- From: Do Not Reply <nobody@w3.org>
- Date: Mon, 08 Jun 2026 20:37:29 +0000
- To: public-new-work@w3.org
The Portable Web Content Format (PortableWeb) Community Group has been launched: https://www.w3.org/community/portableweb/ -------------------------------------------------- AI-assisted tools can now generate high-quality interactive web content —games, presentations, simulations, educational materials— in minutes. This has created a massive and growing category of ephemeral Web applications that need to be shared and used immediately across devices and platforms, without a traditional server for distribution, without association with a Web origin, and without being confined to a web browser. No existing format treats interactive web content as a portable, self-contained, immediately runnable unit. PDF loses interactivity. EPUB3 is constrained to a document and book model — its JavaScript support is an enhancement to a reading experience, not a general-purpose runtime. Web Bundles never achieved broad implementation and was designed as a network transport optimization, not a portable execution environment. The Web Application Manifest describes server-hosted apps and requires a live web origin. None of these addresses the need for content that has no server, no origin, and no installation —content that should exist, run, and be shared as a single portable file, across all platforms, entirely offline. This mission of this group is to develop an open specification for a self-contained portable web content format that can be instantly shared and run on any platform —desktop, mobile, or offline— without a server, app store, or deployment pipeline. The format is content-model agnostic, equally supporting books, games, presentations, educational simulations, 3D experiences, scientific models, and collaborative applications. The scope of work includes: - Container and packaging format - Manifest schema for capability and permission declaration - Viewer conformance requirements and security sandboxing model - Storage model —per-bundle isolated storage specification, defining how packaged content can persist state locally, how storage is scoped and sandboxed to the bundle, and guidelines for storage portability across viewer implementations. - Inter-bundle communication model — a permission-gated channel specification enabling bundles to communicate locally via Bluetooth, WiFi Direct, or local network, making offline multiplayer, peer-to-peer, and collaborative interactive experiences possible without any server infrastructure. This is a genuinely novel capability not addressed by any existing format or specification. In addition to a Specification, this group expects to create a Viewer conformance test suite, and a non-normative implementation guide for content creators, AI tools, and viewer developers. -------------------------------------------------- To join: https://www.w3.org/community/portableweb/join If you do not have one already, you will need a W3C account to join: https://www.w3.org/account/request/ This is a community initiative. W3C's hosting of this group does not imply endorsement of the activities. The group must now choose a chair: https://www.w3.org/community/about/faq/#how-do-we-choose-a-chair For more information about getting started in the new group, see: https://www.w3.org/community/about/faq/#how-do-we-get-started-in-a-new-group and good practice for running a group: https://www.w3.org/community/about/good-practice-for-running-a-group/ We invite you to share news of this new group in social media and other channels. If you believe that there is an issue with this group that requires the attention of the W3C staff, please email us at team-community-process@w3.org Thank you, W3C Community Development Team
Received on Monday, 8 June 2026 20:37:31 UTC