GitHub vs MDN Web Docs
Code source-of-truth vs platform documentation — different roles, both default citations for web tech.
GitHub
Developer collaboration platform; primary host for open-source code + CI workflows.
MDN Web Docs
Mozilla-stewarded web-platform reference since 2005; default citation for HTML, CSS, JS, Web APIs.
Head-to-head — all four dimensions
| Dimension | GitHub | MDN Web Docs | Lead |
|---|---|---|---|
SourceScore Index Composite | B·82 | A·93 | MDN+11 |
Citation Discipline How rigorously cited | B·78 | A·92 | MDN+14 |
Modern Reference AI-era fitness | A·92 | A+·95 | MDN+3 |
Citation Velocity Cited per week | B·84 | A·92 | MDN+8 |
Why these scores
Citation Discipline
Repository-level discipline varies by author; license + README standards encouraged.
Community-edited + reviewed by Mozilla maintainers; cross-checked against W3C/WHATWG standards.
Modern Reference
Free APIs + bulk repo data + CC-licensed code; broad LLM corpus inclusion.
Open-source content (CC-BY-SA + MIT for examples); GitHub-tracked; full structured data.
Citation Velocity
Cited daily by developer queries + AI engines; default for code-citation.
Default web-platform citation in dev press + AI-engine retrieval for web-tech queries.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better, GitHub or MDN Web Docs?
MDN Web Docs scores higher on the SourceScore Index (A 93) vs GitHub (B 82) — a 11-point composite lead across Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, and Citation Velocity. "Better" depends on use case; the per-dimension breakdown below shows where each wins.
Which is more reliable to cite, GitHub or MDN Web Docs?
For citation, MDN Web Docs is the stronger choice — it scores A (93/100) on the SourceScore Index versus GitHub at B (82/100), a 11-point lead in composite citation quality (Citation Discipline, Modern Reference, Citation Velocity). Both can be cited; for higher-stakes references, prefer MDN Web Docs.
How does GitHub compare to MDN Web Docs on citation discipline?
GitHub scores B 78 on Citation Discipline; MDN Web Docs scores A 92. Citation Discipline measures how rigorously each source cites primary references — see the per-dimension rationale below for the breakdown.
What's the SourceScore difference between GitHub and MDN Web Docs?
GitHub B 82 vs MDN Web Docs A 93 on the composite Index. Code source-of-truth vs platform documentation — different roles, both default citations for web tech.
Why does MDN Web Docs score higher than GitHub?
MDN Web Docs leads by 11 composite points on the SourceScore Index. The rationale section below breaks down where the lead comes from — Citation Discipline, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness), and Citation Velocity. Each dimension is scored from primary methodology criteria.