> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.screenjson.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Overview

> The ScreenJSON schema — structure, principles, and where to find the authoritative definition.

ScreenJSON is a JSON Schema for screenplay documents. The authoritative machine-readable definition lives at [`https://screenjson.com/schema.json`](https://screenjson.com/schema.json).

## Top level

```json theme={null}
{
  "id":       "<uuid>",
  "version":  "1.0.0",
  "title":    { "en": "The Heist" },
  "lang":     "en",
  "charset":  "utf-8",
  "dir":      "ltr",
  "authors":  [ /* one or more */ ],
  "document": { "cover": { ... }, "scenes": [ ... ] }
}
```

### Required at the root

`id`, `version`, `title`, `lang`, `charset`, `dir`, `authors`, `document`.

### Optional at the root

`generator`, `locale`, `contributors`, `characters`, `colors`, `sources`, `registrations`, `revisions`, `encrypt`, `license`, `taggable`, `genre`, `themes`, `logline`, `analysis`.

## Schema draft

Current draft id: `https://screenjson.com/draft/2026-01/schema`.
Documents pin their authored schema via the root `version` field (semver).

## Design commitments

* **Structural, not presentational.** Element types describe what a thing *is*, not how it looks. Presentation lives in the optional `layout` block.
* **Language as first-class.** Every user-facing text field is a BCP 47 keyed map.
* **Stable identity.** Every referenceable node carries an RFC 4122 UUID.
* **`additionalProperties: false` everywhere.** Extension data lives only in `meta`.
* **Analysis is additive.** Everything under `analysis` is optional and discardable.

## Reference pages

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Document root" href="/specification/document-root" icon="file-lines">Required and optional properties at the top of a document.</Card>
  <Card title="Shared types" href="/specification/shared-types" icon="cubes">uuid, slug, lang, text, name, meta, tags, roles, datetime.</Card>
  <Card title="Authors & contributors" href="/specification/authors" icon="user-pen">Credit model.</Card>
  <Card title="Characters" href="/specification/characters" icon="user">Character index.</Card>
  <Card title="Scenes" href="/specification/scenes" icon="clapperboard">Scene shape with cast and production tags.</Card>
  <Card title="Sluglines" href="/specification/sluglines" icon="heading">Structured scene headings.</Card>
  <Card title="Elements" href="/specification/elements" icon="layer-group">Typed scene body elements.</Card>
  <Card title="Revisions & notes" href="/specification/revisions-notes" icon="git-branch">Editorial passes and anchored annotations.</Card>
  <Card title="Layout" href="/specification/layout" icon="swatchbook">Optional rendering hints.</Card>
  <Card title="Analysis" href="/specification/analysis" icon="brain">Embeddings, passages, summaries.</Card>
  <Card title="Encryption" href="/specification/encryption" icon="lock">AES-256-CTR content encryption.</Card>
  <Card title="Conformance" href="/specification/conformance" icon="check-circle">Validation, versioning, extensions.</Card>
</CardGroup>