What the OSF Projects changes mean for Registrations
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Last month, we announced upcoming changes to the OSF Projects workflow—the part of the OSF used for project collaboration, file management, and storage. We’re reaching out because you have used OSF to register your research plans, and you may have questions about what the announcement means for your work. OSF will continue to support study planning and preregistration. Here’s what to expect:
| Registration-related activity | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Access and manage an existing registration | ✅ Your registration is a separate record and will continue as usual. No action is needed for the registration itself. |
| Create a new registration | ✅ You can continue registering and preregistering research plans. Beginning February 19, new registrations will be created directly through OSF Registries or your My Registrations page rather than from an OSF Project. |
| Continue work stored in an OSF Project | ❌ New projects and components can no longer be created after November 16. ⚠️ Existing projects—including those used to create a registration or created through the registration process—will become read-only on February 19. If a project contains work that needs to continue changing after that date, move that work to another appropriate service (see our guidance). |
The OSF Projects changes also do not affect preprints shared through OSF’s community-run preprint services.
The OSF Projects Transition: Registration Questions and Use Cases guide answers common questions about attachments, embargoes, updates, view-only links, templates, and linking related outputs.
For complete information about the OSF Projects changes, key dates, and available guidance, visit the OSF Projects Transition Support Guide.
The continuing role of OSF Registries
The role of OSF Registries is not changing: it will remain the dedicated place to document and publish prospective research plans. Ideally, registrations are submitted before research outcomes are observed and include the research design and analysis plans. These are preregistrations. Research plans may also be registered after work has begun or concluded when their timing is clearly disclosed.
OSF Registries will continue to provide structured templates for describing your research plans, with options for attaching files that can be shared publicly, embargoed for up to four years, or shared through private view-only links. Registrations create a time-stamped record of your research plan, with a transparent history of updates. Once public, registrations are discoverable through OSF Registries and receive a DOI.
Research planning is central to OSF’s future direction. OSF plans to provide more guided research planning and strengthen links between registrations and related outputs hosted elsewhere. You can already link related outputs to a registration using their DOIs, making the full research record easier to follow from the original plan to what was produced and reported. Learn how to add resources to your registration.
This Article Is Licensed Under CCO For Maximum Reuse.