ocsfkit 0.5.0

An OCSF workbench for normalizing, linting, explaining, diffing, and querying security events.

ocsfkit

ocsfkit is an OCSF workbench for security engineers who need to normalize, lint, explain, diff, and query security events without hiding mapping quality.

The first version focuses on a practical Detection Finding workflow and a minimal schema registry that can grow over time.

Why This Exists

Moving telemetry into OCSF is rarely a pure parsing problem. The hard part is knowing what happened during normalization:

• Which class did the source event become?
• Which source fields mapped cleanly?
• Which target fields were defaulted or guessed?
• Which fields were intentionally dropped?
• Which source fields are still unmapped?
• Which required or recommended OCSF fields are missing?

ocsfkit keeps those answers attached to the mapping workflow.

Install

pip install ocsfkit

Homebrew:

brew tap pfrederiksen/tap
brew install ocsfkit

For local development:

python -m venv .venv
. .venv/bin/activate
pip install -e ".[dev]"

Documentation

• Getting Started: first mapping, lint, query, and diff workflow.
• Mapping Guide: YAML format, provenance, transforms, drops, and required fields.
• Real-World Workflows: GuardDuty, Security Hub, CloudTrail, CI gates, and mapping comparisons.
• Docs Site: static site source for GitHub Pages.

Quick Start

Parse JSON, YAML, or NDJSON:

ocsfkit parse fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json
ocsfkit parse fixtures/guardduty.ndjson --format ndjson
cat fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json | ocsfkit parse -

Map AWS GuardDuty into an OCSF Detection Finding:

ocsfkit map fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json --mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml
ocsfkit map fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json --mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml --explain

Explain mapping quality before trusting the output:

ocsfkit explain fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json --mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml
ocsfkit explain fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json --mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml --json

Lint OCSF-looking events:

ocsfkit lint fixtures/ocsf_detection_finding.json
ocsfkit lint fixtures/broken_ocsf_event.json --json
ocsfkit lint fixtures/broken_ocsf_event.json --sarif
ocsfkit lint fixtures/broken_ocsf_event.json --warn-only

Diff two events or streams:

ocsfkit diff fixtures/ocsf_detection_finding.json fixtures/broken_ocsf_event.json
ocsfkit diff before.ndjson after.ndjson --json

Query common OCSF fields:

ocsfkit query fixtures/ocsf_detection_finding.json severity_id
ocsfkit query fixtures/ocsf_detection_finding.json metadata.product.name
ocsfkit query fixtures/ocsf_detection_finding.json cloud.account_uid
ocsfkit coverage fixtures/guardduty.ndjson --mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml
ocsfkit coverage fixtures/guardduty.ndjson --mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml --min-confidence 0.7 --max-unmapped 10 --github-summary
ocsfkit validate-mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml
ocsfkit init-mapping fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json
ocsfkit test-mapping tests/fixtures/guardduty-test.yaml
ocsfkit report fixtures/guardduty.ndjson --mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml --output report.html
ocsfkit workshop fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json --mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml
ocsfkit targets search user
ocsfkit pack list
ocsfkit import-schema ./ocsf-schema-export
ocsfkit sync-schema --output ocsf-schema.json

Command Reference

parse

Reads JSON, YAML, or NDJSON and emits normalized JSON. Use this to make sure input data can be loaded before writing mappings.

ocsfkit parse <input> [--format json|ndjson]

<input> can be a file path or - for stdin.

map

Applies a mapping YAML and emits OCSF JSON.

ocsfkit map <input> --mapping mapping.yaml [--format json|ndjson] [--explain] [--strict]

Without --explain, output is the mapped event. With --explain, each output item contains both event and explanation. --strict fails on guessed fields, missing targets, and unmapped source fields. When strict mode is enabled, Python custom_transforms files are blocked unless --allow-unsafe-transforms is also set.

explain

Shows the mapping decision report without making users inspect the mapped event by hand.

ocsfkit explain <input> --mapping mapping.yaml [--json] [--github-annotations]
ocsfkit explain <input> --mapping mapping.yaml --markdown
ocsfkit explain <input> --mapping mapping.yaml --html --output explanation.html

The report includes mapped fields, defaulted fields, guessed fields, dropped fields, unmapped source fields, missing target fields, and a confidence score. --github-annotations emits missing targets and unmapped source fields as GitHub Actions annotations.

lint

Validates OCSF-looking events against the built-in minimal registry.

ocsfkit lint <input> [--json] [--sarif] [--github-annotations] [--warn-only]

Lint exits non-zero on errors unless --warn-only is set. Warnings are used for recommended fields and unknown class IDs. Use --schema-version to enforce the expected OCSF version, and --sarif or --github-annotations in CI.

diff

Compares two OCSF events or two streams with the same event count.

ocsfkit diff <before> <after> [--json]

The human output highlights class and severity changes because those fields tend to affect downstream routing, alerting, and dashboards.

query

Extracts common OCSF fields using dotted paths.

ocsfkit query <input> metadata.product.name
ocsfkit query <input> resources[].name

For NDJSON, one result is printed per event.

coverage

Summarizes mapping quality across an event stream.

ocsfkit coverage <input> --mapping mapping.yaml [--json|--markdown]
ocsfkit coverage <input> --mapping mapping.yaml --min-confidence 0.80 --max-unmapped 25

Coverage exits non-zero when a configured quality budget fails. This is useful for CI gates that allow gradual mapping work while preventing regressions. Use --github-summary in GitHub Actions to append a Markdown summary to the job summary.

validate-mapping

Checks a mapping file before it is used against events.

ocsfkit validate-mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml
ocsfkit validate-mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml --strict

It reports malformed field specs, unknown built-in transforms, and likely schema issues without needing a source event. Strict validation treats warnings as release-blocking failures.

