Journal profile · Computer Science, Theory & Methods
Constraints
ISSN 1383-7133 · eISSN 1572-9354 · Springer US · NETHERLANDS · Quarterly · Founded 1996
Constraints: CAS Zone 4 · Computer Science (2025 upgraded edition); impact factor 1.19; hybrid open access; APC about USD 3,090; median 53 days to acceptance (23 articles, last 24 months); community-reported acceptance: easy; 4 articles in 2025; indexed in SCIE and Scopus.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
Constraints is published by Springer US and is in Zone 4 of Computer Science in the CAS Journal Ranking (2025 upgraded edition). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Constraint Satisfaction and Optimization, Data Management and Algorithms and Formal Methods in Verification, together about 48.9% of its articles. Its main subfields are Artificial Intelligence. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
Constraints provides a common forum for the many disciplines interested in constraint programming and constraint satisfaction and optimization, and the many application domains in which constraint technology is employed. It covers all aspects of computing with constraints: theory and practice, algorithms and systems, reasoning and programming, logics and languages. Relevant disciplines and application domains include, but are not limited to: Disciplines: Artificial Intelligence, Automated Reasoning, Combinatorial Algorithms, Databases, Discrete Mathematics, Operations Research, Programming Languages, Satisfiability and Computational Logic Domains: Agents, Bioinformatics, Design and Configuration, Graphics, Visualization, User Interfaces, Human-Computer Interaction and Decision Support, Robotics, Machine Vision and Computational Linguistics, Scheduling, Planning, Resource Allocation, Temporal and Spatial Reasoning Papers that cut across disciplinary lines, or that combine theory and practice, are especially welcome. The journal will also consider: Survey papers that provide a full-length, state-of-the-art review on a well-defined topic; Application papers presenting applications of Constraint Programming in areas such as industry, education, health and government. Papers describing real-life oriented benchmark problems, especially comparing constraint formulations with other solution techniques, will also be considered; Letters presenting important technical results, experimental results providing a relevant evaluation of a previously proposed algorithm, or improvements and corrections of results already in the literature. Officially cited as: Constraints
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Research area (LetPub): Computer Science, Theory & Methods
Editor-in-chief Helmut SimonisPublisher website
Editorial board by country: none in mainland China; most named France 8, Canada 7, Australia 6, United States 5, Ireland 4 (41 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Constraint Satisfaction and OptimizationComputer Science32.6%
- Data Management and AlgorithmsComputer Science10.3%
- Formal Methods in VerificationComputer Science6%
- Scheduling and Timetabling SolutionsDecision Sciences5.2%
- Scheduling and Optimization AlgorithmsEngineering5.1%
- AI-based Problem Solving and PlanningComputer Science4.8%
- Logic, Reasoning, and KnowledgeComputer Science4.3%
- Logic, programming, and type systemsComputer Science3.8%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: not marked
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Computer Science Zone 4
| Level | Category | Zone |
|---|---|---|
| Major | Computer Science | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence | Zone 4 |
| Minor | Computer Science, Theory & Methods | Zone 4 |
Top journal: noReview journal: no
Database indexing
SCIEScopusLetPub
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
EI CompendexzbMATHDBLPCurrent ContentsPublisher website
Other: Google Scholar, EBSCO, ProQuest, Dimensions, CNKI, Baidu, ACM Digital Library, Naver, OCLC, Portico, CLOCKSS
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- Impact factor
- 1.19LetPub ·
- Impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.3Publisher website ·
- 5-year impact factor (publisher) 2025
- 1.6Publisher website ·
- CiteScore 2026-06
- 3.8LetPub ·
- SJR 2026-06
- 0.39LetPub ·
- SNIP 2026-06
- 0.97LetPub ·
- h-index
- 40LetPub ·
- h-index
- 57OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 295OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.65OpenAlex ·
- Self-citation rate
- 0%LetPub ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 58.06%LetPub ·
Volume
- Articles per year
- 5LetPub ·
- Downloads per year (publisher) 2025
- 52,300Publisher website ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 595 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 19 | 6 | 0 |
| 2025 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 6 | 20 |
| 2023 | 27 | 20 | 61 |
| 2022 | 19 | 8 | 146 |
| 2021 | 3 | 3 | 21 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
Review time from article dates manuscript dates registered with Crossref · to
53 daysMedian, submission to acceptance · P25–P75 40 days – 141 days
- Acceptance to online
- median 17 days (28 articles)
- Submission to online
- median 58 days
- Sample
- 23 articles with submission and acceptance dates (24 in the window); the latest was accepted on
Only articles that were accepted and published are counted, not the time spent on rejected manuscripts, so this usually runs longer than a publisher's "time to first decision".
Other sources
- Average review time (community reports)
- over 12 weeksLetPub ·
- Average acceptance (community reports)
- EasyLetPub ·
- Submission to first decision
- 17 daysPublisher website ·
- Peer review
- Double anonymous peer reviewPublisher website
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Hybrid open accessLetPub
A subscription journal in which authors can pay to publish their article open access.
