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An SBOM is a machine-readable inventory of software components and their relationships. To create one, first decide whether you need to describe a project’s dependencies or inspect a built artifact such as a container image; then choose a generator and an output format accepted by the people or tools that will use it. To view or convert an existing SBOM, use a parser or command-line utility that supports its format and version, and validate the result—conversion between formats can lose information.
What an SBOM tells you—and what it does not
The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) defines a software bill of materials (SBOM) as “a formal record containing the details and supply chain relationships of various components used in building software.” Think of it as an ingredients list: it can help teams inventory software, assess vulnerability exposure, and manage license use.
An SBOM is not a security certification and does not prove that software is safe or that every component has been found. As the NTIA’s 2021 report puts it, “SBOM will not solve all software security problems, but will form a foundational data layer on which further security tools, practices, and assurances can be built.” An SBOM is most useful when it is accurate enough for its purpose, shared appropriately, and connected to follow-on processes.
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Choose what you want to inventory
Before choosing a tool, decide what the inventory should describe. Different generation contexts can produce different component lists because they expose different information.
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- Project or build inputs: A package-manager or build-system integration can report dependencies known to the project or build process. This view may include declared dependencies that do not appear in a particular artifact.
- Built output: A scanner can inspect a container image, filesystem, or archive and report components it detects in that artifact. This view depends on what is present and detectable after build.
- A host or another artifact: Choose a generator that explicitly supports the target you need to inventory; support for one target does not establish support for another.
These views are complementary, not interchangeable. Record whether the SBOM was generated before, during, or after build, along with the target and other context your consumers require. CISA’s 2025 minimum-elements guidance discusses generation context and compatible automation.
Pick a format your downstream tools accept
SPDX and CycloneDX are widely used, machine-processable formats that can also be read by people. There is no universal best choice: check the receiving organization’s requirements, the exact format version accepted by its tools, and what your generator can produce. NTIA’s 2021 framework also discusses SWID tags, but the practical choice depends on the intended exchange and toolchain.
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Minimum-content expectations are broader than a file extension. NTIA’s 2021 framework groups them into three areas:
- Data fields: supplier, component name and version, unique identifiers, dependency relationships, SBOM author, and timestamp.
- Automation support: automated generation and machine-readable formats so SBOMs can be produced and handled at scale.
- Practices and processes: frequency, depth, known unknowns, distribution and delivery, access control, and how mistakes are accommodated.
CISA published updated minimum-elements guidance in 2025. Treat the applicable current guidance, contracts, and consumer requirements as authoritative for your use case rather than assuming the 2021 NTIA framework is the only rule that matters.
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How to create an SBOM
- Define the target. Specify the repository or project, build output, container image, filesystem, archive, or other artifact you need described.
- Select a generator with visibility into that target. Check its official documentation for supported ecosystems and inputs. For example, Syft documents SBOM generation from container images, filesystems, and archives, with SPDX and CycloneDX output. That documented coverage does not mean it is the right fit for every project or target.
- Set the required output. Configure a format and version the consumer accepts, and follow its policy for required fields and context. Do not assume a generator’s default format matches your recipient’s requirements.
- Generate and retain context. Keep the resulting file with information about what was scanned and when, plus the build or generation context required by your organization.
- Inspect and validate the result. Check component identities, versions, relationships, missing fields, and known unknowns. Resolve discrepancies where possible, and document limitations rather than treating an incomplete view as a complete inventory.
- Deliver or analyze it as needed. Share the SBOM under the recipient’s access and delivery rules. If you need a continuing portfolio inventory or vulnerability monitoring, submit it to an analysis process or platform; generating a file alone does not provide ongoing monitoring.
How to view or validate an SBOM file
First identify the file’s format and version. Then use a viewer, parser, or command-line tool that explicitly supports them. A human-readable display can help with quick inspection, while a validator or parser can check structure and required content; those are different tasks, and a readable file is not necessarily a valid or complete one.
Review the fields that make the file actionable: component names and versions, supplier or identifiers where present, dependency relationships, author, timestamp, and any stated gaps. Compare the contents with the intended target and generation context. A package list without useful relationships or context may not answer the receiving team’s questions.
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The CycloneDX Tool Center catalogs tools in the ecosystem. The CycloneDX CLI documentation describes operations including analysis, modification, diffing, merging, conversion, signing, and verification. Confirm current release documentation for precise support and usage, since capabilities and format versions can change.
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Convert only when a consumer needs a different format or version and you have confirmed the chosen utility supports both the source and destination. The CycloneDX CLI documents conversion support for CycloneDX XML, JSON, Protobuf, and CSV, plus SPDX JSON v2.3. Its project documentation warns that conversion between SPDX and CycloneDX can lose information.
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- Keep the original SBOM unchanged and work from a copy.
- Check that the converter supports the source format and version and the required destination format and version.
- Convert the file using the tool’s current documented procedure.
- Validate the converted file with a parser or validator for its destination format.
- Compare component identities, relationships, and required metadata with the original. Investigate fields or relationships that did not carry over before sending the result to a consumer.
A successful conversion means the tool produced an output, not that the two files represent identical information. If a receiving tool accepts the original format, sending the original may avoid an unnecessary transformation.
Choosing tools for a real workflow
Evaluate a generator or SBOM utility against the job it must do, not a claim that it is universally “best” or “most accurate.” The official documentation for Syft describes generation targets and output formats; the CycloneDX CLI documents processing and conversion operations. These are capability descriptions, not controlled comparative performance results.
- Input coverage: Does the tool support your repository, package manager, build, image, filesystem, archive, or host?
- Format support: Can it read and write the specific formats and versions your workflow needs?
- Inventory detail: How does it identify components and represent dependency relationships, uncertainty, or incomplete visibility?
- Workflow features: Does it provide validation, conversion, signing, or provenance and generation context you require?
- Automation and operations: Can it run locally or in your CI pipeline, and does its operating model fit your data-handling requirements?
- Downstream use: Do you need a file for exchange, or a persistent inventory with analysis over time?
For ongoing inventory and vulnerability analysis, OWASP’s Dependency-Track is an example of a platform that ingests SBOMs for inventory and analysis. A platform can support downstream work, but it does not remove the need to generate, validate, and maintain useful SBOMs.
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Make the SBOM useful after generation
Set a policy for when SBOMs are generated, how deeply they describe dependencies, what gaps are recorded, and how files are delivered and access-controlled. Preserve enough context to interpret each inventory later. These practices matter whether the file supports a one-time handoff, internal asset tracking, vulnerability triage, or license review.
For the current guidance and definitions, consult the NTIA 2021 minimum-elements report, CISA’s 2025 minimum-elements guidance, and the NTIA’s SBOM resources page. Requirements can differ by contract, organization, and consumer, so confirm the rules that apply to the exchange at hand.
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