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Upload

To upload new content, first log in with your CERN account by clicking the login button in the top-right corner of any page.

Login screen showing the CERN login button

Tip

Only CERN and federated (EduGAIN) accounts can log in to CDS.

The easiest way to start a new upload is to first choose the community where you want to deposit the item. Read more about communities here.

You can view the communities you manage or search for other communities from the Communities menu in the top header:

Communities menu listing communities you manage

Then click the green New upload button:

Create a new upload for a community

You will then see the deposit form:

Deposit form showing metadata and file upload areas

Files

Click the Upload files button, or drag-and-drop one or more files onto the drop zone to start uploading. By default you can upload up to 100 files with a combined maximum size of 50 GB. If you need more, please contact us.

Warning

Make sure you have uploaded all your files before publishing. After publishing you cannot change the files.

Files upload area in the deposit form

Embargo

You can apply an embargo to one or more files by selecting Apply an embargo and configuring the embargo policy:

Embargo options in the deposit form

Required metadata

The following fields are mandatory for each upload:

  • Title: The title of your upload.
  • Resource type: Choose one of the available resource types. If you are unsure which type to select, please contact us.
  • Author/Creators: Add all authors or creators. Use the autocomplete field to search names; CDS synchronises with the ORCID and CERN user databases.

Add authors using the autocomplete field

DOIs

If you need a DOI, select No, I need one and CDS will register a DOI automatically when the record is published. You can also reserve a DOI immediately using the Get a DOI now! button.

Reserve or request a DOI

If you already have an external DOI, provide it in the DOI field:

Provide an existing DOI

Avoid registering multiple DOIs for the same upload; if an external DOI already exists, use that one.

Because metadata is submitted to DataCite when registering a DOI, you cannot request a DOI for uploads that are fully restricted.

Tip

When requesting a DOI, CDS will register two DOIs. Read more in the DOI versioning FAQ.

Other metadata fields

The deposit form supports many additional metadata fields to help describe your upload. Common fields include:

  • Licenses and Copyright: Specify license and copyright information for your upload.
  • CERN fields: Add CERN-specific metadata such as experiment, accelerator, department, or project identifiers when applicable.
  • Publishing: Publication details and related options.

Access

See the Access & Share page for details on changing access restrictions and sharing settings.

Preview, Save and Publish

You can preview or save your upload at any time using the Preview and Save buttons:

Preview and Save buttons in the deposit form

When you are ready, publish your upload by clicking the Publish button. You will be asked to agree to the CDS terms and conditions, content policy, and Operational Circular 6.

Publish the deposit to make it public

Tip

After publishing, you cannot change files, but you can update metadata at any time.