Stanford Digital Repository services
Stanford Digital Repository Services

GitHub workflow

The GitHub workflow allows users to set up automatic depositing of releases from public GitHub repositories. Collection managers can choose whether or not to make this option available for their collections. 

This option is available for the widely-used Stanford Research Data collection.

Software deposits made easy

  • Automatically archiving new releases of public GitHub repositories.
  • Requires no action once initial SDR setup is complete.
  • Assigns a DOI for better citability and findability.
  • Additional releases are new versions of the same DOI.
  • Metadata can be updated to support changes in contributors, etc.

(Duration 2:55)

Easy steps to GitHub release deposit

  1. Enter the link to a public GitHub repository.
  2. We will pre-fill some sections of the deposit form.
  3. Fill in the remaining required fields and optional fields you choose.
  4. Save the form.
  5. Create a new release of the GitHub repository.
  6. We will check nightly for new releases. Only releases created after the form was saved will be deposited in the SDR.

Which workflow should I choose?

Choose the GitHub workflow when you'll be working on the software for an extended period of time and anticipate that you'll need to archive different versions of it that will be associated with different publications or projects. Using this workflow will allow you to deposit multiple versions but keep them all linked together with the same DOI.

Choose the standard workflow when you only expect to need to deposit this code one time and do not anticipate making future versions for other projects or creating releases.