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 ![VirtualFluids](docs/img/VF_logo.png)
 
-[![DOI](https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.10283049.svg)](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10283049)
+ [![Project Status: Active – The project has reached a stable, usable state and is being actively developed.](https://www.repostatus.org/badges/latest/active.svg)](https://www.repostatus.org/#active) [![Latest Release](https://git.rz.tu-bs.de/irmb/VirtualFluids/-/badges/release.svg)](https://git.rz.tu-bs.de/irmb/VirtualFluids/-/releases) 
+[![pipeline status](https://git.rz.tu-bs.de/irmb/VirtualFluids/badges/main/pipeline.svg)](https://git.rz.tu-bs.de/irmb/VirtualFluids/-/commits/main)
 
 VirtualFluids (VF) is a research code developed at the Institute for Computational Modeling in Civil Engineering (iRMB). The code is a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver based on the Lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) for turbulent, thermal, multiphase and multicomponent flow problems as well as for multi-field problems such as Fluid-Structure-interaction including distributed pre- and postprocessing capabilities for simulations with more than 100 billion degrees of freedom.
 
-
 ## Documentation
 You can find more information about the code in the [wiki](https://git.rz.tu-bs.de/irmb/virtualfluids/-/wikis/home).
-The wiki contains information about the installation, usage and development of VirtualFluids. It also contains information about how to [contribute](https://git.rz.tu-bs.de/irmb/virtualfluids/-/wikis/Contributing) to the code.
+The wiki contains information about the installation, usage and development of VirtualFluids.
+
+## License
+VirtualFluids is licensed under the terms and conditions of the GNU General Public License (GPL) version 3 or - at your option - any later.
+
+See the file [COPYING.txt](COPYING.txt) for copying permissions. For a full list of contributors see [AUTHORS.md](AUTHORS.md). If you notice that a contributor is missing on the list, please contact us or open a merge request adding the name.
+
+## How to cite
+VirtualFluids is research software and developed at research institutions.
+You can cite specific releases via Zenodo: [![DOI](https://zenodo.org/badge/DOI/10.5281/zenodo.10283049.svg)](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10283049).
+
+## Contributing
+Contributions are highly welcome. Please review the [contribution guidelines](https://git.rz.tu-bs.de/irmb/virtualfluids/-/wikis/Contributing) before opening issues and merge requests. 
+
 
 ## Known Issues
 If you notice any problems on your platform, please report an [issue](https://git.rz.tu-bs.de/irmb/virtualfluids/-/issues/new).
-
-## Authors
-A list of the developers of VirtualFluids is available [here](AUTHORS.md).