dieghernan · Aug 29, 2026 · Aug 29, 2026 · Aug 29, 2026 · Aug 29, 2026 · Aug 29, 2026
diff --git a/CITATION.cff b/CITATION.cff
@@ -106,8 +106,7 @@ references:
   doi: 10.32614/R.manuals
   version: '>= 4.1.0'
 - type: software
-  title: cli
-  abstract: 'cli: Helpers for Developing Command Line Interfaces'
+  title: 'cli: Helpers for Developing Command Line Interfaces'
   notes: Imports
   url: https://cli.r-lib.org
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=cli
@@ -119,8 +118,7 @@ references:
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.cli
   version: '>= 2.0.0'
 - type: software
-  title: desc
-  abstract: 'desc: Manipulate DESCRIPTION Files'
+  title: 'desc: Manipulate DESCRIPTION Files'
   notes: Imports
   url: https://desc.r-lib.org/
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=desc
@@ -133,12 +131,11 @@ references:
   - family-names: Hester
     given-names: Jim
     email: james.f.hester@gmail.com
-  year: '2026'
+  year: '2023'
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.desc
   version: '>= 1.3.0'
 - type: software
-  title: jsonlite
-  abstract: 'jsonlite: A Simple and Robust JSON Parser and Generator for R'
+  title: 'jsonlite: A Simple and Robust JSON Parser and Generator for R'
   notes: Imports
   url: https://jeroen.r-universe.dev/jsonlite
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=jsonlite
@@ -147,12 +144,11 @@ references:
     given-names: Jeroen
     email: jeroenooms@gmail.com
     orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4035-0289
-  year: '2026'
+  year: '2025'
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.jsonlite
   version: '>= 1.7.2'
 - type: software
-  title: jsonvalidate
-  abstract: 'jsonvalidate: Validate ''JSON'' Schema'
+  title: 'jsonvalidate: Validate ''JSON'' Schema'
   notes: Imports
   url: https://docs.ropensci.org/jsonvalidate/
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=jsonvalidate
@@ -166,25 +162,11 @@ references:
     given-names: Mathias
   - family-names: Poberezkin
     given-names: Evgeny
-  year: '2026'
+  year: '2025'
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.jsonvalidate
   version: '>= 1.1.0'
 - type: software
-  title: tools
-  abstract: 'R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing'
-  notes: Imports
-  authors:
-  - name: R Core Team
-    website: https://ror.org/02zz1nj61
-  institution:
-    name: R Foundation for Statistical Computing
-    website: https://ror.org/05qewa988
-    address: Vienna, Austria
-  year: '2026'
-  doi: 10.32614/R.manuals
-- type: software
-  title: utils
-  abstract: 'R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing'
+  title: 'R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing'
   notes: Imports
   authors:
   - name: R Core Team
@@ -196,8 +178,7 @@ references:
   year: '2026'
   doi: 10.32614/R.manuals
 - type: software
-  title: yaml
-  abstract: 'yaml: Methods to Convert R Data to YAML and Back'
+  title: 'yaml: Methods to Convert R Data to YAML and Back'
   notes: Imports
   url: https://yaml.r-lib.org
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=yaml
@@ -206,12 +187,11 @@ references:
     given-names: Jeremy
   - family-names: Simonov
     given-names: Kirill
