The Citation File Format (CFF) is a human-centric, machine-readable format for software citation metadata. It is developed to provide an easy way for RSEs, and other developers of software in academia, to ensure that they can receive credit for their work; likewise, it provides researchers with access to the necessary metadata for references to the software they use in their research. The Citation File Format follows the Software Citation Principles, and is compatible with the CodeMeta JSON-LD exchange format for software metadata.