Universal BibTeX Generator
Convert DOIs, arXiv preprints, RIS files, and URLs into clean, publication-ready BibTeX in under 100ms. 100% browser-native & private.
Instant CrossRef & DataCite
Queries official registry APIs directly in your browser. Resolves journal articles, books, proceedings, and arXiv preprints with zero lag.
Clean Syntax & Formatting
Escapes problematic characters, normalizes double hyphens in page ranges (12--18), standardizes citation keys, and wraps all fields safely in braces.
100% Private & Offline-Ready
All conversion runs directly on your device. Your confidential manuscript references and uploaded RIS files never touch any third-party server.
Standard BibTeX Entry Types Guide
Every reference in a .bib file begins with an entry type declaring what kind of publication it is. The standard types recognized by all LaTeX distributions include:
@articleJournal articles in periodicals, magazines, or academic journals.
Required: author, title, journal, year
@bookA published book with an identifiable publisher.
Required: author (or editor), title, publisher, year
@inproceedingsAn article or paper in a conference or symposium proceedings.
Required: author, title, booktitle, year
@miscCatch-all for webpages, preprints (arXiv), software, or datasets.
Required: title, author, howpublished, year, url
@phdthesisA doctoral dissertation or PhD thesis submitted to a university.
Required: author, title, school, year
@techreportA report published by a university, laboratory, or research institution.
Required: author, title, institution, year
How to Link a .bib File in Overleaf & LaTeX
To connect your generated citations into a research paper, add the following boilerplate to your LaTeX document:
% In your document preamble
\usepackage{cite} % Or \usepackage{natbib}
\begin{document}
According to seminal work in deep learning \cite{vaswani2017_attention}...
% At the end of your document where you want the bibliography
\bibliographystyle{plain} % Options: plain, unsrt, alpha, abbrv, ieeetr
\bibliography{references} % References references.bib file
\end{document}Specialized Reference Converters
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a BibTeX generator and why do I need one?▼
In LaTeX documents, references are never written manually. Instead, citations are defined in a separate .bib database file using structured tags (@article, @book, etc.) and cited in the text using \cite{key}. A BibTeX generator automates the creation of these formatted blocks directly from DOIs, arXiv IDs, or reference files, saving researchers hours of manual typing and eliminating syntax errors.
How do I add and cite a generated BibTeX entry in LaTeX or Overleaf?▼
Save the generated code into a file named references.bib in your LaTeX project root. In your main .tex file, load the bibliography package (such as natbib or biblatex). For classic BibTeX, add \bibliographystyle{plain} and \bibliography{references} where you want your references to appear, and cite entries using \cite{citationKey}.
Can I convert multiple DOIs or references at the same time?▼
Yes! Switch to the "DOI to BibTeX" mode and paste multiple DOIs separated by line breaks or commas. LaTeXTool resolves each DOI in parallel and generates a unified, clean .bib file ready to import into your document.
How does LaTeXTool handle special characters like &, %, and $ in BibTeX titles?▼
In LaTeX, characters such as %, &, and $ are reserved macros. If placed raw in a .bib title, they can break your PDF compilation. LaTeXTool automatically escapes special characters into \& and \% while preserving intentional mathematical formulas.
Are my citations and uploaded papers private?▼
Yes, 100% private. All parsing, API requests (to official public registries like CrossRef and DataCite), and code formatting execute completely in your local browser. No citation data or manuscript information is ever stored on our servers.
What is the difference between BibTeX and BibLaTeX?▼
BibTeX is the legacy bibliographic engine created in 1985 for LaTeX. BibLaTeX is the modern, powerful reimplementation that uses the "biber" backend. BibLaTeX natively supports UTF-8 characters, direct DOI and URL fields, and flexible citation localization. LaTeXTool generates code fully compatible with both traditional BibTeX and modern BibLaTeX.