The Center for Open Science is planning to phase out Open Science Framework Projects – the part of the OSF used for project collaboration, file management, and storage.
- Starting November 16, 2026, no new projects or child components of existing projects can be created on OSF.
- Starting February 19, 2027, all OSF projects will be converted into a read-only project.
This change does not affect persistence and accessibility of existing public projects. You will continue to have access to all project materials, but no further changes or additions can be made. All links and DOI identifiers to content will continue to resolve. Harvard Library will also continue to be an institutional member, allowing you to still log into OSF with your Harvard credentials. Read more about the OSF Projects Transition.
However, this will affect how researchers choose to share materials in the future. We already provide many options and suggestions for an appropriate repository for your work, and we are happy to meet with you to discuss your sharing workflows. Contact us!
Important background about why they are making this change is available in their blog post OSF Changes: A Note to Users. OSF will continue to support preregistration and study planning and community preprint servers.
As we have seen, no repository is completely immune to policy shifts and funding challenges. There is now a gap in lifecycle research data management. Schedule a consultation with a Data Services Librarian to discuss your specific data management workflow.
Looking for more guidance? Countway Library will host an informational session this Fall:
Data Discussions: Let's Talk Open Science Framework
Open data promotes transparency and reproducibility by allowing others to access, verify, and build upon research findings. Open Science Framework is phasing out Project Workflows and storage in early 2027. Therefore, you may need to transition to alternative generalist repositories and tools depending on your workflow needs. Let's talk about it!