Okapi comparison
neokapi reimagines the Okapi Framework — the established open-source Java localization toolkit — in Go. It keeps Okapi's proven model: format-specific readers, a chain of processing steps, and a pipeline that streams content through them. The engine is rewritten as a concurrent streaming pipeline and adds AI-native tools and brand-voice enforcement, but the core vocabulary maps directly.
For readers familiar with Okapi, here is how the concepts correspond:
| Okapi (Java) | neokapi (Go) |
|---|---|
| Filter | DataFormat (Reader/Writer) |
| Step | Tool |
| Pipeline | Flow |
| PipelineDriver | Executor |
| Event | Part |
| TextUnit | Block |
| TextFragment | Run sequence ([]Run) |
| Code | Run (PcOpen/PcClose/Ph) |
| Segment (structural) | Span in a segmentation overlay |
| StartSubDocument/StartSubFilter | Child Layer |
| Tikal | kapi (CLI) |
neokapi also runs actual Okapi filters when you need them: the Okapi bridge plugin exposes the Java filter library, so formats without a native reader still round-trip.
Related reading
- Content Model — the Block, Run, and Layer types in detail.
- Architecture — the streaming pipeline and modules.
- Okapi bridge — using the Java filters directly.