HotCRP

HotCRP
Name	HotCRP
Developer	Shawn McKee
Released	2006
Programming language	PHP, JavaScript
Operating system	Cross-platform
License	Open-source (custom)

HotCRP HotCRP is a conference paper management system widely used for peer review workflows in computer science and related fields. It provides submission intake, reviewer assignment, discussion, rebuttal handling, and decision notification, integrating with common conference processes. The system is often deployed by academic program committees, research labs, and professional societies for running peer-reviewed conferences and workshops.

Overview

HotCRP is designed as an online platform for managing scholarly peer review for conferences and workshops. It supports interactive processes used by program committees from intake to final decisions, including submission metadata handling, conflict checking, assignment automation, and public proceedings generation. The platform is frequently compared and contrasted with other systems used by prominent events and organizations in computing and information technology.

Features

HotCRP implements features for submission management, reviewer workflows, and program committee coordination. Typical capabilities include customizable submission forms, reviewer bidding, automated and manual reviewer assignment, conflict-of-interest detection, and multi-round review cycles for rebuttal and discussion. It also supports anonymized reviewing modes, paper revisions, reviewer calibration, and export facilities for proceedings and program schedules. Integration features allow linking with digital library workflows, DOI minting processes, and indexing for archiving by major repositories.

Architecture and Technology

HotCRP is built as a web application using server-side scripting and client-side interactivity. The implementation leverages PHP for server logic and JavaScript for dynamic user interfaces, and it stores data in relational databases. Deployments commonly run on Unix-like servers with Apache or Nginx and use MySQL or MariaDB for persistence. The architecture supports customization via configuration files and plugin-like extensions, enabling interoperability with single sign-on systems, LDAP directories, and external calendaring or notification services.

History and Development

HotCRP originated in the mid-2000s and was developed to address specific needs of small-to-medium computer science conferences seeking flexible review workflows. Over successive releases, the project evolved to add features requested by program chairs, reviewers, and authors. The development trajectory intersected with broader trends in the academic conference ecosystem and saw contributions from community members and academic developers. Changes reflected adaptations to new reviewing norms, adjustments for workshop formats, and responses to scalability needs as adoption grew across venues.

Usage and Adoption

HotCRP is used by a variety of academic conferences, workshops, and symposiums in computing and information fields. Event organizers deploy it for tasks such as call-for-papers handling, reviewer recruitment, session scheduling, and proceedings generation. The platform has been selected by program committees seeking lightweight, configurable systems for peer review, and it is employed alongside institutional repositories, university departments, and professional organizations. Adoption patterns show usage across flagship conferences, regional workshops, and interdisciplinary symposia within engineering and science communities.

Security and Privacy

HotCRP implements measures relevant to the confidentiality and integrity of peer review workflows. Typical installations incorporate access control for roles such as authors, reviewers, and program chairs, and support encrypted transport via TLS for web traffic. Administrators configure conflict-of-interest rules, anonymization settings, and data retention policies to protect sensitive reviewer comments and author identities. Security considerations also include database hardening, backup strategies, and compliance with institutional policies on data governance when integrated with university authentication services.

Reception and Impact

Within the peer review and conference organization communities, HotCRP is recognized for its practical feature set and configurability. Practitioners appreciate the system for enabling transparent reviewer assignment, streamlined rebuttal handling, and flexible review formats. Its impact includes influencing how program committees structure review rounds and how small conferences adopt digital workflows. Discussions about the platform appear in venues where organizers compare submission systems, reflecting broader conversations about reproducibility, review quality, and conference administrative practices.

Category:Conference management systems Category:Peer review Category:Academic software Category:Open-source software