-  year: '2026'
+  year: '2025'
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.yaml
   version: '>= 2.2.1'
 - type: software
-  title: bibtex
-  abstract: 'bibtex: Bibtex Parser'
+  title: 'bibtex: Bibtex Parser'
   notes: Suggests
   url: https://docs.ropensci.org/bibtex/
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=bibtex
@@ -232,8 +212,7 @@ references:
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.bibtex
   version: '>= 0.5.0'
 - type: software
-  title: knitr
-  abstract: 'knitr: A General-Purpose Package for Dynamic Report Generation in R'
+  title: 'knitr: A General-Purpose Package for Dynamic Report Generation in R'
   notes: Suggests
   url: https://yihui.org/knitr/
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=knitr
@@ -242,11 +221,10 @@ references:
     given-names: Yihui
     email: xie@yihui.name
     orcid: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0645-5666
-  year: '2026'
+  year: '2025'
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.knitr
 - type: software
-  title: lifecycle
-  abstract: 'lifecycle: Manage the Life Cycle of your Package Functions'
+  title: 'lifecycle: Manage the Life Cycle of your Package Functions'
   notes: Suggests
   url: https://lifecycle.r-lib.org/
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=lifecycle
@@ -261,8 +239,7 @@ references:
   year: '2026'
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.lifecycle
 - type: software
-  title: quarto
-  abstract: 'quarto: R Interface to ''Quarto'' Markdown Publishing System'
+  title: 'quarto: R Interface to ''Quarto'' Markdown Publishing System'
   notes: Suggests
   url: https://quarto-dev.github.io/quarto-r/
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=quarto
@@ -278,8 +255,7 @@ references:
   year: '2026'
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.quarto
 - type: software
-  title: rmarkdown
-  abstract: 'rmarkdown: Dynamic Documents for R'
+  title: 'rmarkdown: Dynamic Documents for R'
   notes: Suggests
   url: https://pkgs.rstudio.com/rmarkdown/
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=rmarkdown
@@ -322,8 +298,7 @@ references:
   year: '2026'
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.rmarkdown
 - type: software
-  title: testthat
-  abstract: 'testthat: Unit Testing for R'
+  title: 'testthat: Unit Testing for R'
   notes: Suggests
   url: https://testthat.r-lib.org
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=testthat
@@ -335,8 +310,7 @@ references:
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.testthat
   version: '>= 3.3.0'
 - type: software
-  title: usethis
-  abstract: 'usethis: Automate Package and Project Setup'
+  title: 'usethis: Automate Package and Project Setup'
   notes: Suggests
   url: https://usethis.r-lib.org
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=usethis
@@ -360,8 +334,7 @@ references:
   year: '2026'
   doi: 10.32614/CRAN.package.usethis
 - type: software
-  title: withr
-  abstract: 'withr: Run Code ''With'' Temporarily Modified Global State'
+  title: 'withr: Run Code ''With'' Temporarily Modified Global State'
   notes: Suggests
   url: https://withr.r-lib.org
   repository: https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=withr

