diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 09470f349..cb516899c 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -137,6 +137,10 @@ try (OutputStream out = new FileOutputStream("simple.json")) {
 ```
 For additional writing helper methods, check [WorkflowWriter](api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowWriter.java) class.
 
+## Jackson dependency
+
+The `openworkflow-api` module depends heavily on Jackson for loading file content into an in-memory POJO. For users who use a JSON handling library other than Jackson, the `openworkflow-types` module contains Java POJOs generated from the OpenWorkflow schema without any Jackson annotations. Using this module as a dependency, they can build a reader/writer module equivalent to `openworkflow-api` with their preferred JSON library.
+
 ### Reference implementation
 
 The reference implementation provides a ready-to-use runtime that supports the Open Workflow Specification. It includes a workflow execution engine, validation utilities, and illustrative examples to help you quickly test and deploy your workflows. For details on usage, configuration, and supported features, see [readme](impl/README.md). 
diff --git a/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/DirectReader.java b/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/DirectReader.java
index 54769009d..a60a156be 100644
--- a/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/DirectReader.java
+++ b/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/DirectReader.java
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
  */
 package org.openworkflow.sdk.api;
 
-import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.io.Reader;
 import org.openworkflow.sdk.api.types.Workflow;
@@ -23,22 +22,22 @@
 class DirectReader implements WorkflowReaderOperations {
 
   @Override
-  public Workflow read(InputStream input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException {
+  public Workflow read(InputStream input, WorkflowFormat format) {
     return format.mapper().readValue(input, Workflow.class);
   }
 
   @Override
-  public Workflow read(Reader input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException {
+  public Workflow read(Reader input, WorkflowFormat format) {
     return format.mapper().readValue(input, Workflow.class);
   }
 
   @Override
-  public Workflow read(byte[] input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException {
+  public Workflow read(byte[] input, WorkflowFormat format) {
     return format.mapper().readValue(input, Workflow.class);
   }
 
   @Override
-  public Workflow read(String input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException {
+  public Workflow read(String input, WorkflowFormat format) {
     return format.mapper().readValue(input, Workflow.class);
   }
 }
diff --git a/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/ValidationReader.java b/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/ValidationReader.java
index a27be4ccf..89703c7d2 100644
--- a/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/ValidationReader.java
+++ b/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/ValidationReader.java
@@ -27,8 +27,6 @@
 import java.util.Collection;
 import java.util.stream.Collectors;
 import org.openworkflow.sdk.api.types.Workflow;
-import tools.jackson.core.exc.StreamReadException;
-import tools.jackson.databind.DatabindException;
 import tools.jackson.databind.JsonNode;
 
 class ValidationReader implements WorkflowReaderOperations {
@@ -48,27 +46,26 @@ class ValidationReader implements WorkflowReaderOperations {
   }
 
   @Override
-  public Workflow read(InputStream input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException {
+  public Workflow read(InputStream input, WorkflowFormat format) {
     return validate(format.mapper().readValue(input, JsonNode.class), format);
   }
 
   @Override
-  public Workflow read(Reader input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException {
+  public Workflow read(Reader input, WorkflowFormat format) {
     return validate(format.mapper().readValue(input, JsonNode.class), format);
   }
 
   @Override
-  public Workflow read(byte[] input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException {
+  public Workflow read(byte[] input, WorkflowFormat format) {
     return validate(format.mapper().readValue(input, JsonNode.class), format);
   }
 
   @Override
-  public Workflow read(String input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException {
+  public Workflow read(String input, WorkflowFormat format) {
     return validate(format.mapper().readValue(input, JsonNode.class), format);
   }
 
-  private Workflow validate(JsonNode value, WorkflowFormat format)
-      throws StreamReadException, DatabindException, IOException {
+  private Workflow validate(JsonNode value, WorkflowFormat format) {
     Collection<Error> validationErrors = schemaObject.validate(value);
     if (!validationErrors.isEmpty()) {
       throw new IllegalArgumentException(
diff --git a/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowReader.java b/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowReader.java
index 49ca9143f..7149aafcd 100644
--- a/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowReader.java
+++ b/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowReader.java
@@ -56,9 +56,8 @@ public static Workflow readWorkflow(Reader input, WorkflowFormat format) throws
    * @param input the byte array containing the workflow definition
    * @param format the workflow format
    * @return the parsed {@link Workflow}
-   * @throws IOException if an I/O error occurs
    */
-  public static Workflow readWorkflow(byte[] input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException {
+  public static Workflow readWorkflow(byte[] input, WorkflowFormat format) {
     return defaultReader().read(input, format);
   }
 
@@ -91,10 +90,8 @@ public static Workflow readWorkflow(Path path, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOE
    * @param input the string containing the workflow definition
    * @param format the workflow format
    * @return the parsed {@link Workflow}
-   * @throws IOException if an I/O error occurs
    */
-  public static Workflow readWorkflowFromString(String input, WorkflowFormat format)
-      throws IOException {
+  public static Workflow readWorkflowFromString(String input, WorkflowFormat format) {
     return defaultReader().read(input, format);
   }
 
diff --git a/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowReaderOperations.java b/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowReaderOperations.java
index d0c2bfcc1..578156cee 100644
--- a/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowReaderOperations.java
+++ b/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowReaderOperations.java
@@ -15,17 +15,16 @@
  */
 package org.openworkflow.sdk.api;
 
-import java.io.IOException;
 import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.io.Reader;
 import org.openworkflow.sdk.api.types.Workflow;
 
 public interface WorkflowReaderOperations {
-  Workflow read(InputStream input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException;
+  Workflow read(InputStream input, WorkflowFormat format);
 
-  Workflow read(Reader input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException;
+  Workflow read(Reader input, WorkflowFormat format);
 
-  Workflow read(byte[] input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException;
+  Workflow read(byte[] input, WorkflowFormat format);
 
-  Workflow read(String input, WorkflowFormat format) throws IOException;
+  Workflow read(String input, WorkflowFormat format);
 }
diff --git a/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowWriter.java b/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowWriter.java
index b808dfb8b..1c8e77723 100644
--- a/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowWriter.java
+++ b/api/src/main/java/org/openworkflow/sdk/api/WorkflowWriter.java
@@ -91,10 +91,8 @@ public static void writeWorkflow(Path output, Workflow workflow, WorkflowFormat
    * @param workflow the workflow object to serialize
    * @param format the format to use (JSON or YAML)
    * @return the serialized workflow as a string
-   * @throws IOException if an error occurs during serialization
    */
-  public static String workflowAsString(Workflow workflow, WorkflowFormat format)
-      throws IOException {
+  public static String workflowAsString(Workflow workflow, WorkflowFormat format) {
     return format.mapper().writeValueAsString(workflow);
   }