Source2API

About

Source2API is a browser extension that turns the open web into reusable data infrastructure. Instead of asking users to copy, clean, and paste information manually, it lets them capture structured data directly from the pages they already browse: open data portals, public dashboards, directories, tables, lists, and changing web pages.

Its first strength is speed. A user can open a page, scan it, preview the detected pattern, and create a clean JSON API from it. If the page contains a table or repeated cards, Source2API can map the fields, preserve the structure, and publish the result as a reusable endpoint. This makes small but valuable public datasets easier to share, query, archive, and combine with other resources.
What makes it unique is that it does not only scrape once. It connects browsing, structured extraction, and long-term data maintenance. A user can create a scheduled API that updates over time, or archive a single data point repeatedly: a price, a status, a count, a date, a score, or any value that changes on a page. The extension can also update an existing archived data point by selecting a new value on the page, without breaking previous records. That means histories stay continuous even when a website layout changes.

For open data work, this is especially useful because many important public resources are not available through official APIs. Some are hidden in portals, HTML pages, request queues, reports, public dashboards, or civic websites. Source2API helps bridge that gap by turning those pages into lightweight, documented, machine-readable sources. It makes it easier to create temporary APIs, monitor public information, preserve evidence of change, and build small open datasets from public web content.

The extension is also designed around transparency and reuse. Captured data can become part of the Source Commons Framework ecosystem, where public resources can be documented, shared, exported, and connected to open standards. This matters because open data is not only about files. It is about making information discoverable, traceable, interoperable, and reusable over time. Source2API is useful because it gives open data contributors a practical tool for the messy parts of the web: pages without APIs, changing values, partial datasets, and information that deserves to be archived before it disappears.