diff --git a/NEWS.md b/NEWS.md
@@ -1,8 +1,9 @@
 # cffr (development version)
 
 - `as_cff.bibentry()` now selects the first `issn` of each `bibentry()`.
-- `cff_create()` no longer creates duplicate identifiers when adding inferred
-  CRAN metadata.
+- `cff_create()` no longer creates duplicate identifiers when merging inferred CRAN metadata with `CITATION` metadata.
+- `cff_create()` now adds inferred CRAN DOIs only to packages available from CRAN. Dependency references retain extracted titles, abstracts, authors and citation years while adding their declared scope and version constraint, plus URLs and repository information from installed package metadata; a release date takes precedence over a citation year when available (#114).
+- `cff_read_citation()` now makes every field supplied in `meta`, including custom `DESCRIPTION` fields, available to `CITATION` files and no longer retries with metadata from the **base** package when reading fails (#114).
 
 # cffr 1.4.2
 

diff --git a/R/cff-create.R b/R/cff-create.R
@@ -21,8 +21,8 @@
 #'   generated metadata.
 #' @param gh_keywords A logical value. If `TRUE` and the package is hosted on
 #'   GitHub, add the repository topics as keywords.
-#' @param dependencies A logical value. If `TRUE`, add the package dependencies
-#'   to the `references` CFF key.
+#' @param dependencies A logical value. If `TRUE`, add installed package
+#'   dependencies to the `references` CFF key. See **Details**.
 #' @param authors_roles Roles to be considered as authors of the package when
 #'   generating the `CITATION.cff` file. See **Details**.
 #'
@@ -33,6 +33,21 @@
 #' present in your package, \CRANpkg{cffr} auto-generates a
 #' `preferred-citation` key using the information provided in that file.
 #'
+#' When `inst/CITATION` is present, every field from the package's
+#' `DESCRIPTION`, including custom fields, is made available to that file
+#' through its `meta` object. If the file cannot be evaluated with those
+#' metadata, `cff_create()` does not retry with metadata from another package.
+#'
+#' When `dependencies = TRUE`, `cff_create()` starts from the first reference
+#' returned by [utils::citation()] for each installed dependency. Citation
+#' fields such as title, abstract, authors and year are preserved. Each
+#' reference is adapted to the CFF software-reference type and enriched with
+#' the dependency scope and version constraint from the source `DESCRIPTION`,
+#' URLs and repository information from the installed dependency's
+#' `DESCRIPTION` and the canonical CRAN DOI only when the dependency is
+#' available from CRAN. A release date, when present, determines the year;
+#' otherwise the citation year is retained.
+#'
 #' By default, only persons whose role in the `DESCRIPTION` file of the package
 #' is author (`"aut"`) or maintainer (`"cre"`) are considered package authors.
 #' The default setting can be controlled with the `authors_roles` argument. See

diff --git a/R/cff-read.R b/R/cff-read.R
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@
 #'
 #' @param path A path to a file.
 #' @param encoding Encoding to be assumed for `path`. See [base::readLines()].
-#' @param meta A list of package metadata as obtained by
+#' @param meta A package metadata object as obtained by
 #'   [utils::packageDescription()] or `NULL` (the default). See **Details**.
 #' @param ... Arguments passed to other functions, for example to
 #'   [yaml::read_yaml()] or [bibtex::read.bib()].
@@ -27,11 +27,13 @@
 #' @return
 #' - `cff_read_cff_citation()` and `cff_read_description()` return an object
 #'   with class `cff`.
-#' - `cff_read_citation()` and `cff_read_bib()` return an object of classes
+#' - `cff_read_bib()` returns an object of classes
 #'   [`cff_ref_lst, cff`][cff_ref_lst] as defined by the
 #'   `definitions.reference` specified in the following guide:
 #' ```{r child = "man/chunks/schema-guide.Rmd"}
 #' ```
+#' - `cff_read_citation()` returns the same classes as `cff_read_bib()`, or
+#'   `NULL` when the file cannot be evaluated.
 #'
 #' Learn more about the \CRANpkg{cffr} class system in [cff_class].
 #'
@@ -42,8 +44,13 @@
 #'
 #' Section 1.9 CITATION files of *Writing R Extensions* (R Core Team 2026)
 #' specifies how to create dynamic `CITATION` files using a `meta` object.
-#' Therefore, the `meta` argument in [cff_read_citation()] may be needed to
-#' read some files correctly.
+#' [cff_read_citation()] makes every field supplied in `meta`, including custom
+#' `DESCRIPTION` fields, available to the `CITATION` file. When `cff_create()`
+#' reads a package `CITATION` file, it constructs `meta` from all fields in that
+#' package's `DESCRIPTION`. With `meta = NULL`, only default encoding metadata
+#' is supplied. If the file cannot be evaluated with those metadata,
+#' `cff_read_citation()` returns `NULL`; it does not substitute metadata from
+#' another package.
 #'
 #' @references
 #' R Core Team (2026). *Writing R Extensions*.
@@ -216,20 +223,13 @@ cff_read_citation <- function(path, meta = NULL, ...) {
   new_meta <- clean_package_meta(meta)
   the_cit <- try(cff_read_citation_file(path, meta = new_meta), silent = TRUE)
 
