Create a CITATION.cff
using cffinit
#
cffinit
is a web application which helps users create a CITATION.cff
file.
The application provides guidance for each field of the CFF schema and does the validation automatically.
When there are issues, cffinit
will provide a visual feedback on relevant fields.
In the following sections you can find details about each step of the process.
To get started, visit cffinit
and click on the “Create” button to continue to the Start screen.
Start#
On the first page of the application, enter the title of your work, write a message to indicate how you want your software to be mentioned, and select whether you are creating a CITATION.cff
file for software or a dataset.
You can see the preview of the generated CITATION.cff
file on the right.
If there are issues in any of the fields, they will be highlighted and error messages will be shown in red.
When the generated CITATION.cff
file is not valid, the preview widget will have a red border.
Note
As title, message and author are required fields by the schema, these fields will be highlighted until you provide them.
Click next to continue to the Authors screen.
Minimal CITATION.cff
file#
Well done!
Now your CITATION.cff
file meets the minimum requirements.
In this screen you can download the generated file or copy it from the preview widget.
We highly recommend that you add more information.
Click the “Add more” button to add more fields to your citation file to make it even better.
Additional fields#
All additional fields are optional, but it is recommended that you fill the most relevant for your work.
Note
If you decide not to continue further, you can press the “Finish” button to skip all remaining steps and go to the final screen.
On this screen, you will see new steps in the stepper. Here is a brief description of the additional screens:
Identifiers: Add DOIs, URLs, and Software Heritage identifiers;
Related resources: URLs of repositories related to the work and its website;
Abstract: A short summary of the work;
Keywords: Keywords describing the work;
License: The license under which the work is available;
Version specific: Information about a specific release or commit, including the date of the release.
Click next to start adding additional fields.
Final screen#
Great that you made it to the final screen!
After adding all the relevant information, you will have a validated CITATION.cff
file.
Download or copy it and add it to your public repository to get the credit you deserve!