simonw/browser-compat-db

2026-06-24 · Source: Simon Willison's Weblog · Field: Technology & Digital — Software Development & Engineering, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning, Data Science & Analytics · Depth: Intermediate, quick

Summary

The simonw/browser-compat-db project converts Mozilla's extensive mdn/browser-compat-data repository into a ~66MB SQLite database. This initiative, inspired by MDN's MCP service, utilizes a script generated by Claude Code for web (Opus 4.8) with sqlite-utils for the conversion process. To ensure the resulting database is publicly accessible with open CORS headers, a GitHub Actions workflow, built by Codex Desktop (GPT-5.5), automates the database creation and force-pushes it to a dedicated "db" orphan branch. This setup allows the database to be downloaded directly from GitHub's CDN and explored interactively using Datasette Lite.

Key takeaway

For data engineers or developers managing large, structured datasets, this project offers a practical blueprint for efficient data distribution and exploration. You can adapt the demonstrated pipeline, which uses GitHub Actions to build and host a SQLite database on an "orphan" branch with open CORS, to make your own data widely accessible. This approach simplifies data sharing and enables interactive exploration tools like Datasette Lite directly from a CDN.

Key insights

A project efficiently converts comprehensive browser compatibility data into an accessible, web-hosted SQLite database.

Principles

• Automate data conversion and hosting.
• Use open standards for data accessibility.
• Leverage CDN for efficient distribution.

Method

Convert mdn/browser-compat-data to SQLite using sqlite-utils via a Claude Code for web (Opus 4.8) script. Automate build and force-push to a GitHub "orphan" branch with a Codex Desktop (GPT-5.5) GitHub Actions workflow for CDN hosting with open CORS.

In practice

• Host large datasets on GitHub CDN.
• Explore SQLite data with Datasette Lite.
• Automate data updates via GitHub Actions.

Topics

• SQLite
• Browser Compatibility Data
• GitHub Actions
• Datasette Lite
• Data Distribution
• CORS Headers

Best for: AI Engineer, Software Engineer, DevOps Engineer

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by Simon Willison's Weblog.