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Welcome to the SigMF project! TheSigMF specification documentis thesigmf-spec.md file in this repository. Below we discuss why and howyou might use SigMF in your projects.

Sharing sets of recorded signal data is an important part of science andengineering. It enables multiple parties to collaborate, is often a necessarypart of reproducing scientific results (a requirement of scientific rigor), andenables sharing data with those who do not have direct access to the equipmentrequired to capture it.

Unfortunately, these datasets have historically not been very portable, andthere is not an agreed upon method of sharing metadata descriptions of therecorded data itself. This is the problem that SigMF solves.

By providing a standard way to describe data recordings, SigMF facilitates thesharing of data, prevents the "bitrot" of datasets wherein details of thecapture are lost over time, and makes it possible for different tools to operateon the same dataset, thus enabling data portability between tools and workflows.

SigMF signal recordings typically involve a data file (e.g., a binary file of IQor RF samples) and a metadata file containing plain text that describes the data.Together these files represent one recording, such asexample.sigmf-data andexample.sigmf-meta. Here is a minimal example of a SigMF.sigmf-meta file:

{"global": {"core:datatype":"cf32_le","core:sample_rate":1000000,"core:hw":"PlutoSDR with 915 MHz whip antenna","core:author":"Art Vandelay","core:version":"1.0.0"    },"captures": [        {"core:sample_start":0,"core:frequency":915000000        }    ],"annotations": []}

There are at least four ways you can use SigMF today, thanks to the community-supported projects:

1. WithinPython, using theofficial SigMF Python packagesigmf available from pip:pip install sigmf
2. WithinC++ using theheader-only C++ librarylibsigmf maintained by DeepSig
3. WithinGNU Radio using theout-of-tree modulegr-sigmf maintained by SkySafe
4. Manually, using our examples and thespec itself, even if it's simply editing a text file

The SigMF standards effort is organized entirely within this Github repository.Questions, suggestions, bug reports, etc., are discussed inthe issuetracker, feel free to createa new issue and provide your input, even if it's not a traditional issue.Changes to the specification only occur throughPull Requests.This ensures that the history and background of all discussions and changes are maintained for posterity.

There is also a SigMF chat room onGNU Radio's Matrix chat serverwhere you can ask SigMF-related questions, or participate in various discussions.Lastly, there are monthly SigMF calls covering a variety of topics, on the third Monday of each monthat 11:30AM Eastern/New York Time, please emailmarc@gnuradio.org for an invite and Zoom link.

Anyone is welcome to get involved - indeed, the more people involved in thediscussions, the more useful the standard is likely to be!

The "Core" SigMF standard is intentionally kept limited in scope, additional metadata fields can be added throughSigMF Extensions. For example, thesignal extension provides a standard way to specify modulation schemes and other attributes of wireless comms signals. Several general purpose canonical extensions live within this repository directly in theextensions directory, while others are maintained by third parties. Below we include a listing of some popular, compliant SigMF extensions. To have your extension reviewed for inclusion on this list, please open a PR adding the repository to the list below:

• NTIA's series of extensions

No, this is not a GNU Radio-specific effort. It is hosted under the GNU RadioGithub account because this effort first emerged from a group of GNU Radio coredevelopers, but the goal of the project to provide a standard that will beuseful to anyone and everyone, regardless of tool or workflow.

No, similar to the response, above, the goal is to create something that isgenerally applicable tosignal processing, regardless of whether or not theapplication is communications related.

Yes, and in most cases this is by design. Since the goal of this project iscreate a broadly useful standards document, it is in our best interest to makesure we gather and consider as many opinions as possible, and produce theclearest and most exact language possible. This necessarily requires extremeattention to detail and diligence.