alterlab-preprint-deposition

Preprint Deposition — Pick a Server, Prepare the Submission, Link the Published Version

The write/deposit side of preprinting. Given a finished manuscript, this skill turns "I want to post a preprint" into a concrete, server-specific plan: which server fits the field, what metadata and category to enter, which license to choose (and what it commits you to), how versioning and the preprint DOI work, whether the target journal even allows a preprint, and how to link the preprint to the article once it is published.

It is deliberately the deposit-side complement to the read-side connectors alterlab-arxiv and alterlab-biorxiv (which search and fetch preprints) and to alterlab-open-science (which chooses data repositories and writes DMPs). This skill does not reimplement their search/metadata code — it calls them.

Quick Start

I finished a CS paper — how do I post it to arXiv? Which category and license?
Should this biology manuscript go on bioRxiv or medRxiv?
Does Elsevier's journal X allow me to post a preprint before submission?
My preprint just got accepted — how do I link the published DOI to the arXiv version?
What license should I pick on arXiv if I might publish in a closed journal later?

→ Identify the field → route to a server (see the matrix) → assemble metadata → choose a license → run the journal-policy check before posting → after acceptance, link the published DOI back to the preprint.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user wants to act on a preprint — post it, choose where, prepare its metadata/license, or reconcile it with a journal or a published version. Core jobs:

1. Server selection — match field + manuscript type to arXiv, bioRxiv, medRxiv, SSRN, or OSF Preprints. See references/server_selection.md.
2. Submission metadata — title, authors + ORCID, abstract, **arXiv primary
   • cross-list categories** or bioRxiv/medRxiv subject collection, funding, declarations. See references/submission_metadata.md.
3. License choice — pick from each server's actual license set and explain the downstream commitment (e.g. CC BY is irrevocable; a later journal may object to a permissive preprint license). See references/licensing.md.
4. Versioning & DOI — arXiv versions (v1, v2, …) are immutable and permanent; a withdrawal is a new version with a tombstone, never a deletion; bioRxiv/medRxiv assign a DOI on posting and accept revisions.
5. Journal preprint policy — query the Sherpa Romeo v2 API for the target journal's prearchiving (preprint) policy before posting. See references/journal_policy.md.
6. Post-publication linking — connect the preprint to the published article (publisher field on the server; the keyless api.biorxiv.org /pubs/ endpoint surfaces bioRxiv→journal links).