MLA 9th edition
How to cite a software or code repository in MLA 9th edition
Research software requires exact version numbers and deposit DOIs (e.g. Zenodo) to ensure algorithmic reproducibility.
THE FORMAT
A software or code repository in MLA, at a glance
Developer Last, First. Title of Software. Version x.x, Repository Host, Year, https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.
Tanaka, Kenji. Textualis: Humanities Text Mining Framework. Version 2.4.1, GitHub, 2023, github.com/textualis/textualis-core.
(Tanaka)
In prose: Tanaka released the textual mining tool for literary analysis.
Copyeditor formats APA, MLA, Chicago and IEEE automatically — cite a source once and the works cited builds itself. See how citations work .
BEFORE YOU FORMAT
What MLA 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
- The software version sits in the version container element in MLA 9.
Building the entry, step by step
Collect the details
Before you format anything, gather every element MLA 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 works cited entry
Arrange those details in the MLA order: Developer Last, First. Title of Software. Version x.x, Repository Host, Year, https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.
Add the in-text citation
In the body of your paper, cite it as (Tanaka) — or work the same reference into your sentence as Tanaka released the textual mining tool for literary analysis..
Check it against the exceptions
The software version sits in the version container element in MLA 9.
MLA RULES
The conventions behind every MLA entry
MLA Handbook (9th ed.) is the authority. Where a journal or department publishes its own house rules, those win — check your submission guidelines before the works cited is final.
The rules that apply across every source — author order, capitalization, how the works cited is sorted, and where MLA entries most often go wrong — are collected on the MLA 9th edition 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 MLA and software repositories
What if the software or code repository has no author?
Move the title into the author position and alphabetize by the first significant word of that title — ignoring an initial “A”, “An” or “The”. In the text, use a shortened form of the title where the author name would go.
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 MLA?
The software version sits in the version container element in MLA 9.
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 works cited at once.
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