The problem
You are working on a doctoral thesis, a research paper, or an experimental analysis. The research process spans months or years: dataset collection, intermediate analyses, drafting, peer review. At every step you produce files — Jupyter notebooks, manuscript versions, raw datasets — that document what you have done and when.
If a competing group publishes a similar result before you, or if you are accused of plagiarism, or if the doctoral committee questions when you reached a certain conclusion: you need objective proof of the research's chronology. The git log of your repository is internal evidence (modifiable). Emails to your supervisor are external evidence but discontinuous. An EU-qualified eIDAS timestamp is independent, granular and verifiable evidence by anyone.
ExistBefore lets you attest each significant version of your work without exposing the content (the file does not leave your device, only the SHA-256 hash transits).
When to attest
- Raw dataset at acquisition: as soon as you complete data collection (experiment, survey, scraping, sequencing), attest the original file. This proves you had that exact data on that date.
- Notebook with preliminary analysis: every significant version of the Jupyter / R Markdown notebook with intermediate results. Cell outputs included.
- Manuscript drafts: each version of the paper, before sending to co-authors or to the journal. Useful in priority disputes or accusations of plagiarism.
- Submission to a journal: attest the submitted version. The peer-review process can take months — the certificate proves the version sent on a specific date.
- Pre-registration of hypotheses: in clinical research and experimental psychology, pre-registration is required by many journals. Attest the pre-registration document — independent and verifiable evidence in addition to platforms like OSF or AsPredicted.
- Confidential / under-embargo data: research with proprietary data (clinical, industrial, security-sensitive) where you cannot publicly share the dataset. The hash proves the data's prior existence without revealing content.
Integrating ExistBefore into your research workflow
- Project start: attest the proposal / pre-registration document at the project's launch. This anchors the chronology of all subsequent work.
- Periodic milestones: every 1–3 months, attest the current state of the analysis (notebook + intermediate dataset). Build a granular cryptographic timeline.
- Manuscript draft: every significant draft of the paper. Especially the version sent to co-authors and the version submitted to the journal.
- Storage: archive the ExistBefore certificates in a separate folder (e.g.
existbefore/) within the project. Backup on cloud and on external drive. - In disputes: produce the relevant certificates. The opposing party can recompute the SHA-256 of the disputed file and compare it with the certificate. The hash + qualified eIDAS timestamp combination is independent objective evidence, accepted in academic and legal contexts.
Concrete example: priority dispute
You are a PhD student in computational biology working on a method for analyzing single-cell sequencing data. February 2026 you complete the algorithm and run the first analyses on the dataset. You attest the notebook and the algorithm version. March 2026 you write the first draft of the paper. April 2026 you submit to a journal. June 2026 a competing group publishes a paper with a very similar method.
The competition between groups is fierce. Your paper is in revision; the competing one is already published. The doctoral committee asks for proof of the chronology of your work. You produce: ExistBefore certificate of the algorithm dated February 2026, certificate of the draft dated March 2026, certificate of the submission dated April 2026. The committee verifies the certificates with the standard online verifier — completely independent of you and your group. The chronology is established beyond doubt: your method was developed before the competing one's publication. Priority is recognized.
What ExistBefore does not prove
- It does not prove originality: it proves the file existed on a date, not that the content is original or non-derivative. Originality is a methodological / academic judgment.
- It does not replace peer review: scientific quality of the work is judged by peer review and by the academic community. The certificate proves chronology, not soundness.
- It does not replace DOI or ORCID: it is complementary. DOI assigns a permanent identifier; ORCID identifies the author; ExistBefore proves chronology. Use all three for maximum coverage.
- It does not protect against simultaneous independent rediscovery: if two groups independently reach the same result, the certificate proves which had it first, but does not legally remove the merit of the second (in science, simultaneous independent results are recognized as joint discoveries).
- It is not an academic publication: an attested file is not "published" in the academic sense. To gain visibility and citations, you still need the standard publishing process (preprint, peer-reviewed journal, conference).
Comparison with other tools
| Tool | What it proves | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| git log / version control | Internal chronology of code/text | Modifiable; not independent evidence |
| Email to supervisor | External chronology partially independent | Discontinuous; modifiable email server |
| arXiv / bioRxiv preprint | Public timestamp of the manuscript | Public, not for confidential content; only entire papers |
| OSF pre-registration | Public timestamp of hypotheses | Specific to pre-registration; not for intermediate datasets / notebooks |
| DOI | Permanent identifier of a publication | Assigned at publication, not before |
| ExistBefore | Independent EU-qualified cryptographic timestamp on any file, without exposing content | Does not replace academic publication; complementary to all other tools |
Legal and academic references
- EU Regulation 910/2014 (eIDAS) — articles 41–43 on the legal effect of qualified electronic timestamps.
- WIPO Convention — international framework for the protection of intellectual property; cryptographic timestamps are recognized as evidence of priority on inventions and creative works.
- Academic best practices: many universities require version archiving for the doctoral thesis. ExistBefore adds an external verifiable layer, complementary to internal repository archiving.
Frequently asked questions
Does ExistBefore replace DOI or a preprint server?
No, it is complementary. DOI assigns a permanent identifier to a publication; ORCID identifies the author; preprint servers (arXiv, bioRxiv, SSRN) make the work publicly available before peer review. ExistBefore adds a layer below all of this: it cryptographically proves that an exact file version existed on a specific date, regardless of the publishing platform.
Useful for proving priority over a competing result?
Yes. If a competing group publishes a similar result and you have an ExistBefore certificate dated earlier, the certificate is independent and verifiable evidence that you had reached that result by that date. The EU-qualified eIDAS timestamp is admissible in academic disputes, doctoral committees and intellectual-property litigation.
Should I attest the dataset or only the analysis?
Both, separately. Attest the raw dataset at acquisition. Then attest each version of the analysis. This builds a verifiable temporal chain of the entire research.
Is the certificate enough to defend my thesis?
It is one element. Defending a thesis requires the original work, methodological documentation, possible witnesses. ExistBefore adds objective evidence on the chronology — fundamental in plagiarism disputes — but does not replace the academic merit.
How do I attest a Jupyter notebook with intermediate results?
Export the notebook as .ipynb (which contains cell outputs) and attest the file. Best practice: at every significant milestone, export and attest.
Can I attest a dataset under embargo?
Yes. SHA-256 reveals only that the file existed, not its content. You can attest a confidential dataset and prove its prior existence without revealing the data. When the embargo lifts, the certificate is still valid and verifiable.
Ready to attest your research?
The dataset stays on your device. Only the SHA-256 hash (32 bytes) is transmitted.