Reviewer Certificate Plugin for OJS 3.4 - Recognize Your Peer Reviewers!
Hello OJS Community! 
I’m excited to share the Reviewer Certificate Plugin - a new tool that helps journals automatically generate and distribute personalized PDF certificates to peer reviewers upon completion of their reviews. This plugin was developed to acknowledge and incentivize the invaluable work of peer reviewers in scholarly publishing.
Plugin Information
- Plugin Name: Reviewer Certificate Plugin
- Version: 1.0.0
- Author: Serhiy O. Semerikov (Academy of Cognitive and Natural Sciences)
- GitHub: GitHub - ssemerikov/reviewerCertificate
- License: GPL v3.0
- OJS Compatibility: 3.3.x and 3.4.x
Key Features
Automated Certificate Generation
- Certificates automatically become available when reviewers complete their assignments
- No manual intervention required from journal managers
- Reviewers can download certificates directly from their dashboard
Fully Customizable Templates
- Upload custom background images (A4 size)
- Configure header, body, and footer text with dynamic variables
- Choose fonts, colors, and text sizes
- Live preview to test your design before saving
Security & Verification
- Each certificate has a unique verification code
- Optional QR codes for instant verification
- Public verification endpoint for authenticity checks
- Access control ensures reviewers only access their own certificates
Additional Features
- Batch Generation: Create certificates for historical reviews
- Multi-language Support: Full internationalization framework
- Download Tracking: Monitor certificate usage
- Eligibility Criteria: Set minimum review requirements
- TCPDF Bundled: No external dependencies needed!
Quick Installation
# 1. Navigate to your OJS plugins directory
cd /path/to/ojs/plugins/generic/
# 2. Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/ssemerikov/reviewerCertificate.git reviewerCertificate
# 3. Set permissions
chmod -R 755 reviewerCertificate/
# 4. Enable in OJS admin panel
# Settings → Website → Plugins → Find "Reviewer Certificate Plugin" → Enable
Screenshots
Certificate Example
Certificates can be fully customized with your journal’s branding, including:
- Custom backgrounds and logos
- Personalized text with reviewer name, journal name, and submission details
- Professional formatting with chosen fonts and colors
- QR codes for easy verification
Settings Interface
The plugin provides an intuitive settings panel where you can:
- Design certificate templates using template variables like
{{$reviewerName}},{{$journalName}},{{$submissionTitle}} - Upload background images
- Configure eligibility criteria
- Preview certificates before going live
How It Works
For Reviewers
- Complete a peer review assignment
- After submission, a blue notification box appears: “Your Certificate is Ready!”
- Click “Download Certificate” to get the PDF
- Save for professional portfolio or CV
For Journal Managers
- Install and enable the plugin
- Configure certificate template in plugin settings
- Certificates generate automatically for new reviews
- Use batch generation for existing completed reviews
Development with AI
This plugin was developed with the assistance of Claude Code (Sonnet 4.5) by Anthropic. The AI-powered coding assistant helped throughout the development process with:
- Code Architecture: Designing the plugin structure and component organization
- OJS Integration: Ensuring compatibility with OJS 3.3.x and 3.4.x APIs
- Testing & Debugging: Identifying and fixing compatibility issues
- Documentation: Creating comprehensive user and technical documentation
- Code Quality: Analyzing and optimizing code for production use
This modern development approach enabled rapid delivery of production-ready code with comprehensive testing and documentation.
Technical Requirements
- OJS: 3.3.x or 3.4.x (tested on 3.4)
- PHP: 7.3+ (PHP 8.0+ compatible)
- PHP Extensions: GD/Imagick, mbstring, zip
- TCPDF:
Bundled (v6.10.0) - no separate installation needed!
Perfect For
- Journals wanting to recognize reviewer contributions
- Building reviewer loyalty and engagement
- Providing verifiable credentials for reviewer portfolios
- Encouraging quality peer review work
- Meeting funder requirements for reviewer recognition
Documentation
Comprehensive documentation is available in the GitHub repository:
- README.md: Complete plugin documentation
- INSTALL.md: Detailed installation guide
- REVIEWER_WORKFLOW.md: User workflows and access instructions
- OJS_3.4_COMPATIBILITY.md: Technical compatibility details
- CODE_ANALYSIS_REPORT.md: Architecture and development analysis
Support & Contributing
- Issues/Bugs: Please report on GitHub Issues
- Questions: Feel free to ask here in the forum or contact me directly
- Contributions: Pull requests are welcome!
Contact
Serhiy O. Semerikov
Academy of Cognitive and Natural Sciences
Email: semerikov@gmail.com
Why This Plugin?
Peer reviewers are the backbone of scholarly publishing, yet their contributions often go unrecognized. This plugin provides a simple, automated way to acknowledge their work with professional certificates they can add to their CVs, tenure files, or professional portfolios.
The certificates are fully customizable to match your journal’s branding and can include verification features to ensure authenticity. With support for batch generation, you can even recognize reviewers retroactively for their past contributions.
Feedback Welcome!
I’d love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and experiences with the plugin. Please feel free to share feedback here or on GitHub. If you find it useful, consider giving it a 
on GitHub!
Thank you to the PKP community for creating such an excellent platform that makes plugins like this possible! 
Developed for the Open Journal Systems community to support and recognize the invaluable contributions of peer reviewers to scholarly publishing.