Info Lounge Releases “KUKAN,” a Next-Generation Data Catalog Platform Designed for the AI Era, as Open Source

Info Lounge Corporation (Headquarters: Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture; Representative Director: Masaki Hidano) has released “KUKAN,” an open-source data catalog platform.

KUKAN is a next-generation data platform designed to support data utilization in the coming AI era, featuring full-text search that covers even the contents of files and support for direct queries from generative AI.

Open-Source Data Catalog Platform “KUKAN”

KUKAN is a software platform designed to enable public institutions, such as local governments, and research organizations to publish and share data managed by their organizations. As a modern successor to “CKAN”—a data catalog system widely used by governments and public institutions around the world—it was designed with a focus on maintainability, scalability, and searchability.Through the open-source release of KUKAN, we aim to support organizations in utilizing their data and reducing their operational burden.

■Background

For over 15 years, we have supported local governments and other organizations in building and operating open data catalogs using CKAN. Through this practical experience, the following challenges have become apparent in the field.

[Current Challenges]

・Maintenance burden: Customized features may stop working during version updates, sometimes requiring extensive modifications

・Scalability limitations: It is difficult to handle increases in concurrent access, and scaling up server resources is not straightforward

・High operational burden: With limited staff, the burden on frontline personnel managing data alongside their daily tasks is significant

・Interference with Core Operations: Consequently, it is difficult to focus on improving data quality and promoting data utilization

There was a need for a data catalog platform that could resolve these challenges and enable local governments and other organizations to operate it on an ongoing basis.

■Features of KUKAN

As a new data catalog platform tailored to future data utilization, KUKAN achieves the following:

・Modern architecture: Ensures scalability capable of withstanding high traffic volumes

・Reliable design: Reduces the risk of system modifications associated with customization and version updates

・Focus on Core Business Operations: Minimizes the burden of daily data management, allowing organizations to focus on improving quality and promoting data utilization

・Readiness for the AI Era: Balances user-friendliness for humans with ease of retrieval by AI and external systems (machine readability)

Through this, we aim to reduce the burden of system development and maintenance, creating an environment where stakeholders can focus on “bringing valuable data to the world.”

■ Technical and Operational Features

KUKAN is released as open-source software (OSS), and its source code is available on GitHub. This allows local governments and businesses to implement and extend the system to suit their own environments, enabling sustainable operations that are not dependent on any specific vendor.

Key Features

・Cross-platform search not only of file names and titles but also of the actual content within PDF, Excel, and other files

・Automatically converts CSV/TSV files to the Parquet format—optimized for data analysis—enabling high-speed table display and data analysis directly in the browser

・A wide variety of preview formats (over 20 types in total, including CSV, PDF, Office, images, and GeoJSON)

・Supports CKAN-compatible APIs

・Comes standard with deployment templates (AWS CDK, Docker Compose)

・Built-in automatic broken link detection (CSV validation, PII detection, and other features are scheduled for future expansion)

・Comes standard with an MCP server, enabling direct data queries from AI services such as ChatGPT and Claude

■ Licensing

KUKAN is dual-licensed under AGPL-3.0 and a proprietary (commercial) license. This approach promotes the free use of the software as open source while enabling a flexible delivery model tailored to various needs, including commercial use. For details on the scope of the commercial license, support offerings, and deployment options, please contact us using the information below.

■ Future Developments

KUKAN is a newly launched project. We will continue to expand its features and improve its documentation. If you have any questions regarding implementation, feedback or requests, bug reports, or proposals for joint development or collaboration, please feel free to contact us using the information below.

Through these efforts, we will continue to support local government digital transformation (DX), the utilization of open data, the improvement of data quality, and the realization of a sustainable public data infrastructure.

[Related Links]

KUKAN Official Website: https://kukan.dev/

GitHub Repository: https://github.com/kukan-project/kukan

■ About Info Lounge

Info Lounge Corporation is a company specializing in data utilization consulting, web system and software development, and human resource development support. For many years, we have supported local governments in building and operating open data catalogs, providing support for the utilization of government data from both technical and operational perspectives.

■Company Overview

Info Lounge Corporation

Address: Room 402, South Core, 8-33 Chigasaki Chuo, Tsuzuki-ku, Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture

Representative Director: Masaki Hidano

Established: July 3, 2007

URL: https://info-lounge.jp/

■Contact Information

Info Lounge Corporation

Phone: 045-482-4361

Email: kukan@info-lounge.jp