The RoadBook Open Travel Itinerary Format

RoadBook is an open format for complete travel itineraries. It can represent trip days, transportation, stays, activities, bookings, tickets, travelers, documents and other travel information in a portable structured file. This page summarizes the facts; the canonical, vendor-neutral specification lives at roadbookformat.org.

Key facts

Format name	RoadBook — Open Travel Itinerary Format (also written “Roadbook Format”)
Current stable version	1.2 (MAJOR.MINOR; released 2026-08-08). Absent `formatVersion` means 1.0.
File extension / naming	`<trip-slug>.roadbook.json` (UTF-8 JSON); `.roadbook.zip` for a JSON plus local media
Media type	`application/json` (a dedicated `application/vnd.roadbook+json` is documented as a proposal on the format site)
Specification	https://roadbookformat.org/spec.html
JSON Schema (draft 2020-12)	https://roadbookformat.org/roadbook.schema.json
Official examples	https://roadbookformat.org/examples/ (nine annotated files + `index.json` manifest) and the RoadBook+ examples
Reference validator	ESM library · CLI · web · HTTP API
License	MIT — no registration, API key or permission required to read or write the format
Versioning policy	roadbookformat.org/versioning.html — MINOR versions only add optional fields; readers must ignore and preserve unknown fields; MAJOR may break
Changelog	https://roadbookformat.org/changelog.html
Compatibility of this player	RoadBook+ reads format 1.0 → 1.2 and writes 1.2; unknown fields are preserved on export; vendor extensions should be prefixed `x-…`
Maintainer	The specification is maintained vendor-neutrally at roadbookformat.org (by Cedaya, which also operates RoadBook+). A public GitHub repository and an npm package (`@roadbookformat/validate`) are in preparation.

What a RoadBook contains

A RoadBook is one JSON document. Required at the root: id, name, start, end, members (the travelers) and days. Everything else is optional and additive:

Days — indexed, dated, titled; each with timed items (type, status, place, coordinates, price, options to choose from, alternatives triggered by rain or wind, outfit hints, a bookingId).
Transport — structured origin/destination, carrier, number, terminals, platforms, timezones and next-day arrivals for flights, trains, ferries, transfers, drives.
Bookings — stays, activities, restaurants, transport, parking; status (confirmed / to book / optional / cancelled), references, payment, cancellation rules, check-in/out, rooms, attachments.
Tickets — the real barcode payload (QR, Aztec, PDF417, Code 128, EAN-13, Data Matrix), holder, seat, date, validity — so a player can render a scannable code offline.
Travelers, people to meet, vehicles — roles, ages, dietary and accessibility needs; guides, drivers, hosts; cars, rentals, charging plans.
Checklists, contacts, logistics notes, apps, brand — practical information that travels with the trip.

Minimal valid example

{
  "formatVersion": "1.2",
  "id": "lisbon-weekend",
  "name": "Lisbon weekend",
  "start": "2027-05-14",
  "end": "2027-05-16",
  "currency": "EUR",
  "members": [{ "id": "m1", "name": "Alex", "role": "owner", "kind": "adult" }],
  "days": [
    { "id": "d1", "index": 1, "date": "2027-05-14", "title": "Alfama",
      "items": [
        { "id": "i1", "time": "10:00", "title": "Tram 28 to the castle", "type": "transit", "status": "planned" },
        { "id": "i2", "time": "12:30", "title": "Lunch in Alfama", "type": "meal", "status": "planned" }
      ] }
  ],
  "bookings": [], "checklists": [], "contacts": [], "logistics": []
}

Dates are YYYY-MM-DD, times are 24-hour HH:MM local wall-clock (with optional IANA timezones), enum values are English tokens, every referenced id must resolve. The full field-level reference, integrity rules and conventions are in the specification.

Design principles

Complete: the trip as a traveler lives it, not a list of sights — bookings, tickets and documents included.
Portable: one file, no account, no vendor database; readable by humans and machines.
Open and versioned: MIT specification, JSON Schema, reference validator, predictable evolution.
AI-friendly: plain JSON with English tokens and a public spec, so assistants can produce it from a conversation — see Create with AI.
Interoperable by design: RoadBook+ is one player; iCalendar or GPX can be derived from a RoadBook, not the other way round.

Where things live

Topic	Canonical home
Specification, JSON Schema, validator, examples, versioning, changelog, license	roadbookformat.org (neutral, technical)
Opening, viewing, sharing, demo, AI creation guides, traveler experience	roadbook.plus (this site — the official player)
Machine-readable summaries for AI agents	roadbookformat.org/llms.txt · roadbook.plus/llms.txt

Read the full specification · Developers · See it in the player