Crystallographic Information Framework

The IUCr standard framework for crystallographic data definitions, exchange, validation, and publication.

The acronym CIF is used both for the Crystallographic Information File, the widely used data exchange file format for crystallographic data, and for the Crystallographic Information Framework, the broader IUCr standard for representing, exchanging, and validating crystallographic information. The framework supports dictionary-defined data names, machine-readable validation, and the submission, publication, and reuse of crystallographic results.

This section provides access to CIF dictionaries, technical specifications, software and services, COMCIFS resources, and validation tools.

COMCIFS, the IUCr committee responsible for CIF standards development, provides governance, maintenance, and related resources for the framework.

CIF was developed by the IUCr Working Party on Crystallographic Information and adopted in 1990 as a standard file structure for the archiving and distribution of crystallographic information (Hall, Allen & Brown, 1991). It is now well established and in regular use for reporting crystal structure determinations in Acta Crystallographica and other IUCr journals. In 2006, the importance of CIF and its accompanying validation service, checkCIF, were recognised by the Award for Publishing Innovation of the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP).

Authors submitting crystallographic data to IUCr journals should consult A Guide to CIF for Authors, produced by the IUCr editorial offices.