open-datasets

Open structured datasets for developers, creators, and indie makers.

This repo is a small public collection of static JSON datasets. The data is meant to be easy to read in a pull request, easy to validate in CI, and easy to consume from scripts, sites, or a future API.

The data may be served by api.riyo.me, but this repository does not contain an API server and does not depend on any private codebase.

What This Is

• Human-editable JSON files under datasets/
• JSON Schemas under schemas/
• TypeScript scripts for validation and normalized builds
• Source-tracked starter data for platforms, launch sites, file types, licenses, countries, and software distribution notes

What This Is Not

• A database
• A scraper
• A legal, tax, policy, or compliance reference
• A private API implementation
• A guarantee that every platform rule is current

Every entry has sources and a last_checked date, but humans should verify anything important before relying on it.

Example Uses

• Fill dropdowns or reference pages in maker tools
• Build static lookup tables for websites
• Seed a public API with reviewed JSON data
• Compare software distribution options
• Track source links for platform and license research

Dataset Categories

Group	Path	Purpose
Platforms	datasets/platforms/	Marketplaces, stores, code hosts, and product platforms
Launch sites	datasets/launch-sites/	Places where makers submit or announce projects
Software distribution	datasets/software-distribution/	OS-level distribution notes and common formats
File types	datasets/file-types/	Common extensions, MIME types, and usage notes
Licenses	datasets/licenses/	Short license reference entries with SPDX/source links
Countries	datasets/countries/	Creator/developer monetization notes by country

Validate

Install dependencies:

npm install

Validate every dataset file:

npm run validate

Build normalized output under dist/:

npm run build

Run both:

npm run check

Output

The build script writes:

• dist/index.json
• dist/platforms.json
• dist/launch-sites.json
• dist/software-distribution.json
• dist/file-types.json
• dist/licenses.json
• dist/countries.json

Each group output is sorted by id and includes a small metadata block with total_count and generated_at.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome, especially corrections with better source links.

When adding or changing data:

• Keep entries factual and conservative.
• Use unknown, partial, yes, no, varies, or needs_verification when a field is not clear.
• Add source URLs, preferably official documentation.
• Update last_checked when you personally review a source.
• Do not scrape data into this repository.
• Do not add private credentials, private URLs, or deployment details.

See CONTRIBUTING.md for the full workflow.

Licenses

Code in this repository is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.

Dataset contents are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International. See DATA-LICENSE.

The split is intentional: scripts and tooling are code, while the JSON dataset contents are data.