Questions, answered. The short version.

An independent editorial project about research software. We publish a manifesto, a journal code policy tracker and practical guides for opening, reviewing, archiving and citing research code.

The Code is Science editors. We relaunched the site in 2026. We are not the original 2017 volunteers, and we are not affiliated with any university, publisher, funder or journal.

Because when a result is computed, the code is part of the method. A bug can change a number or a figure without any visible sign. If the code is never reviewed, that error becomes part of the published science.

Yes. Messy code that is open can be checked. Clean code that is hidden cannot. Add a README, state a license and archive the version you used. You can improve it later.

Each entry is a short, conservative summary linked to the journal. Policies change and often vary by article type, so always read the journal's current author guidelines before you submit. Entries we have not verified are marked Under review.

It depends on how you want others to reuse your work. Permissive licenses like MIT or Apache 2.0 allow broad reuse. Copyleft licenses like GPL require derivative work to stay open. Our license primer compares six common options.

Usually not. Repositories can change or disappear. Archive a tagged release in a long-term archive that issues a persistent identifier, and cite that version in the paper.

Suggest a journal, report a policy change, flag a correction or pitch a guide through the contact page. Every message is read by the editors.