W3C publishes first draft of SHACL 1.2 Profiling

The World Wide Web Consortium’s Data Shapes Working Group has published the First Public Working Draft of SHACL 1.2 Profiling.

The draft was published on 2 July 2026. It forms part of the SHACL 1.2 family of specifications.

SHACL, the Shapes Constraint Language, is used to describe the structure of RDF graphs. RDF, or Resource Description Framework, is a standard model for representing data as relationships between things. It is often used in linked data, knowledge graphs and semantic web applications.

SHACL can be used to validate data, describe domain models, support inferencing, generate ontologies, build user interfaces, generate code and help integrate data from different sources.

The new SHACL 1.2 Profiling draft focuses on profiles. In this context, a profile can be understood as a defined way of using a broader specification for a particular purpose, community or implementation need.

The draft defines elements of SHACL that allow both profiles of SHACL and profiling with SHACL. Its scope is limited to profiling RDF graphs, including RDF graphs that contain SHACL shapes.

This is relevant for organisations and technical communities that need consistent rules for how RDF data should be structured or interpreted in specific environments. Profiling can help make data models more predictable, improve interoperability and clarify which parts of a broader standard are expected in a given use case.

The publication is still an early-stage W3C draft. A First Public Working Draft is not a final standard. It marks the point at which the Working Group makes the draft public for review and feedback.

The Data Shapes Working Group says the specification should be read as part of the wider SHACL 1.2 work, including the SHACL 1.2 Overview, which provides a broader introduction to the related specifications.