From submission to listing

Last updated: 2026-11-02.

This page follows one submission from start to finish. The rules themselves are in the Submission Policy and the Moderation Policy; where this page differs, they apply.

Before you start

You need four things.

1. A preprint deposited in Zenodo, Figshare, OSF Preprints, SocArXiv, MetaArXiv, arXiv, Preprints.org, SSRN, Research Square, SciELO Preprints, Qeios, ScienceOpen Preprints, Advance, KC Works or Jxiv, with a DOI.
2. CC BY 4.0, CC BY-SA 4.0 or CC0 1.0 on the deposit, so that it appears in the DOI metadata.
3. An ORCID iD. Registration is free.
4. A GitHub account. Registration is free.

Every author of the work must agree to the listing. If you used language models or other generative models, note which tools you used and what for.

Step 1. Find your GitHub username

A submission is a GitHub issue: a public post in the Sophaxis repository, with comments below it. If you have no GitHub account, create one at github.com/signup.

Your username is the last part of the address of your GitHub profile, https://github.com/<your username>. After you sign in, it also appears in the menu under your picture at the top right.

Step 2. Link your ORCID record to GitHub

1. Sign in at orcid.org. Your ORCID record opens; your ORCID iD is the 16-digit number under your name.
2. Find the section "Websites & social links" and click its edit button (the pencil).
3. Choose "Add link". Give a title, such as GitHub, and the address https://github.com/<your username>.
4. Set its visibility to "Everyone", then save.

This is how Sophaxis confirms that the person who opens the submission is an author of the work. Sophaxis reads only the name, the links and the works in your ORCID record; your email address is never read.

Step 3. Open a submission issue

1. Open the submission form. If GitHub asks you to sign in, do so; the form then opens.
2. After "[Submission]" in the title, add a few words, such as the title of your work.
3. Give the DOI, your ORCID iD, the category and the statement on generative models, and tick the confirmations.
4. Press the button at the bottom of the form to create the issue.

The title, the authors, the abstract and the licence are taken from the DOI metadata; you do not type them.

The issue is public. Your GitHub username and everything you write in it can be read by anyone. GitHub tells you about each new comment on an issue you opened, on github.com and, by default, by email.

Step 4. The automatic check answers

Usually within a few minutes, a comment titled "Automatic checks" appears in the issue. It shows each check as pass or fail: the repository, the licence, the DOI metadata, the link from your ORCID record and your authorship. The issue receives the label verified or unverified.

If a check fails, the comment says why. Fix the cause, for example the link in your ORCID record, then edit the issue; the check runs again. To edit the issue, open the menu (⋯) at the top right of your first post, choose "Edit", change what is needed and save. An edit that changes nothing does not start the check.

If the repository does not let Sophaxis fetch the PDF (every repository except Zenodo, Figshare, arXiv and Research Square), the comment asks you to attach the deposited PDF to the issue. This is optional, and the file must be at most 20 MB. To attach it, drag the file into the comment box at the bottom of the issue, wait until its link appears, and post the comment.

When the submission is verified, the comment may also give advice on the DOI metadata at the repository, for example a missing abstract, licence or keywords. The advice comes from deposit-check. It does not decide the listing. Search engines and indexes read this metadata rather than the PDF, and most repositories let you correct it without making a new version.

A pass is not acceptance.

The buttons on GitHub and ORCID may be renamed over time; the steps stay the same.

Step 5. A moderator reads the submission

A moderator reads the verified submission against the Moderation Policy: the scope, the form of a scholarly paper, the statement on generative models, and the absence of spam, abuse and personal data of third parties. Moderation is not peer review. It does not check proofs, arguments or data.

As a guide, a decision can come on the day of submission, but it can also take several weeks or a few months. The decision is written in the issue.

Step 6. The decision

If the submission is accepted, its record page is published with a Sophaxis id, such as 2026.0001, and the issue is closed. Where the repository allows, an unmodified copy of the PDF is added afterwards.

If it is declined, the moderator gives a short reason in the issue. You can answer there. The operator then looks at the submission once more, and that decision is final.

After listing

• A new version: deposit it in the repository, then open a submission issue that gives the existing Sophaxis id.
• An error in the record: use "Report an error in this record" on its page.
• Withdrawal: any one author can withdraw the work under the Withdrawal Policy.
• Publication: when a later version is published in a journal, in proceedings or in a book, any one author reports it with the published-version form. The preprint stays listed.

Short answers to other questions are in the FAQ.