Free, with no account needed to read, search, browse or download anything. An account is only for contributing.
Which papers does it cover?
Open-access neuroscience papers whose full text Europe PMC holds, read continuously — new ones every hour, older ones month by month back in time. The scope says exactly what counts as neuroscience.
Why is a paper missing?
Either it is not open access in Europe PMC, or the harvest has not reached its month yet, or it is not neuroscience, or it has no code and no data link (then it has no page, but the DOI lookup knows it). You can submit it.
The paper has code, but OSCR says "no code". Why?
The link may be somewhere the harvester does not read (an image, a PDF-only supplement), written in a way it does not recognize, or judged to be data or a tool. Its authors can correct the record; anyone can submit the links.
What does "code verified" guarantee?
That a repository the paper cites as its authors' code answered at its last check and held code, at the commit the page gives. Not that the code runs, nor that it reproduces the paper: that is for readers — and, one day, for reproduction reports.
Why is a file "shown from its source"?
Because its repository's licence does not allow OSCR to republish it (or it has no licence, which means all rights reserved). OSCR keeps no copy: your browser fetches the file from where its authors published it, at the verified commit, and shows it only when its fingerprint is the one OSCR verified (the code policy).
Why do I see "It can be read at the source" instead of the code?
Because the file cannot be shown here, and the reader says why — for instance: its host does not let another site's page read it (OSF, PubMed Central's supplementary files), the file your browser received was not the one verified, it is larger than 1 MB or not text, it was withheld at a removal request, or JavaScript is off. It links to the file at the exact commit, and to the lines of each match.
Where does the paper's text in the reader come from?
From Europe PMC, fetched by your own browser when you open the reader; if Europe PMC fails, from PubMed Central's copy. OSCR never stores or serves it (why).
Are the matches between paragraphs and code reliable?
They are computed, not read by a person: a match is kept only when several rare technical terms agree on both sides, and each shows its evidence and score. Treat them as pointers. Whole-file matches are marked weak.
The search says its daily quota is spent.
It runs on a free plan with a fixed number of requests a day for the whole site. Try again after midnight UTC; meanwhile, Browse, the lists, every paper's page and the DOI lookup work as usual.
Why does an older paper's page have no reader?
The 6,000 most recent papers have pages built ahead of time; older ones are rendered on demand from a shorter record, to keep the site within its free host's file limit. The page says what it leaves out.
Can I use the site without JavaScript?
Reading records and lists, yes. The search, the DOI lookup, the entity pages (an author, a journal…), the reader's paper pane and the forms need it.
For authors and maintainers
My paper is here. Did I agree to anything?
No: OSCR records what your paper publishes and what your repository's licence allows. You can correct the record, validate its map, or ask for a removal.
How do I correct a wrong or missing link?
Sign in with ORCID; if your iD is on the paper, its page's Contribute section lets you correct its links. Otherwise, claim the paper first.
Why should I validate my paper's map?
A validated map receives a DOI on Zenodo, with you as its creator, linking your paper to your code at a fixed commit: a citable, permanent statement of where the code of your paper is. It costs nothing (how).
Does OSCR redeposit my code?
No. The DOI is on the map (links and metadata), never on your code. Copies of scripts are kept only when your licence allows redistribution, each with its licence, and the source always prevails.
Can I stop OSCR from copying or showing my scripts?
Ask for the removal of the copies (all of a paper's, one repository's, or one file's): at the next nightly publication the text leaves the site and the open dataset, and a file OSCR does not copy is no longer shown from its source, while the files stay listed with links to your repository. Signed in with the ORCID iD the paper lists, or as the repository's owner (or a public member of its organization) on GitHub, your request is applied without waiting (how requests are decided).
Will you email me?
No. OSCR sends no email and has no mailing list; answers come back in the site. It does not mass-email authors.
How do I add the badge?
From the paper's Contribute section, signed in as an author or a maintainer: copy a snippet into your README (the badge).
About the data
Can I download everything?
The scripts under verified licences, from Hugging Face; every record the site shows, as JSON; validated maps from Zenodo (accessing the data). The catalogue's own tables are private for now.
Under which licence?
Each script keeps its repository's licence; the catalogue's metadata and the maps are CC0-1.0; the software is Apache-2.0.
Is there an API?
The search answers in JSON and CSV (its export links), and the site's files are JSON. A public API with tokens is in development (Labs).
About privacy
Why no email address?
Because the registry does not need one to work, and an address not collected cannot leak or be misused. Sign-in uses your ORCID, GitHub or Google identity instead.
Does the site track me?
No analytics, no advertising, no third-party tracker. Cookies only when you sign in; your browser remembers the reader's display choices locally. The reader's browser contacts Europe PMC or NCBI to fetch a paper, and the host of a file shown from its source to fetch that file (the privacy page).
Does OSCR hold my email address anyway?
If you are an author, perhaps: when a paper publishes its authors' contact details, the operator keeps them privately, never shows them and never uses them for mass email (what, where and why). Signed in with your ORCID iD, you see them, and have them erased at once, on your data and your rights.
About the project
Who is behind OSCR?
One independent operator, with no institution or funder (who runs it).
A registry is useful when it is complete for a field. The method is not specific to neuroscience; the scope is a choice, made so the harvest can be thorough.
How do I report a bug or suggest something?
An issue on the project's GitHub, or privately, for a security problem, GitHub's security advisories (contact).
