Open Browser Index is a small, public, source-linked dataset of browser facts. It is designed for people and software that need a stable factual baseline: identity, availability, foundation, privacy, extensions, workflow, AI, and mobile capabilities. The initial catalog contains 37 browser records, each in its own reviewable JSON file.
BrowserPedia is a downstream publisher and consumer of this repository. It may turn these facts into editorial pages or recommendations, but recommendations are deliberately not part of Open Browser Index. This repository does not contain the BrowserPedia site, UI, branding assets, guides, comparisons, or private application code.
data/browsers/*.json One factual record per browser
data/sources.json Public source catalog
schemas/browser.schema.json Machine-readable record shape
src/taxonomy.js Controlled vocabularies
src/validator.js No-dependency validation library
src/validate.js Repository validation command
src/build.js Deterministic dist assembler
dist/ Generated catalog (committed and reviewable)
test/ Node's built-in test runner tests and fixtures
Every material claim is represented by a controlled state or factual text with
claim-level sourceRefs. A browser record also contains an evidence map for
the broad identity, availability, foundation, privacy, extension, workflow,
and status groups. Every referenced source must exist in both the record's
source snapshot and data/sources.json; snapshots must be equivalent to the
catalog entry. Sources require a public HTTP(S) URL, a useful label and note,
and an ISO verification date.
Use unknown when a capability was not verified. Do not convert an absence of
documentation into unavailable. Use minimal-or-opt-in or
available-by-extension where that is the factual distinction. Notes should
state the scope and qualification needed to interpret a claim, including
platform or regional limits.
Corrections should cite primary vendor or project documentation where
possible. A secondary source is acceptable when it directly documents a fact
and the primary source is unavailable, but explain why. Report conflicts
between sources rather than silently choosing the more convenient claim; a
maintainer may retain a qualified unknown state until the conflict is
resolved. Maintainers and contributors must disclose relevant financial,
employment, affiliate, or review relationships when proposing facts about a
vendor. A conflict does not automatically disqualify a correction, but it must
be visible to reviewers.
This is a plain Git repository, not an npm package. package.json exists only
as a local task runner configuration; it has no package identity or publishing
configuration. Node.js 20 or newer is required and there are no runtime or
development dependencies.
npm run validate # validate source records and source snapshots
npm test # run focused node:test checks
npm run build # validate, then deterministically rewrite dist/The build has no clock-dependent output. It reads sorted filenames and writes
stable JSON with a fixed dataset version. dist/ is committed so downstream
consumers can inspect the exact assembled catalog. A pull request that changes
source data must include the resulting generated diff; CI fails if generated
files are stale.
Downstream applications should consume an exact Git revision (or a submodule pin), not an unreviewed moving branch. The generated catalog is data, not an API promise: changes to factual values are reviewed as data changes.
The factual data and the editorial product that publishes it are separate concerns. Maintainers may reject persuasive language, rankings, invented scores, unsupported inferences, and product recommendations even when the underlying browser is popular. BrowserPedia owns its editorial decisions as a downstream publisher; this repository does not endorse any browser.
Open Browser Index uses semantic release labels for Git tags and changelog entries:
- MAJOR: incompatible schema or controlled-vocabulary changes.
- MINOR: additive factual fields, taxonomy terms, or new browser records that do not invalidate existing consumers.
- PATCH: corrected facts, source updates, documentation, or generated data changes that preserve the schema.
Tags are ordinary Git releases. There is no npm release or publish workflow.
Copyright © 2026 BrowserPedia contributors. The dataset is available under
CC BY 4.0. Please retain attribution and the source URLs when
redistributing it. See dist/metadata.json for machine-readable attribution.
Read CONTRIBUTING.md, GOVERNANCE.md, and CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md before opening a change. Security reports should follow SECURITY.md.