Ten (or more!) reasons to register your software with the Astrophysics Source Code Library
Alice Allen, Kimberly DuPrie
TL;DR
The paper addresses the challenge of reproducibility and credit for computational methods in astronomy by promoting the ASCL registry as a centralized, freely accessible platform. It outlines a practical approach: assign unique ASCL IDs, enable independent software citation, and ensure broad discoverability through indexing by ADS and Web of Science with a permissive JSON export. Key contributions include a growing database of 3,500+ codes, trackable ASCL-ID citations (over 17,000), and broad journal acceptance for software citations, all facilitated by an easy submission workflow and interconnected ADS links. The work demonstrates that registering software with the ASCL enhances transparency, reproducibility, and credit, thereby improving efficiency and trust in astronomical research across the community.
Abstract
This presentation covered the benefits of registering astronomy research software with the Astrophysics Source Code Library (ASCL, ascl.net), a free online registry for software used in astronomy research. Indexed by ADS and Clarivate's Web of Science, the ASCL currently contains over 3600 codes, and its entries have been cited over 17,000 times. Registering your code with the ASCL is easy with our online submissions system. Making your software available for examination shows confidence in your research and makes your research more transparent, reproducible, and falsifiable. ASCL registration allows your software to be cited on its own merits and provides a citation method that is trackable and accepted by all astronomy journals, and by journals such as \textit{Science} and \textit{Nature}. Adding your code to the ASCL also allows others to find your code more easily, as it can then be found not only in the ASCL itself, but also in ADS, Web of Science, and Google Scholar.