.. _long_term_preservation:

Long-term data preservation
===========================

GitHub is great, but long-term preservation of data stored on GitHub is not
guaranteed. To promote long-term preservation of data from instances of
``AFQ-Browser``, and eventual integration across data-sets
we record data published through ``AFQ-Browser`` (see :ref:`usage_guide`) in
`AFQ Vault <http://afqvault.org>`_, a centralized data-base of ``AFQ-Browser``
instances.

In addition, we recommend that users of the software create a digital object
identifier for their instance of ``AFQ-Browser``. One great way to do that uses
Zenodo (see below).


Using Zenodo for long-term data preservation
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

`Zenodo <http://zenodo.org/>`_ is as service developed by `CERN <https://home.cern/>`_ to provide a platform for open and sustainable science
(see `About Zenodo <http://about.zenodo.org/>`_ for more details).

To create a digital object identifier (DOI) for your GitHub-published
instance of ``AFQ-Browser`` `join Zenodo <https://zenodo.org/signup/>`_ with
your GitHub account. After you do that, you can deposit the GitHub repository
that holds your instance of ``AFQ-Browser`` by following these steps:

#. Flip the switch for your repo on `Zenodo's GitHub settings page <https://zenodo.org/account/settings/github/>`_

#. Create a release in the GitHub repo containing your instance of ``AFQ-Browser``. See `this page <https://help.github.com/articles/creating-releases/>`_ for instructions.