diff --git a/.github/workflows/validate-zenodo.yaml b/.github/workflows/validate-zenodo.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..838b1fa
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/workflows/validate-zenodo.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,23 @@
+name: Check zenodo metadata
+
+on:
+    push:
+        paths:
+          - '.zenodo.json'
+          - '.github/workflows/validate-zenodo.yaml'
+
+jobs:
+  check-zenodo-metadata:
+
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v6
+      - uses: actions/setup-node@v6
+        with:
+          node-version: '24'
+      - name: Install dependencies
+        run: npm install zenodraft@0.14.1
+      - name: Check .zenodo.json file
+        run: |
+          npx zenodraft metadata validate .zenodo.json
diff --git a/.zenodo.json b/.zenodo.json
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e4c1dc8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.zenodo.json
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+{
+    "creators": [
+      {
+          "name": "Campolongo, Elizabeth",
+          "orcid": "0000-0003-0846-2413",
+          "affiliation": "The Ohio State University"
+      },
+      {
+          "name": "Zhang, Net",
+          "orcid": "0000-0003-2664-451X",
+          "affiliation": "The Ohio State University"
+      },
+      {
+            "name": "Zarubiieva, Iuliia",
+            "orcid": "0009-0007-1597-8684",
+            "affiliation": "University of Guelph"
+      },
+      {
+            "name": "Duan, Yuehua",
+            "orcid": "0000-0002-8547-5907",
+            "affiliation": "The Ohio State University"
+      },
+      {
+            "name": "Taylor, Graham",
+            "orcid": "0000-0001-5867-3652",
+            "affiliation": "University of Guelph"
+      }
+    ],
+    "description": "<p>ABC-focused guide site for collaborative work, including GitHub and Hugging Face workflows.</p>\n<p>Website: <a href=\"https://abc-center.github.io/ABC-guide/\">abc-center.github.io/ABC-guide/</a></p>",
+    "keywords": [
+      "interdisciplinary science",
+      "metadata",
+      "guide",
+      "best practices",
+      "cheat-sheet",
+      "command line cheat-sheet",
+      "collaborative science",
+      "projects",
+      "collaborative workflows",
+      "standards"
+    ],
+    "title": "AI & Biodiversity Change Global Center Guide",
+    "version": "1.2.0",
+    "license": "CC0-1.0",
+    "publication_date": "2026-08-31",
+    "grants": [
+        {
+            "id": "021nxhr62::2118240"
+        },
+        {
+            "id": "021nxhr62::2330423"
+        }
+    ],
+    "references": [
+        "Campolongo, E. G., Thompson, M. J., Zhang, N., Duan, Y., Bradley, J., Zarubiieva, I., Taylor, G., & Lapp, H. (2026). Collaborative Distributed Science Guide (Version 2.0.0) [Computer software]. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17210328"
+    ]
+}
diff --git a/CITATION.cff b/CITATION.cff
index 5385b29..ae6972c 100644
--- a/CITATION.cff
+++ b/CITATION.cff
@@ -10,20 +10,20 @@ authors:
   given-names: Iuliia
   orcid: "https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1597-8684"
 - family-names: "Duan"
-  given-names: "Zoe"
+  given-names: "Yuehua"
   orcid: "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8547-5907"
 - family-names: Taylor
   given-names: Graham
   orcid: "https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5867-3652"
 cff-version: 1.2.0
-date-released: "2025-11-17"
+date-released: "2026-08-31"
 identifiers:
-  - description: "The GitHub release URL of tag v1.1.0."
+  - description: "The GitHub release URL of tag v1.2.0."
     type: url
-    value: "https://github.com/ABC-Center/ABC-guide/releases/tag/v1.1.0"
-  - description: "The GitHub URL of the commit tagged with v1.1.0."
+    value: "https://github.com/ABC-Center/ABC-guide/releases/tag/v1.2.0"
+  - description: "The GitHub URL of the commit tagged with v1.2.0."
     type: url
-    value: "https://github.com/ABC-Center/ABC-guide/tree/2c1e49d012788c5d97a6d17c05e5caa224c17e5a"
+    value: "https://github.com/ABC-Center/ABC-guide/tree/<commit-hash>" # update on release
 keywords:
   - "interdisciplinary science"
   - metadata
@@ -39,36 +39,4 @@ license: CC0-1.0
 message: "If you find these docs helpful in your research, please cite them as below."
 repository-code: "https://github.com/ABC-Center/ABC-guide"
 title: "AI & Biodiversity Change Global Center Guide"
-version: "1.1.0"
-references:
-  - authors:
-      - family-names: "Campolongo"
-        given-names: "Elizabeth G."
-        orcid: "https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0846-2413"
-      - family-names: "Thompson"
-        given-names: "Matthew J."
-        orcid: "https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0583-8585"
-      - family-names: Zhang
-        given-names: Net
-        orcid: "https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2664-451X"
-      - family-names: "Duan"
-        given-names: "Zoe"
-        orcid: "https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8547-5907"
-      - family-names: "Bradley"
-        given-names: "John"
-        orcid: "https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3858-848X"
-      - family-names: Zarubiieva
-        given-names: Iuliia
-        orcid: "https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1597-8684"
-      - family-names: Taylor
-        given-names: Graham
-        orcid: "https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5867-3652"
-      - family-names: "Lapp"
-        given-names: "Hilmar"
-        orcid: "https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9107-0714"
-    date-released: "2025-10-29"
-    license: CC0-1.0
-    repository-code: "https://github.com/Imageomics/Collaborative-distributed-science-guide"
-    title: "Collaborative Distributed Science Guide"
-    version: 1.2.1
-    doi: "10.5281/zenodo.17210328"
+version: "1.2.0"