Version lineage¶

ASYCUDA is one system with three names and five generations. The name localises by language — ASYCUDA (EN) = SYDONIA (FR) = SIDUNEA (ES) — but the software family is the same. UNCTAD has shipped it since 1981, and every country that runs it runs one of these generations.

Version matters because it changes two things you actually care about: the data model (how a declaration is stored and structured) and the integration surfaces (how, or whether, you can read and write data from outside). A tool built for ASYCUDA World's XML e-documents does not map onto ASYCUDA++'s EDIFACT-and-Oracle world, and neither maps onto the cloud-native microservices of the new generation. Identify the generation before you assume anything about the schema.

The five generations¶

flowchart LR
    V1["v1 · 1981<br/><small>trade statistics</small>"]
    V2["v2 / v2.7 · 1985–95<br/><small>full clearance</small>"]
    V3["ASYCUDA++ v3 · 1992+<br/><small>C++ · EDIFACT · legacy</small>"]
    V4["ASYCUDA World v4 · 2002+<br/><small>Java · XML · current standard</small>"]
    V5["ASY5 / New Generation · 2024–26<br/><small>cloud-native · Angola live Jan 2026</small>"]

    V1 --> V2 --> V3 --> V4 --> V5

    style V4 fill:#d9770622,stroke:#d97706

ASYCUDA World (v4) is the current standard — around 90% of the 100+ using countries and territories are on it or migrating to it. ASYCUDA++ is legacy but still live in a few countries mid-migration; the new generation ("ASY5") is in phased rollout, with Angola live since January 2026.

Comparison across generations¶

Version	Era	Tech stack	Database	Architecture	Data model	Who runs it
v1	1981–84	DOS-era micro	Flat files	Standalone micro	Trade-statistics capture	First ECOWAS countries — statistics only
v2 / v2.7	1985–95	C, DOS/UNIX	Flat-file / Informix	LAN client + file server	Full clearance	Many developing countries in the 1990s; some legacy holdouts
ASYCUDA++ (v3)	1992–present (legacy)	C++, UN/EDIFACT	Oracle / Informix / Sybase	Thick client-server	Relational; EDIFACT (CUSDEC); MODSEL selectivity	Rolled out late-90s–2000s; a few countries still live, mid-migration
ASYCUDA World (v4)	2002–present (current standard)	100% Java, XML documents, Java Web Start client	Oracle, MS SQL Server, MySQL, PostgreSQL, DB2, Sybase, Informix	Web / store-and-forward, N-tier	XML e-document model; SAD = general segment + item segments	100+ countries/territories; ~90% on or migrating to it
ASY5 / New Generation	2024–26 (Angola live Jan 2026)	Cloud-native microservices: Quarkus, Kubernetes, Kafka, Keycloak, VueJS; open-source	Cloud data platform	Modular microservices, REST / event	Data-driven, WCO-DM aligned; native + third-party AI risk	Phased rollout; Angola first

How to tell which version you have¶

The three current generations leave distinct fingerprints. If you know the client and the wire format, you know the version.

ASYCUDA World (v4)

100% Java. The client is a Java Web Start thick client — a .jnlp launch file pulling ~130 JARs over HTTPS, main class so.kernel.client.DesktopMain, connecting to the server on a custom TCP port (e.g. //host:2016/). Business data moves as non-namespaced XML e-documents. If you see a JNLP launcher and XML exports, it is v4.
ASYCUDA++ (v3)

A C++ thick client in a client-server deployment, backed by a relational Oracle / Informix / Sybase database. Data exchange is UN/EDIFACT — the CUSDEC message is the declaration. Selectivity runs through the MODSEL module. No XML e-documents, no Java client.
ASY5 / New Generation

Cloud-native microservices — Quarkus, Kubernetes, Kafka, Keycloak, a VueJS front end — and open-source. Integration is REST and event-based (Kafka topics), with a first-class hook for native and third-party AI risk signals. In phased rollout; Angola went live in January 2026.

Modules¶

Across ASYCUDA World and the new generation, functional modules extend the core clearance system:

ASYHUB — external-system data hub (an API for authorised entities).
ASYFCI — Fast Cargo Integration (the cargo-manifest / AWMDS handler).
ASYADN — advance data (pre-arrival manifest information).
ASYREC — relief consignments (humanitarian).
eCITES — endangered-species trade permits.
ASYCUDA Single Window — connects partner government agencies for licences, permits and certificates.

An accuracy caveat¶

Not every developing country runs ASYCUDA. Region is not a reliable signal: Senegal never adopted SYDONIA — it built its own GAINDE system — and some countries run other platforms entirely. Confirm the target administration before you assume it is on ASYCUDA at all.

This toolbox models ASYCUDA World (v4)

The Sydonia Toolkit reconstructs the data model of ASYCUDA World (v4) specifically — the current standard, and the version whose field-level model is public through its XML layer and national manuals. It does not model the ASYCUDA++ relational schema or the ASY5 microservice data platform. See ASYCUDA World — the modeled version for what that means for the schema, and Sources for the official documents behind it.