Quick summary
Adding a citation to a GitHub repository lets others properly credit your work by including a CITATION.cff file that platforms and tools can read automatically. This step-by-step process takes just minutes and makes your repository immediately citable in academic and professional contexts.
Steps
- Navigate to the desired repository you want to cite.
- Click the 'Add file' button in the repository toolbar.
- Select '+Create new file' from the dropdown menu.
- Add a title to your new file.
- Add a CITATION.cff file in the file content area.
- Click 'Commit changes' to proceed.
- Provide a commit message and extended description for your changes.
- Click 'Commit changes' again to confirm and save.
- A citation widget will be added automatically to the repository sidebar.
- Your repository is now citable — anyone can use GitHub's built-in citation tool to reference it.
