venues.json reference

paperpush/venues.json describes each venue’s submission form: the fields the portal asks for and the constraints on each. The top-level object maps a venue slug (biorxiv, nature, …) to a venue entry. This page is generated from paperpush/venues.schema.json, which is itself generated from the Venue and Field dataclasses in paperpush/database.py – those are the source of truth.

A venue entry either stands alone or inherits another venue’s entry. An inheriting entry ("inherits": "<slug>") takes the base venue’s keys and fields wholesale, then overrides individual top-level keys, modifies or adds fields by id (restating only the keys that change; a key set to null drops the inherited value), and drops fields listed in removed_fields.

Venue entry

The keys of one venue entry (the value under a slug).

Key	Type	Description
name	string	Display name. Defaults to the slug when omitted.
fields	list of field	The fields this venue asks for during submission (see the field table).
full_name	string	Full, unabbreviated venue name.
submission_url	string	Submission/portal URL.
venue_type	preprint | journal | conference	Kind of venue: a preprint server, a journal, or a conference.
site_url	string	Public homepage URL.
submission_guide	string	URL of the author/submission guide.
description	string	Short description of the venue.
file_type_options	list of string or null	Labels offered by the portal’s per-file ‘file type’ dropdown (venue-level because the same dropdown applies to every upload).
max_upload_mb	number or null	Maximum combined size, in megabytes, of all files in one submission.
anonymous	boolean	Anonymous (double-blind) review: validate checks the attached files and linked anonymous.4open.science repositories for information identifying the authors.
deprecated	boolean	Hidden from listings but still reachable by get_venue.
inherits	string	Slug this venue inherits its field schema from. Empty/absent for a standalone venue. Distinct from submission sharing (which portal/runner/login a venue submits through), which is defined in code, not here.
removed_fields	list of string	Inherited field ids to drop. Only meaningful on an inheriting venue.

field

One entry of a venue’s fields list: a value the portal asks for. In a standalone venue every field is a full definition (id, label, and type required). In an inheriting venue a field entry is an override: only id is required, every other key is optional, and null deletes the inherited key.

Key	Type	Description
id (required)	string	Stable identifier, unique within the venue; the key used in the .sub file and for inheritance merges.
label (required)	string	Human-readable prompt shown for the field.
type (required)	text | textarea | choice | multichoice | boolean | int | file | filelist | authorlist	Widget/value kind.
required	boolean	Whether submission requires a value.
help	string	Guidance shown alongside the field.
options	list of string or null	Allowed values for choice/multichoice.
options_file	string or null	Name of a newline-separated keyword file under venues/_assets/ whose lines become this field’s options. Lets a long controlled vocabulary live in one shared text file instead of being inlined (and duplicated) in the database. When set, it supersedes any inline options.
options_recommended	boolean	For a choice/multichoice field, whether options is advisory (a value outside the list is a WARNING, not an ERROR) rather than a closed set.
default	any	Default value (any JSON type).
accept	list of string or null	Permitted file extensions for file/filelist, e.g. [“.pdf”, “.docx”]. Omit (not []) when the upload imposes no extension restriction.
fields	list of string or null	Sub-field (column) names for a structured multi-item field such as an authorlist or a pipe-delimited textarea (funding, suggested reviewers). Each item line is |-delimited in this order. A trailing ? marks an optional column (e.g. department?); every other column is required – validation flags an item whose required column is blank. Author name and the corresponding flag have their own checks and are always effectively required regardless of marker.
type_options	list of string or null	Per-file ‘file type’ dropdown choices applied to this field’s uploads.
min_count	integer or null	Inclusive lower bound on item count for a multi-item field (multichoice selections, filelist/authorlist/list-textarea lines).
max_count	integer or null	Inclusive upper bound on item count for a multi-item field.
word_count	integer or null	Maximum length in words for a text/textarea value.
character_count	integer or null	Maximum length in characters for a text/textarea value, or for the free text of a choice with options_recommended.
min_character_count	integer or null	Minimum length in characters for a text/textarea value (the lower-bound counterpart to character_count).
require_url	boolean or null	For a text/textarea, require each non-blank line of the value to be a valid http/https URL.
max_words_before_refs	integer or null	For a manuscript file, the maximum word count of the main text before the reference list.
max_pages_before_refs	integer or null	For a manuscript file (PDF), the maximum page count before the reference list.
main_text_end_headings	list of string or null	For a manuscript file, headings other than the reference list that end the main text for the *_before_refs limits (e.g. Appendix, Ethics Statement) – sections the venue excludes from its word/page count. Each is a heading phrase matched on a line of its own; the earliest match, references included, ends the main text. When set, a heading that starts its own page (only a running head or page number ahead of it) counts the main text as ending on the previous page.
max_words	integer or null	For a manuscript file, the maximum word count of the whole document (references included).
max_pages	integer or null	For a manuscript file, the maximum page count of the whole document. Verified for PDF; for .docx a best-effort cached count.
max_words_before_refs_by	ConditionalLimit or null	max_words_before_refs selected by a sibling field’s value (e.g. by article type).
max_pages_before_refs_by	ConditionalLimit or null	max_pages_before_refs selected by a sibling field’s value.
max_words_by	ConditionalLimit or null	max_words selected by a sibling field’s value.
max_pages_by	ConditionalLimit or null	max_pages selected by a sibling field’s value (e.g. Bioinformatics’ page cap by article type).
min_value	integer or null	Inclusive lower bound on the numeric value of an int field.
max_value	integer or null	Inclusive upper bound on the numeric value of an int field.
max_file_size_mb	number or null	Maximum size, in megabytes, of each individual file uploaded for a file/filelist field. Distinct from the venue-level max_upload_mb.
autofill	extract | classify | filemap | never | ``	How an autofill engine may populate the field: extract | classify | filemap | never. Empty string means infer from type.
confirm	boolean	For a required boolean, whether it is a consent checkbox that must be affirmative (vs. an informational yes/no question).
required_if	string or null	Id of another field in the same venue; when that field has a non-empty value, this field becomes required. A boolean target triggers only on an affirmative answer, since “no” means the dependent fields do not apply. Combined with required (unconditional).

ConditionalLimit

Key	Type	Description
field (required)	string	Id of the sibling field whose value selects the limit.
values (required)	map of integer	Map from the selector field’s value to the limit that applies.
default	integer or null	Limit used when the selector’s value is absent from values. None means no limit applies then.