init-mapping

Generates a starter mapping from a representative event.

ocsfkit init-mapping fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json --product-name "Amazon GuardDuty"

Treat the output as a review worksheet, not a complete mapping.

test-mapping

Runs a fixture-based mapping regression test.

ocsfkit test-mapping tests/fixtures/guardduty-test.yaml

The spec points at a source input, a mapping, and expected OCSF JSON. Any semantic difference is reported with the same diff engine as ocsfkit diff.

report

Writes a standalone HTML mapping coverage report.

ocsfkit report fixtures/guardduty.ndjson \
  --mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml \
  --output report.html

Use this when a mapping review needs to be shared outside a terminal or CI log.

workshop

Prints a guided mapping worksheet from a source event. With a mapping, it also renders the explanation report.

ocsfkit workshop fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json
ocsfkit workshop fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json --mapping examples/guardduty-mapping.yaml

schema and import-schema

schema emits the bundled minimal registry. import-schema converts an upstream-style JSON/YAML schema file or directory into the small registry shape that ocsfkit understands.

ocsfkit schema --schema-version 1.7.0
ocsfkit import-schema ./ocsf-schema-export > schema.json
ocsfkit sync-schema --output schema.json

sync-schema downloads the upstream OCSF schema archive and imports it into the same compact registry format. This keeps production pipelines able to refresh schema data without vendoring the full upstream repository.

targets

Search bundled target fields from the terminal:

ocsfkit targets list
ocsfkit targets search endpoint
ocsfkit targets show actor.user.name

pack

List and validate built-in mapping packs:

ocsfkit pack list
ocsfkit pack validate

Packs group included mappings by source family, such as AWS, identity, network, detections, and infrastructure.

Mapping Format

Mappings are YAML. Source paths use a deliberate JSONPath subset such as $.eventTime, $.Resources[*].Id, $.items[0].name, and $.items[?type==instance].id. Target paths use dotted OCSF paths such as cloud.account_uid and actor.user.name.

schema_version: 1.7.0

target_class:
  class_uid: 2004
  class_name: Detection Finding
  category_uid: 2
  category_name: Findings

fields:
  time:
    from: $.eventTime
    transform: parse_timestamp
    required: true

  severity_id:
    from: $.severity
    transform: severity_text_to_id
    default: 1

  message:
    from: $.title

  cloud.account_uid:
    from: $.accountId

drop:
  - $.debug
  - $.rawPayload

The explanation model tracks mapped, transformed, defaulted, guessed, dropped, unmapped, and missing fields, plus a confidence score.

Built-in transforms include common OCSF helpers plus vendor-oriented transform packs such as aws.severity, azure.status_id, azure.status, okta.status_id, okta.status, and network.activity_id.

Included examples:

• GuardDuty mapping
• Security Hub mapping
• CloudTrail console login mapping
• Custom transform module
• Okta, Microsoft Entra ID, GitHub Audit Log, CrowdStrike, Palo Alto, and Zeek mappings.
• Splunk ES, Microsoft Sentinel, Defender, Wiz, Lacework, GCP SCC, Cloudflare, and Kubernetes audit mappings.

Minimal OCSF Scope

Implemented fields:

• time
• class_uid
• class_name
• category_uid
• category_name
• activity_id
• activity_name
• type_uid
• type_name
• severity_id
• severity
• message
• metadata.version
• metadata.product.name
• actor.user.name
• actor.user.uid
• cloud.account_uid
• cloud.region
• device.hostname
• dst_endpoint.ip
• dst_endpoint.port
• process.name
• process.pid
• resources[].name
• resources[].type
• src_endpoint.ip
• src_endpoint.port
• status
• status_id

Implemented class registry:

• Detection Finding (class_uid: 2004)
• Authentication (class_uid: 3002)
• Network Activity (class_uid: 4001)
• Process Activity (class_uid: 1007)

Schema-version awareness currently supports 1.6.0 and 1.7.0, with 1.7.0 as the default expected version.

Fixtures

The repository includes fake, realistic fixtures for local testing:

• fixtures/aws_guardduty_finding.json
• fixtures/aws_securityhub_finding.json
• fixtures/cloudtrail_event.json
• fixtures/azure_ad_signin.json
• fixtures/okta_login_event.json
• fixtures/github_audit_event.json
• fixtures/crowdstrike_detection.json
• fixtures/paloalto_traffic.json
• fixtures/zeek_conn.json
• fixtures/splunk_notable.json
• fixtures/sentinel_alert.json
• fixtures/defender_alert.json
• fixtures/wiz_finding.json
• fixtures/lacework_alert.json
• fixtures/gcp_scc_finding.json
• fixtures/cloudflare_log.json
• fixtures/kubernetes_audit.json
• fixtures/ocsf_detection_finding.json
• fixtures/broken_ocsf_event.json
• fixtures/guardduty.ndjson

No fixture contains real secrets or real account IDs.

Development

uv run --extra dev pytest
uv run --extra dev ruff check .
uv build

The CLI entry point is ocsfkit = "ocsfkit.cli:app".

Release Notes

This repository is ready for normal Python packaging with pyproject.toml. Recommended release flow:

1. Tag a version: git tag v0.5.0 && git push --tags
2. The .github/workflows/release.yml workflow builds distributions.
3. PyPI publishing uses Trusted Publishing when configured, with PYPI_API_TOKEN as a fallback.
4. Homebrew tap updates run when HOMEBREW_TAP_ENABLED=true is set as a repository variable and HOMEBREW_TAP_TOKEN is available as a secret.
5. GitHub Actions are pinned to commit SHAs, and release artifacts get GitHub provenance attestations.

Do not commit package index tokens. Use PyPI trusted publishing or repository secrets for release automation.