Omniref
Omniref was a Ruby-focused documentation and code reference search service for software developers. Founded in 2013 by Tim Robertson as a solo project, it received a $120,000 Y Combinator seed round in 2015 before shutting down in January 2017.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
Omniref firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Omniref
- Legal name
- Omniref
- Website
- https://omniref.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Omniref was a Ruby-focused documentation and code reference search service for software developers. Founded in 2013 by Tim Robertson as a solo project, it received a $120,000 Y Combinator seed round in 2015 before shutting down in January 2017.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Omniref industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Developer Documentation & Code Reference
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals, Libraries, Archives, and Other Information Services (519)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- API Documentation & Developer Portals (BPAMAOAH)
Keywords
Where Omniref is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Omniref business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations
Omniref product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Omniref was a web-based code-reference and documentation search service for programmers, primarily aggregating and indexing Ruby library and API documentation so developers could look up function signatures, source code, and usage directly from their editor or browser. The site also published educational blog posts on Ruby internals and the broader programming ecosystem.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Omniref code reference & documentation search A web-based code reference and documentation search service for programmers, providing searchable access to Ruby library documentation, API signatures, and source code references. Targeted at individual Ruby and web developers. The service was shut down in January 2017.
Companies that use Omniref
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
Omniref technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Omniref competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Sourcegraph: Enterprise code intelligence and cross-repository search platform. Broader incumbent in the developer-reference space, overlapping Omniref's "search code/docs" use case but as part of a much wider platform sold to engineering organizations.
- GitHub (Microsoft): Dominant code hosting and developer collaboration platform that also renders and indexes library/gem documentation natively. Operates at vastly greater scale in the same developer-reference adjacency, with structural advantages in traffic and bundling that small reference sites cannot match.
Direct peers
- RubyDoc.info: Auto-generated Ruby gem documentation hosting service that directly overlapped Omniref's core offering of searchable Ruby library reference content. Best-fit comparison given identical target language, similar documentation-first product, and free-to-use model.
- Dash (Kapeli): Offline API documentation browser and code snippet manager for macOS/iOS developers. Directly comparable product mechanic (instant developer documentation lookup) and target user (working programmers needing fast reference), though delivered via downloadable client rather than web.
- DevDocs: Aggregated multi-language developer documentation browser founded by Thibaut Courbery. Closely comparable as a programmable-documentation search/lookup tool with broadly the same developer-audience use case as Omniref, and known to include Ruby among its many supported languages.
- Read the Docs: Open-source documentation hosting platform for software projects. Comparable as developer-documentation infrastructure serving the same audience of programmers seeking library/project references, though oriented to hosting project docs rather than aggregating language reference content.
Emerging players
- Zeal (offline docs): Offline API documentation browser for Windows/Linux analogous to Dash. Comparable product category and developer reference use case, though smaller footprint and a Windows/Linux counterpart rather than a direct web-app competitor.
Market position
Customer concentration
Omniref social profiles
Digital presenceOmniref financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Omniref leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Omniref funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Omniref M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Omniref
What does Omniref do?
Omniref was a web-based code-reference and documentation search service for programmers, primarily aggregating and indexing Ruby library and API documentation so developers could look up function signatures, source code, and usage directly from their editor or browser. The site also published educational blog posts on Ruby internals and the broader programming ecosystem.
Is Omniref a public or private company?
Omniref is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently closed.
When was Omniref founded?
Omniref was founded in 2013. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Omniref based?
Omniref is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
Who are Omniref's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Sourcegraph and GitHub (Microsoft). Direct peers are RubyDoc.info, Dash (Kapeli), DevDocs and Read the Docs. Zeal (offline docs) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Omniref have an API?
No public API is recorded for Omniref.
What industry is Omniref in?
Omniref's product category is Developer Documentation & Code Reference. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAOAH, API Documentation & Developer Portals. Its NAICS code is 519 and its SIC code is 7371.