Zenodo

Zenodo: The Bedrock for Your Research and AI Datasets

In the fast-paced world of research and artificial intelligence, the longevity and accessibility of your data are paramount. Meet Zenodo, a groundbreaking open-access repository that serves as a universal digital archive for all research outputs. Developed and operated by CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, and powered by the Invenio digital library framework, Zenodo isn’t just a storage solution—it’s a commitment to making science and knowledge permanently available for everyone. It provides a secure and reliable home for everything from research papers and datasets to software and presentations, ensuring your work can be cited, shared, and built upon for decades to come.

Capabilities: A Universal Hub for All Data Formats

While Zenodo is not an AI *generator*, it is a foundational powerhouse for the AI community, acting as a universal repository for the assets that fuel AI development. It is designed to host and preserve a vast array of digital formats, making it an essential tool for data scientists and researchers.

• Datasets: Upload and share massive datasets (up to 50GB per file) in any format, from CSVs and JSON files to complex image collections for computer vision models.
• Software & Code: Archive your code, scripts, and software. Zenodo’s seamless integration with GitHub allows you to automatically preserve releases, making your code citable and reproducible.
• Text & Publications: Host research papers, pre-prints, articles, reports, and technical documentation, ensuring a permanent record of your written work.
• Multimedia: Share video presentations, audio files, and high-resolution images, making it a versatile platform for all forms of scholarly communication.

Features: More Than Just Storage

Zenodo is packed with powerful features designed specifically for the research community, setting it apart from generic cloud storage.

• DOI Minting: Every single upload to Zenodo receives a unique and persistent Digital Object Identifier (DOI). This makes your work easily and properly citable in academic literature, just like a traditional journal article.
• Long-Term Preservation: Backed by the world-class infrastructure of CERN, your data is safe for the long haul. Zenodo is committed to preserving your uploads for the lifetime of the repository.
• GitHub Integration: This is a game-changer for developers. Link your GitHub repository, and Zenodo will automatically archive and assign a DOI to each new release, creating a citable snapshot of your software in an instant.
• Versioning: Easily update your datasets or software. Zenodo keeps track of different versions, linking them all under a single overarching DOI, so others can cite the specific version they used.
• Open or Closed Access: You control the visibility. While the platform champions open science, you can also upload files with restricted access or even embargo them for a specific period.
• Rich Metadata: Add detailed descriptions, keywords, author information, and licensing details to make your work highly discoverable and compliant with FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) data principles.

Pricing: Powerfully and Permanently Free

This is one of Zenodo’s most incredible features. Its pricing model is refreshingly simple.

• Free Plan: Zenodo is completely free for all users. There are no subscription fees, no premium tiers, and no hidden costs. This includes uploading data, receiving a DOI, and long-term storage. The service is funded by CERN, the European Commission, and donations, ensuring it remains a public good.

Applicable Users: Who is Zenodo For?

Zenodo’s versatile platform is a vital resource for a wide range of professionals and academics.

• AI Researchers & Data Scientists: The perfect place to publish and share the datasets, models, and code that power your breakthroughs, ensuring your work is reproducible and citable.
• Academics & Scientists: A trusted repository for research data, supplemental materials, and publications across all disciplines, from physics to the humanities.
• Software Developers: An essential tool for archiving software releases from GitHub, creating a permanent, citable version of your code.
• Institutions & Librarians: A reliable platform for preserving the digital output of an organization or university.
• Independent Researchers & Students: A free and accessible way to share your projects and build a professional portfolio of citable work.

Alternatives & Comparison

While Zenodo is a top-tier choice, here are some other platforms in the research data space:

• Figshare: A close competitor offering similar functionality, including DOI minting and data sharing. Figshare has a strong focus on institutional partnerships and offers both free and premium plans with more storage. Zenodo’s primary advantage is its complete freeness and backing by CERN.
• Hugging Face Hub: This platform is specifically tailored to the machine learning community. It’s the go-to place for sharing and collaborating on models, datasets, and demos. While more specialized for AI, Zenodo is a more general-purpose archive suitable for all research outputs, not just ML assets.
• GitHub: Excellent for code hosting and collaboration, but it’s not a true long-term archive. Zenodo’s GitHub integration offers the best of both worlds: use GitHub for active development and Zenodo for permanent, citable preservation of your releases.
• Dryad: A curated data repository that focuses on datasets underlying scientific and medical publications. It often involves a data curation process and has associated costs, making Zenodo a more accessible and immediate option for many users.