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAlex | USD 3,090 / EUR 2,490 / GBP 2,190 | — | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
A hybrid journal charges the APC only when the author chooses open access; publishing under the subscription model is usually free.
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare4 items from the author guidelines
- Abstract
- 150–250 words
- Keywords
- ≥ 4
- Reference style
- Numbered, in order of citation
- Suggested reviewers
- Optional
Article types accepted7
- application papersApplication Papers: Constraints welcomes application papers that have not appeared and are not under review in other journals. Application papers describe real-…Length not stated
- editorialFrequently Asked Questions A complete list of general journal Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) can be found at: http://www.springer.com/gp/authors-editors/jour…Length not stated
- letterLetters: Constraints welcomes Letters on any topic relevant to the journal scope which present novel, high-quality research that has not appeared and is not und…Length not stated
- lettersLetters: Constraints welcomes Letters on any topic relevant to the journal scope which present novel, high-quality research that has not appeared and is not und…Length not stated
- phd thesis abstractsPhD Thesis AbstractsLength not stated
- surveySurvey papers: Constraints welcomes survey papers that have not appeared and are not under review in other journals. Survey papers provide a full-length, state-…Length not stated
- survey papersSurvey papers: Constraints welcomes survey papers that have not appeared and are not under review in other journals. Survey papers provide a full-length, state-…Length not stated
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Authorship, Conflicts of interest, Data availability, Publication ethics, License & copyright, Open access, Peer review
- AI use Generative AI Images
Please check Springer’s policy on generative AI images and make sure your work adheres to the principles described therein. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Authorship Authorship principles
These guidelines describe authorship principles and good authorship practices to which prospective authors should adhere to. Authorship clarified The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, before th…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Conflicts of interest Disclosures and declarations
All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate). The decision whether such …
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Data availability Data availability statements
All original research must include a data availability statement. This statement should explain how to access data supporting the results and analysis in the article, including links/citations to publicly archived datasets analysed or generated during the study. Please see our full policy here. If it is not possible to share research data publicly, for instance when individual privacy could be com…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Publication ethics Compliance with Ethical Standards
Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) member; follows COPE guidelines on misconduct. Model summary
To ensure objectivity and transparency in research and to ensure that accepted principles of ethical and professional conduct have been followed, authors should include information regarding sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest (financial or non-financial), informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved an…
Source ↗Publisher website ·- License & copyright Copyright
Open Choice articles do not require transfer of copyright as the copyright remains with the author. In opting for open access, the author(s) agree to publish the article under a Creative Commons license. Details of the OA licences offered to authors can be found on the individual journal website, in the journal's How to publish with us guide. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Open access Open access publishing
To find out more about publishing your work Open Access in Constraints, including information on fees, funding and licences, visit our Open access publishing page. Back to top
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Peer review
Authors may suggest or exclude reviewers. Model summary
Authors are welcome to suggest suitable reviewers and/or request the exclusion of certain individuals when they submit their manuscripts.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Springer US
- Country or region
- NETHERLANDS
- Language
- English
- Frequency
- Quarterly
- Founded
- 1996
- ISSN
- 1383-7133
- Electronic ISSN
- 1572-9354
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 30, Issue 1-4 (December 2025)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Submission system ↗Publisher website
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Special issues ↗Publisher website
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Constraints
What CAS zone is Constraints in?
In the 2025 upgraded edition of the CAS Journal Ranking, Constraints is in Zone 4 of Computer Science, and in Zone 4 of the minor category Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence / Computer Science, Theory & Methods. In the 2026 Xinrui edition it is in Zone 4 of Computer Science. Zones from different editions, and from major and minor categories, are not interchangeable.
What is the impact factor of Constraints?
The latest impact factor listed by LetPub is 1.19; CiteScore 3.8, h-index 57.
How long does peer review take at Constraints?
Based on the dates recorded on 23 articles published between October 2024 and October 2026 (the last 24 months), the median time from submission to acceptance is 53 days (interquartile range 40–141 days); authors report an average review time of over 12 weeks; the community-reported acceptance is “Easy”. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of Constraints?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Abstract: 150–250 words; Keywords: ≥ 4; Reference style: Numbered, in order of citation; Suggested reviewers: Optional. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of Constraints based?
Of the 41 board members whose country the journal's board page names, none are in mainland China; the countries named most often are France (8), Canada (7) and Australia (6). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Which databases index Constraints?
According to LetPub and DOAJ records, Constraints is indexed in SCIE and Scopus. The journal's website also lists EI Compendex, zbMATH, DBLP and Current Contents; that list has not been checked against each database.
Is Constraints open access, and what is the APC?
Constraints is a hybrid journal. For open-access publication: APC about USD 3,090.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .