Software Heritage: preserve the source behind a service

Software Heritage collects, preserves and shares publicly available software source code. Its documentation explains how to browse the archive and request preservation of a repository. It is useful when an online service's behavior depends on code that may later move, disappear or become difficult to associate with a particular release. Locate the relevant repository and identify the revision that supports your research. Check whether it is already archived, follow the documented preservation workflow if needed, and retain the archive reference alongside the original repository URL. Record the project's license and the relationship between the code revision and the published service you studied. Preserving source code is not the same as preserving a complete running environment. Build tools, dependencies, databases, external services and configuration may also be necessary to reproduce behavior. Keep those requirements documented where possible and separate them from private credentials. The archive supplies a durable research component; a reproducible account still needs an explanation of what the code did in its original context.

Editorial review: 2026-09-23. New evidence may change this account.

Report a problem with this record