The OpenForm CLI (ofm) is a command-line tool for working with OpenForm artifacts — structured definitions of forms, documents, checklists, and bundles. It takes a registry-first approach: discover and install pre-built artifacts from shared registries, then validate, render, and manage them locally. It's also an authoring tool for creating new artifacts from scratch.

Key capabilities

• Install artifacts from public or private registries
• Create new artifacts (forms, documents, checklists, bundles)
• Validate artifacts against the OpenForm JSON Schema
• Render layers to PDF, DOCX, or Markdown
• Diff and patch artifacts
• Build and host your own registries
• Generate TypeScript types from artifacts

Installation

npm install -g open-form

pnpm add -g open-form

yarn global add open-form

bun add -g open-form

Verify the installation:

open-form --version

The package registers two commands: open-form and the shorthand alias ofm. Both are identical — use whichever you prefer. These docs use ofm throughout for brevity.

Next steps

• Projects - Project structure, manifest, lock file, and output formats
• Configuration - Global and project settings, environment variables, renderers, and cache
• Registries - Consuming and creating artifact registries
• Command reference - Full list of available commands