite | Compliance WG | Stable | Test suites and procedures for OpenPOWER compliance verification | View → |
All specifications are available on the OpenPOWER Foundation website and through the OpenPOWER Foundation GitHub. Contributions to specifications are welcome through the relevant Working Group.
OpenPOWER specifications are developed collaboratively by Foundation members. Join a Working Group to participate in shaping the future of open computing standards.
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