Examples
Worked examples
- Is an instance
A GitHub release of an open-source research tool automatically archived to Zenodo with a DataCite DOI for citation.
- Is an instance
A conference presentation slide deck deposited to Zenodo for citation and persistence.
Counter-examples
Looks similar, but isn't
- Not an instance
A discipline-specific repository (e.g. GenBank for sequences) is not Zenodo, though it may complement it.
- Not an instance
A commercial cloud storage account is not Zenodo.
Editorial commentary
Zenodo was launched in 2013 to support outputs that have no natural home in a discipline-specific repository, including software releases (with which it has a popular GitHub integration that automatically deposits each tagged release as a citeable record with a DOI). Zenodo is funder-neutral, accepts records under any open or restricted licence, and is widely used by EU-funded researchers as a Horizon-compliant deposit destination. Its API supports programmatic deposit and metadata retrieval.
Concept DOI vs. version DOI
Every Zenodo record that gets updated with a new version receives its own persistent identifier: uploading a revised dataset or software release creates a new record with its own DOI, files, and metadata, linked to every past and future version of the same work. Zenodo additionally mints a “concept DOI” that always resolves to the latest version, so a citation using it stays current, while a version DOI points permanently to the exact files that existed at that version. Zenodo’s own guidance is to create a new version when files change, and edit metadata in place — title, creators, description — for changes that don’t touch files.
Underlying platform and integrations
Zenodo runs on InvenioRDM, an open-source repository platform other institutions also deploy independently; Zenodo is CERN’s own hosted, funder-neutral instance of it, not a separate codebase. Its GitHub integration is the most widely used feature outside plain data deposit: connecting a GitHub repository lets every tagged release be archived automatically to Zenodo as a citeable, DOI-bearing record the moment it is published on GitHub, which is why software-citation guidance so often names Zenodo as a deposit target.
Access and licensing
Records can be deposited fully open under a chosen licence, restricted to specific users, embargoed until a set date, or closed with only metadata visible, at the depositor’s discretion. There is no charge to deposit and no APC-style fee model — Zenodo’s operating costs are covered by CERN and EU funding, historically via OpenAIRE, rather than by depositors.
References
- help.zenodo.org, “Manage versions” and general Zenodo documentation.
- European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), Zenodo (zenodo.org).
Machine-readable encodings
Use in your systems
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