Opening up the HAL CV code is a major first step towards opening up the whole application’s source code. This is part of the Equipex+ HALiance project and paves the way for greater transparency, aligning with the principles of open science.
The HAL CV enables authors to dynamically display a list of their publications in HAL on a single page. This page can be supplemented with free text, the photo from the HAL profile, and data associated with the author’s account, such as their ORCID identifier. It can also include other data extracted from the deposits, such as information about co-authors or participation in ANR projects. CVs can also be enriched with datasets available in other repositories. Each CV has a permanent URL based on the idHAL identifier (in the format https://cv.hal.science/idHAL), which contributes to researchers’ digital identities.
Why Open the HAL CV?
The HAL CV is the first software component built on a completely revamped technical foundation in production. The code has been migrated to a modern application development environment, ensuring improved maintainability, scalability, and optimized performance. This migration is a key milestone within the Equipex+ HALiance project.
In practice
By making the HAL CV code open, its operation can be examined line by line, as the software code is publicly accessible. This transparency also fosters potential collaboration. However, the more open the code, the more resources are required to review, process, and validate external contributions. For this reason, the CCSD is not actively seeking external contributions at this stage, to avoid introducing additional organizational constraints. In this context, it refers to the data.gouv.fr guide on French public sector source code and the degrees of openness it defines (level B — open).
The code is available on the CCSD’s Gitlab instance.
Unauthenticated users can retrieve the project code, run the project locally, and access GitLab data (issues and analytics) in read-only mode. However, they cannot fork the project or modify the code. Authenticated users can submit issues, which will be reviewed and managed individually via email.
To run the project locally on HAL, the code uses HAL’s public APIs and mock data for all sensitive information (e.g., user data). A sanitized simulation dataset is included with the project.
The code is distributed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). This license:
- Allows anyone to use the software for any purpose without restrictions,
- Promotes transparency and technical autonomy for users,
- Requires that any modified or redistributed version retain the same license,
- Encourages collaboration, shared efforts, and collective innovation.
Opening the HAL CV source code is the first concrete step toward greater transparency, and it paves the way for a broader release of the HAL application code. The timeline for future steps has not yet been defined.