IEEE style
How to cite a software or code repository in IEEE style
Research software requires exact version numbers and deposit DOIs (e.g. Zenodo) to ensure algorithmic reproducibility.
THE FORMAT
A software or code repository in IEEE, at a glance
[#] A. B. Developer, Title of Software, ver. x.x. (Year). [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
[4] M. Abadi, A. Agarwal, and P. Barham, TensorFlow: Large-Scale Machine Learning on Heterogeneous Distributed Systems, ver. 2.15.0. (2023). [Online]. Available: https://github.com/tensorflow/tensorflow
The neural network was trained using TensorFlow [4].
In prose: Abadi et al. [4] provided the core distributed execution engine.
Copyeditor formats APA, MLA, Chicago and IEEE automatically — cite a source once and the references builds itself. See how citations work .
BEFORE YOU FORMAT
What IEEE needs from a software or code repository
Elements to collect
- Software developer or organization
- Release year
- Title of the software package
- Version tag or release number
- Archive or repository host (Zenodo, GitHub)
- DOI or repository URL
Rules specific to this entry
- In IEEE technical papers, software packages are cited with italicized titles and the release version abbreviated as “ver. x.x.”.
- The media descriptor “[Online]” is mandatory to indicate web-accessible code repositories.
- List the primary developer, open-source organization, or main repository maintainer in the author position.
- Provide the persistent repository URL (e.g. GitHub, Zenodo) following “Available:”.
Building the entry, step by step
Collect the details
Before you format anything, gather every element IEEE needs for a software or code repository: Software developer or organization; Release year; Title of the software package; Version tag or release number.
Build the references entry
Arrange those details in the IEEE order: [#] A. B. Developer, Title of Software, ver. x.x. (Year). [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
Add the in-text citation
In the body of your paper, cite it as The neural network was trained using TensorFlow [4]. — or work the same reference into your sentence as Abadi et al. [4] provided the core distributed execution engine..
Check it against the exceptions
In IEEE technical papers, software packages are cited with italicized titles and the release version abbreviated as “ver. x.x.”.
IEEE RULES
The conventions behind every IEEE entry
IEEE Reference Guide is the authority. Where a journal or department publishes its own house rules, those win — check your submission guidelines before the references is final.
The rules that apply across every source — author order, capitalization, how the references is sorted, and where IEEE entries most often go wrong — are collected on the IEEE style guide.
The same software or code repository in another style
Switching styles late in a draft is normal. Here is the same source formatted five other ways.
Questions about IEEE and software repositories
What if the software or code repository has no author?
Start the entry with the title and keep the number you already assigned it. A numeric references never re-sorts for a missing author, so the entry stays exactly where it is.
What do I need before I can cite a software or code repository?
Software developer or organization, Release year, Title of the software package, and the rest of the elements listed above. Research software requires exact version numbers and deposit DOIs (e.g. Zenodo) to ensure algorithmic reproducibility.
Is there anything unusual about a software or code repository in IEEE?
In IEEE technical papers, software packages are cited with italicized titles and the release version abbreviated as “ver. x.x.”.
What else catches people out here?
The media descriptor “[Online]” is mandatory to indicate web-accessible code repositories.
Can I reformat this software or code repository in another style later?
By hand, you would retype the entry — the element order, punctuation and italics all differ between styles. In Copyeditor, sources are stored as structured data, so switching between APA, MLA, Chicago and IEEE reformats every citation and the whole reference list at once.
Cite it once
and never reformat it again
Copyeditor keeps sources as structured data, so switching between APA, MLA, Chicago and IEEE reformats every citation and the whole references at once.
Deterministic Verification in Modern Academic Writing
Copyeditor eliminates fragmented tab-switching by unifying structured drafting, multi-style citation generation, academic tone refinement, and cryptographic process verification in one workspace.
The author approves every single sentence. Intelligent scaffolding assists with section outlines and literature integration without ghostwriting.
