TOSCA: Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications


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Enhancing the portability and operational management of cloud and other types of applications and services across their entire lifecycle.

Topology and Orchestration Specification for Cloud Applications (TOSCA) is an OASIS open standard that enables users to manage the entire lifecycle of application and network services, from initial service design through service deployment all the way to ongoing service management. TOSCA is widely used and vendor independent. It works across multiple clouds and network technologies, which allows architects to focus on application design and requirements without being bogged down by the ever-changing specificity of the infrastructure.

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TOSCA enables business to capture and automate the use of expert knowledge so that service and application requirements could be automatically matched to corresponding cloud service provider capabilities, thus enabling a truly competitive ecosystem where cloud platform and service providers can leap beyond commoditization in order to compete, innovate, and better serve the accelerating needs of cloud-based businesses.


Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main objective of the TOSCA TC?

By promoting a model-driven approach, the TOSCA TC aims to enable automation of deployment and full lifecycle management across diverse domains and technology stacks. The TC’s work supports adoption, usability, and ecosystem growth by ensuring the standard is broadly applicable, interoperable, and adaptable to emerging cloud, edge, and automation technologies.

Why is TOSCA needed?

TOSCA is needed because it provides a standardized way to describe application components and their relationships using a service topology, along with the procedures to manage their lifecycle through orchestration. This combination enables not only automated deployment but also full lifecycle management of services.

Unlike other orchestration technologies, TOSCA promotes a model-driven management approach where service models can be used as the desired state for Moves, Adds, Changes, and Deletions (MACDs), and as context for automated handling of faults and events using closed-loop automation. Since TOSCA models are graphs, orchestrators can automatically determine the proper sequencing of operations and understand how changes to one component affect others.

TOSCA is technology and domain independent, making it broadly applicable across many application domains and technology layers. It supports use cases ranging from IaaS cloud workloads and cloud-native applications to edge computing, NFV, SDN, and process automation. Its standardized approach helps streamline complex application management and enables consistent, portable, and automated orchestration across diverse environments.

What are the benefits of joining TOSCA?

Joining the TOSCA TC gives members a direct role in shaping a widely applicable cloud orchestration standard. It provides the opportunity to collaborate with industry and academic experts, influence the specification to meet real-world needs, and stay aligned with emerging best practices. Members gain access to draft specifications, tools, and community resources, and help drive adoption, usability, and ecosystem growth, ensuring the standard evolves to meet changing technologies and markets.

Who should participate?

The TOSCA TC welcomes participation from a broad range of stakeholders involved in cloud application design, development, deployment, or operation. This includes software and equipment vendors, service designers, service providers, and operators focused on delivering interoperable cloud and networking solutions. End-users of these services and other standards developers who need standardized service templates are also encouraged to join. Participation helps ensure the TOSCA standard meets real-world needs across diverse cloud environments.

OASIS welcomes interested organizations to join and contribute to the development of the TOSCA standard. Organizations can participate by becoming OASIS members.

How much time is required to participate in the TOSCA TC?

Participation in the TOSCA TC does not require a significant time commitment. Members typically meet once a month for an hour and collaborate extensively via email and shared documents. If your availability is limited and you prefer not to affect quorum, you have the option to join as an Observer. Observers can stay informed and contribute without the obligation of full participation, though OASIS membership is still required. View more info on committee participation [here].

How do I view the mailing list archive?

The TOSCA TC’s mailing list archive, used by members to conduct Committee work, is available hereTC membership is required to post to this list. TC members are automatically subscribed.

New Members Welcome


Whether you want to actively contribute in decision-making or just observe progress from the inside, you will need to be an OASIS member.

If your employer is already on our current member list, submit this request form to be added to the TC Roster. If not, find out how to join OASIS.

Non-members may monitor the mailing list archives online, view approved documents, and provide feedback to our comments list. Contact Us for more information.