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Pundit

Net7 Srl
Italy
Website (Opens in new window)

About

Launched: 2012
Record Updated: Dec 09, 2025
Annotations system
Pundit is a web annotation tool which consists of a cloud service that allows users to “take notes” on web documents.
Pundit allows users to apply highlights, comments, and tags on web pages and PDF files, together with “semantic annotations”, formal RDF triples based on ontologies and compliant with the W3C Web Annotation data model.
It also offers: social features that allow users to mark annotations with like/dislike/report and add comments; a web application to manage and export annotations; “notebooks” to contain annotations that can also be shared; APIs for application integration.
It is based on a Chrome extension but also offers a proxy service to use Pundit on other browsers (including from mobile devices).
It is designed for scholars, students, researchers, professionals, but also for casual web users who want to exploit the power of web annotation.
Research Organization Registry (Opens in new window)

Mission

The modern web is rich in information but poor in tools that help users critically engage with content, preserve insights, and connect ideas across pages and documents.
Researchers and students often work in fragmented environments, with annotations, references, and notes scattered across PDFs, browsers, and personal files. Scholars increasingly rely on the open web as a source of material for study and research, yet lack an effective way to turn what they encounter online into structured, reusable knowledge.
Pundit addresses these challenges by providing a unified annotation environment that transforms the web into an active research space. Users can highlight, comment, tag, and take notes directly on web pages and PDF files, while also creating semantic annotations based on formal ontologies.
This turns everyday browsing into a process of study, analysis, and knowledge organisation, fully integrated and shareable across research workflows.

Key Achievements

These are Pundit's main recent achievements.
1. Within the OSCARS-funded FASCA project (2024–2026), Pundit is being enhanced with advanced Semantic Web capabilities, enabling users to annotate with multiple ontologies—both built-in and user-defined—and introducing cross-document annotation to support richer scholarly workflows.
2. Pundit has also expanded its interoperability through integration with Hypothes.is, allowing users to access and reuse annotations created with that platform.
3. Pundit is directly integrated into the GoTriple.eu discovery platform, enabling SSH researchers to annotate, analyse, and organise content directly while exploring research materials.

Technical Attributes

Maintenance Status

Actively Maintained

Open Code Repository

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Technical Documentation

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Code License

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Open API

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Open Data Statement

In Progress

Technical Attribute Statements

Programming Languages

  • php
  • typescript

Technology Readiness Level

  • Actual system proven in operational environment

Code Licenses Used

  • GNU General Public License (GPL)

Content Licensing

  • Creative commons licenses

Standards

Metadata

  • JSON
  • JSON-LD
  • RDF
  • REST

Hosting Options

  • Through solution only

Community Engagement

Community Statements

User Contribution Pathways

  • Contribute funds
  • Contribute to code
  • Contribute to documentation
  • Contribute to education or training
  • Contribute to governance
  • Contribute to user research or user testing
  • Contribute to working groups or interest groups

Policies & Governance

Governance Summary

Pundit is developed by Net7, an IT company based in Pisa, Italy.

Policies

Privacy Policy

Implemented
Website (Opens in new window)

Policy Statements

Board Structure

  • None

Board Level

  • Provider

Community Governance

  • None

Additional Information

Organizational History

Pundit has been created by Net7. Its development originated from Net7’s involvement in the EU project SEMLIB in 2011, leading to its first official release in 2012. Between 2015 and 2019 it served as a core component of the EU StoM project, where major efforts focused on improving usability and user experience. In 2021 a completely refactored, modern version of Pundit was released within the EU TRIPLE project, marking a major technological renewal. Additional milestones are documented in the official release notes.
Net7 is an IT company based in Pisa, Italy, specialised in Web and Data Science technologies and active in Digital Humanities, Open Access, Semantic Web and Data Processing. The company is increasingly investing in Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Text Analysis, exploring their integration with Semantic Web technologies. Net7 has extensive experience in Italian and EU-funded research projects as both participant and coordinator.

Organizational Structure

Business or Ownership Model

Commercial (for-profit)

Full-time Staff

More than 20

Volunteers

0

Current Affiliations

No affiliations

Funding

Primary Funding Source

  • Contributions

Funding Needs

Improving features.
Marketing and dissemination.
Community building.
Users support.
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