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Frequently Asked Questions

Report Numbers and DOIs

What happened to report numbers?

A report number (also called RN or reference number) is an identifier that was automatically created by the previous version of CDS. Examples include CERN-TH-2024-001 or CERN-EP-2024-309.

In the legacy system, report numbers were often automatically added to submitted PDFs. However, they had significant limitations:

  • Non-unique references: no mechanism ensured uniqueness, leading to duplicate references
  • Difficult to search: users couldn't reliably resolve or find records using report numbers
  • Complex maintenance: custom generation rules for different collaborations made the system complicated
  • No reservation system: users would guess the next number for PDFs before submission, but the number could change, causing errors

Important Change

The new CDS repository does not automatically generate report numbers.

Instead, you can:

  • Add your own report number(s) in the Alternate Identifiers field during submission.
  • Use any format your collaboration prefers.
  • CDS will ensure uniqueness to prevent duplicates.
  • You can re-use the same report number(s) across versions of the record.

Report Number Alternative IDs

Use DOIs instead

The new CDS repository follows international open science best practices by assigning DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) to all publications.

  • Prefix: 10.17181
  • Registration: All DOIs are registered with DataCite
  • Assignment: Automatic upon publication (or can be reserved in advance)

Learn More

See the Upload documentation to learn how to manage DOIs for your uploads.

What is a DOI?

A DOI is a persistent, globally unique identifier for digital objects that:

  • Provides a stable, permanent link to your publication
  • Follows the format https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
  • Enables reliable citation and discovery across platforms
  • Is recognized worldwide as the standard for scholarly work

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