-  # If there is an error, try again.
+  # If there is an error, return no citation.
   if (inherits(the_cit, "try-error")) {
-    cli::cli_alert_warning(paste0(
-      "Could not read {.file {path}} with the provided {.arg meta}. ",
-      'Trying {.code utils::packageDescription("base")}.'
+    cli::cli_alert_danger(paste0(
+      "Cannot read {.file {path}} with the provided {.arg meta}. ",
+      "Returning {.code NULL}."
     ))
-    new_meta <- packageDescription("base")
-    the_cit <- try(cff_read_citation_file(path, meta = new_meta), silent = TRUE)
-    if (inherits(the_cit, "try-error")) {
-      cli::cli_alert_danger(
-        "Cannot read {.file {path}}. Returning {.code NULL}."
-      )
-      return(NULL)
-    }
+    return(NULL)
   }
   tocff <- as_cff(the_cit)
 

diff --git a/R/cff-write.R b/R/cff-write.R
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@
 #' primarily for its side effect of writing a `CITATION.cff` file.
 #'
 #' @details
-#' For details of `authors_roles`, see [cff_create()].
+#' For details of `authors_roles` and dependency extraction, see [cff_create()].
 #'
 #' The `x` argument identifies the metadata source. It does not determine the
 #' output directory. This allows you to create a `CITATION.cff` from a package

diff --git a/R/utils-cff-read.R b/R/utils-cff-read.R
@@ -384,11 +384,15 @@ get_desc_sha <- function(pkg) {
 }
 
 get_desc_doi <- function(pkg) {
-  pkg <- pkg$get("Package")
-  if (is.null(search_on_repos(pkg))) {
+  package <- pkg$get("Package")
+  repository <- clean_str(pkg$get("Repository"))
+  on_cran <- identical(repository, "CRAN") ||
+    identical(search_on_repos(package), cran_package_url(package))
+
+  if (!on_cran) {
     return(NULL)
   }
 
-  doi <- paste0("10.32614/CRAN.package.", pkg)
+  doi <- paste0("10.32614/CRAN.package.", package)
   clean_str(doi)
 }
diff --git a/R/utils-create.R b/R/utils-create.R
@@ -165,7 +165,6 @@ cff_dependency_reference <- function(dep) {
 cff_dependency_citation <- function(package) {
   if (package == "R") {
     mod <- as_cff(cff_citation())[[1]]
-    mod$year <- format(Sys.Date(), "%Y")
     return(mod)
   }
 
@@ -175,10 +174,6 @@ cff_dependency_citation <- function(package) {
     return(NULL)
   }
 
-  # Simplify the `cff` object to avoid cluttering the output.
-  mod$abstract <- mod$title
-  mod$title <- package
-
   if (is_cran_dependency(package)) {
     mod$doi <- paste0("10.32614/CRAN.package.", package)
   }
@@ -191,10 +186,13 @@ cff_citation <- function(...) {
 }
 
 is_cran_dependency <- function(package) {
-  avail <- get_avail_on_init()
   base_packages <- rownames(installed.packages(priority = "base"))
+  repository <- search_on_repos(package)
 
-  all(package %in% avail$Package, !package %in% base_packages)
+  all(
+    !package %in% base_packages,
+    identical(repository, cran_package_url(package))
+  )
 }
 
 cff_dependency_desc_fields <- function(mod, package) {
@@ -215,7 +213,7 @@ cff_dependency_year <- function(mod) {
   date_rel <- mod[["date-released"]]
 
   if (is.null(date_rel)) {
-    return(format(Sys.Date(), "%Y"))
+    return(mod[["year"]])
   }
 
   format(as.Date(date_rel), "%Y")

diff --git a/R/utils.R b/R/utils.R
@@ -286,7 +286,7 @@ clean_package_meta <- function(meta) {
   pkg <- desc::desc(tmp)
   pkg$coerce_authors_at_r()
   # Extract package data.
-  meta <- pkg$get(desc::cran_valid_fields)
+  meta <- pkg$get(pkg$fields())
 
   # Clean missing values and drop empty fields.
   meta <- drop_null(lapply(meta, clean_str))
@@ -308,7 +308,7 @@ desc_to_meta <- function(x) {
   my_meta$coerce_authors_at_r()
 
   # Convert to a list.
-  my_meta_l <- my_meta$get(desc::cran_valid_fields)
+  my_meta_l <- my_meta$get(my_meta$fields())
   my_meta_l <- as.list(my_meta_l)
   v_nas <- vapply(my_meta_l, is.na, logical(1))
   my_meta_l <- my_meta_l[!v_nas]