Frequently asked questions
Is Kotahi free?
Section titled “Is Kotahi free?”The software is. Kotahi is open source under the MIT licence — no licence fees and no per-seat charge. What costs money is having someone else run or configure it for you. See Service and support.
Can we host it ourselves?
Section titled “Can we host it ourselves?”Yes, and some organisations do. You can also have eLife Pathways host it for you, or run the whole publishing operation. See Service and support.
Do we need a developer?
Section titled “Do we need a developer?”Not for day-to-day work, and not for most configuration — forms, workflow, task and email templates, users and integrations are all settings someone on your team can change. A few things do need a developer, including creating a new group. See Technology supporting people.
What happens to our content if we stop working with eLife Pathways?
Section titled “What happens to our content if we stop working with eLife Pathways?”It stays yours, and so does the software. Kotahi is open source, so there is no licence to lose — you can take it and your content elsewhere whenever you want.
Does Kotahi only do preprints?
Section titled “Does Kotahi only do preprints?”No. It runs traditional journals as well as preprint servers, publish-review-curate communities, and models that fit neither. See Why Kotahi exists.
Can one installation run more than one journal?
Section titled “Can one installation run more than one journal?”Yes. A single deployment hosts several groups, each with its own forms, workflow, appearance and publishing endpoints, and each with its data kept separate. See Key features.
Who else uses Kotahi?
Section titled “Who else uses Kotahi?”See Who uses Kotahi for the organisations we can name and what each of them uses it for.
Where is the code?
Section titled “Where is the code?”On GitHub, at eLifePathways/Kotahi.