Research Software Sharing, Publication & Distribution Checklists

As research software becomes increasingly central to scientific discovery, many researchers face a common challenge: How do you prepare software to be shared, reused, cited, and sustained?

The Research Software Sharing, Publication, & Distribution Checklists (RSSPDC) project provides practical guidance through lightweight checklists designed for different kinds of research software outputs — from one-off scripts to larger software projects.

The checklists cover key software sustainability topics, accompanied by motivating questions for ease of use. The topics covered are:

• source control
• licensing
• documentation
• testing
• citation
• automation
• portability
• governance
• distribution

Rather than requiring projects to adopt complex software engineering processes all at once, each checklist item is tiered with:

• a simple starting practice
• more advanced recommendations
• aspirational goals

The checklists are provided as plain text files that can be added directly to repositories, making it easy for teams to track progress over time. The project also includes repository badges for self-assessment and outside review, along with suggestions for incorporating self-assessment and a proposed approach for impartial third-party assessment.

RSSPDC is an evolving community effort that is currently seeking collaborators and contributors with expertise in research software engineering and sustainability practices. Visitors to the site are immediately informed that the project is a work in progress. So, join the project, use the checklists to help distribute your software, and help grow the site with your expertise.

AI tools were consulted during the preparation of this article.