Should I use "co-created with" or "co-created by" for correct attribution of content?

In my PhD thesis, I wish to describe a software toolbox that I created in equal parts along with 2 other people (say Alice and Bob).

Should I say

"This software toolbox was co-created with Alice and Bob?" or "This software toolbox was co-created by Alice and Bob?"

Since it is my Phd thesis, it is implicit that I am a creator. In fact, the university requires a covering statement that everything I say in the thesis is entirely my contribution, unless explicitly stated otherwise, properly acknowledged and appropriately referenced.

If it matters, this is in England, and although I am from India, I am not considered a native speaker by my institution.

Solution 1:

"Created by Alice and Bob" means that only those two people were involved: "Co-created by Alice and Bob" I would expect to mean the same since co- means only that more than one person was involved, which the reader can tell from the word and. If you use either, you can expect a question about whether you actually played any part in the creation of this software.

"Created with..." or (better) "created together with..." would be the way to indicate that this was a three-person job.

Solution 2:

Both of these suggest that you were not included. The co- could just mean Alice and Bob did it together. So the co- serves no useful purpose here and should be removed unless you wish to emphasise that it was a co-production.

Say

I created it with Alice and Bob

or

Alice and Bob created it with me

or

It was created by Alice, Bob and myself.

This last is, in my opinion, the most elegant and does not prioritize anyone.

To meet the requirements, you may wish to emphasise that it was a co-creation so you can add co- to any of these.