Perma.cc is a service that helps prevent link rot by preserving the content of web pages as they existed at the time the Perma.cc link was created. Perma.cc makes a copy of the target web page, deposits it into the Perma.cc collection, and returns a unique, citable URL that points to the preserved record.

Perma.cc is not a web archiving tool. Perma.cc doesn’t attempt to crawl web pages in full and only saves a copy of the single page that the user wants to cite as a PNG screenshot and a Web ARChive file (WARC).

How does it really work? Is it reliable? Learn more about Perma.cc.

1. Create an account
   • MIT affiliates can access unlimited Perma.cc linking by emailing perma-lib@mit.edu to request an organization account (or transition an existing, personal account).
   • Individuals can sign up for a trial account and create 10 free links. Personal subscriptions are also available.  
2. Create citable links on the Perma.cc website 
   • Enter the URL of the page you want to preserve in the provided field
   • Select the organization/folder you’d like to add it to (MIT affiliates email perma-lib@mit.edu to access unlimited link organizations at MIT) 
   • Click the "Create Perma Link" button.
     Tip: Save time with one of the available browser extensions.
3. Use the Perma.cc links in your citations (see citation section below for an example) or wherever you need a reliable link to the content of a web page as it existed when the Perma.cc link was created.

See the Perma.cc User Guide for more information and guidance.

• You can EDIT details about a Perma.cc link (title, description, and add notes) by clicking on “Show record details”. 
• You can ADD your own screenshot to a Perma.cc record instead of using the system default by clicking "Upload file" in the record details. Note, the record will be marked as “unverified” when the record details are viewed. 
• You can DELETE a Perma.cc record within the first 24 hours after creating the link.
  
  

Cite both the Perma.cc URL and the original URL.

An example from the Harvard Law Review:

4 See, e.g., Charles P. Pierce, This Cannot Be the Way Occupy Ends, ESQUIRE: POL. BLOG (Nov. 17, 2011), http://esquire.com/blogs/politics/occupy-wall-street-violence-6575448, archived at http://perma.cc/48VC-ZS62 (bemoaning protestors' "reciprocal violence" and arguing that the protest "can't end in images of bleeding cops and tossed barricades").

Always follow citation styles. For guidance on this see our Citing Sources guide.

Contact the MIT perma.cc support team at perma-lib@mit.edu.