Independent This document defines CBOR::Core, a platform profile for CBOR (RFC 8949) intended to serve as a viable replacement for JSON in computationally advanced systems like Internet browsers, mobile phones, and Web servers. To foster interoperability, deterministic encoding is mandated. Furthermore, the document outlines how deterministic encoding combined with enhanced CBOR tools, enable cryptographic methods like signing and hashing, to optionally use "raw" (non-wrapped) CBOR data as input. This document mainly targets CBOR tool developers.