liminfoZenodo Reference
Free reference guide: Zenodo Reference
About Zenodo Reference
The Zenodo Reference is a searchable cheat sheet covering the essential operations of Zenodo, the open-access research data repository operated by CERN. It includes 28 entries organized into six categories: Upload (creating deposits, uploading files via API, publishing, versioning), Metadata (title, description, creators with ORCID, upload type, keywords), DOI (pre-reservation, badges, concept DOI vs. version DOI, GitHub integration), License (Creative Commons settings, access rights, embargo dates, access conditions), API (REST endpoints for searching, querying, authenticating, modifying records, and OAI-PMH harvesting), and Communities (submitting to communities, curation workflow, and related identifiers).
Zenodo is widely used by researchers, data scientists, and academic institutions to archive datasets, software, publications, posters, and presentations with permanent DOIs. However, its API documentation is spread across multiple pages and can be difficult to navigate during active development. This reference consolidates the most commonly needed API calls, metadata schemas, and workflow steps into a single searchable interface. Whether you are scripting batch uploads, setting up GitHub release integration, or configuring access rights for an embargoed dataset, this tool gives you the syntax and examples at a glance.
All content is displayed locally in your browser with instant search and category filtering. No data is sent to any server, no account is required, and the tool works offline after the initial page load. The bilingual Korean/English interface makes it accessible to researchers worldwide, with dark mode support for comfortable reading during late-night coding sessions.
Key Features
- 28 Zenodo entries covering uploads, metadata, DOI, licensing, API, and communities
- REST API examples with full curl commands for deposit creation, file upload, and publishing
- DOI management: pre-reservation, concept DOI vs. version DOI, and GitHub release integration
- Metadata schema reference including creators with ORCID, upload type, and keyword settings
- License and access rights configuration: open, embargoed, restricted, and closed options
- OAI-PMH harvesting endpoint reference for institutional repository integration
- Community submission and curation workflow with related identifier linking
- 100% client-side with instant search, category filtering, dark mode, and bilingual KO/EN support
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Zenodo and why should I use it?
Zenodo is a free, open-access research data repository operated by CERN and funded by the European Commission. It accepts datasets, software, publications, posters, and presentations of any size. Each upload receives a permanent DOI, making your research outputs citable. Zenodo is integrated with GitHub for automatic archiving of software releases and supports community curation for quality control.
How do I upload files to Zenodo via the API?
First, create a deposition with POST /api/deposit/depositions using your access token. This returns a bucket URL. Then upload files with PUT /api/files/BUCKET_ID/FILENAME, passing the file in the request body with the -T flag in curl. After uploading all files and setting metadata, publish with POST /api/deposit/depositions/DEPOSITION_ID/actions/publish. The DOI is activated upon publishing.
What is the difference between a concept DOI and a version DOI?
A concept DOI (e.g., 10.5281/zenodo.1234566) represents all versions of a record and always resolves to the latest version. A version DOI (e.g., 10.5281/zenodo.1234567) points to a specific version and never changes. Use the concept DOI when you want citations to always reference the latest version, and the version DOI when exact reproducibility of a specific dataset version is needed.
How do I set up GitHub integration with Zenodo?
Go to Settings > GitHub on Zenodo and enable the repository you want to archive. After enabling, every time you create a GitHub Release, Zenodo automatically archives a snapshot and assigns a DOI. You can then add a DOI badge to your README using the markdown badge syntax provided by Zenodo. This is the standard way to make software releases citable in academic papers.
What access rights options does Zenodo support?
Zenodo supports four access levels: "open" (freely accessible), "embargoed" (becomes open after a specified date), "restricted" (accessible only under stated conditions), and "closed" (not publicly accessible). For embargoed records, set the embargo_date field. For restricted records, describe the conditions in the access_conditions field. Most publicly funded research requires "open" access.
How do I pre-reserve a DOI before publishing?
When you create a deposition via POST /api/deposit/depositions, Zenodo automatically pre-reserves a DOI. Check the prereserve_doi field in the response to get the reserved DOI string. You can include this DOI in your manuscript or documentation before the record is published. The DOI becomes active only after you publish the deposition.
What is OAI-PMH and how do I use it with Zenodo?
OAI-PMH (Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting) is a standard protocol for harvesting metadata from repositories. Zenodo exposes an OAI-PMH endpoint at https://zenodo.org/oai2d. Use verbs like ListRecords with a metadataPrefix (e.g., oai_dc) to bulk-harvest metadata. This is commonly used by institutional repositories, library catalogs, and aggregators like OpenAIRE to index Zenodo records.
Is my data safe when using this reference tool?
Yes. This reference tool displays pre-built content entirely in your browser. No API tokens, search queries, or personal data are transmitted to any server. The tool does not interact with the Zenodo API itself — it only shows you the reference syntax and examples. Your actual Zenodo operations are performed directly between your system and Zenodo's servers.