DataCite Linked Data
Staging Namespace

DataCite Linked Data Schema

Human-readable entry point for DataCite linked-data schema resources hosted under the /linked-data/ namespace. This site provides JSON-LD definitions for classes, properties, controlled vocabularies, contexts, manifests, and integrated distribution artifacts used to describe DataCite metadata.

Audience: Developers, metadata engineers, tool builders Current staged version: DataCite 4.6 Single-file import: bundle Machine entry point: manifest

Page Content Tabs

Start Here

Choose the entry point that matches what you need.

I need a single importable bundle (v4.6)

Open the integrated distribution if you want one file with classes, properties, vocabularies, and metadata together.

Open v4.6 bundle
/linked-data/dist/datacite-4.6.jsonld

I need a machine-readable index of everything (v4.6)

Open the manifest to discover classes, properties, vocabulary schemes, and terms.

Open v4.6 manifest
/linked-data/manifest/datacite-4.6.json

I need field/property definitions

Browse property definitions such as identifier, creatorName, and publicationYear.

Browse properties
/linked-data/property/

I need entity/class definitions

Browse classes such as Resource, Creator, and Title.

Browse classes
/linked-data/class/

I need allowed values / controlled terms

Browse vocabularies such as resourceTypeGeneral, relationType, and nameType.

Browse vocabularies
/linked-data/vocab/

I need JSON-LD context mappings

Open contexts that map compact JSON keys to IRIs and define interpretation behavior.

Browse contexts
/linked-data/context/

I need versioned inventories

Use manifests as the starting point for software that needs a version-specific resource index.

Browse manifests
/linked-data/manifest/

Available Versions

DataCite 4.6 (current staged set)

This staged namespace currently exposes a DataCite 4.6 linked-data set with JSON-LD class, property, vocabulary, context, manifest, and distribution resources.

Open the DataCite 4.6 manifest

Browse by Resource Type

Examples / Inputs (repo-only)

Transformation examples and round-trip notes exist in the repository but are not usually part of the public linked-data namespace.

If published, document them separately to avoid mixing schema resources with experiments.

How To Use These Files

  • For people: browse the categories above, then open the JSON-LD files directly, use the bundle for single-file import, or use the manifest as an index.
  • For software: start from the manifest if you need a versioned resource inventory, or use the distribution bundle if you need one integrated graph.
  • For JSON-LD processing: use the context files to interpret compact JSON keys and values.
  • For schema exploration: compare a class file, a property file, and a vocabulary term file to understand the modeling pattern.
Transformation Purpose Reversible XML fidelity
XML -> bolognese JSON Semantic normalization No No
XML -> xml-js JSON Structural preservation Yes Yes

URL Patterns (Quick Reference)

  • Classes: /linked-data/class/{Name}.jsonld
  • Properties: /linked-data/property/{name}.jsonld
  • Vocabulary schemes: /linked-data/vocab/{scheme}/{scheme}.jsonld
  • Vocabulary terms: /linked-data/vocab/{scheme}/{Term}.jsonld
  • Contexts: /linked-data/context/{file}.jsonld
  • Distributions: /linked-data/dist/datacite-{version}.{jsonld|ttl|rdf}
  • Manifests: /linked-data/manifest/datacite-{version}.json

Notes About This Namespace

This is the staging namespace (schema.stage.datacite.org). URLs and artifacts may change during development and review before production publication.

If you later support content negotiation, a good pattern is: Accept: text/html for human-readable pages and Accept: application/ld+json for JSON-LD responses.

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