AI Citation Formatter
Paste your references and we’ll format them into your chosen style.
Paste references
Enter one reference per line. We’ll recognize and tidy messy inputs automatically.
Choose a citation style
Frequently Asked Questions
17 questionsClick a question to view details.
Which citation styles are supported?
International styles
- APA — common in psychology, education, social sciences
- MLA — common in literature, languages, humanities
- Chicago — common in history, literature, art history
- Harvard — common in business, economics, management
Specialized styles
- Vancouver — medical journals, biomedical
- CSE — biology, medicine, physical sciences
- AMA — medicine, biomedical
- ACS — chemistry, materials science
How should I input references?
Input tips
- Enter one reference per line
- Keep authors, title, venue, year, and identifiers
- Messy inputs are fine; we’ll normalize
- Supports multilingual references
Auto-cleanup
- Remove numbering like 1. / [1] / (1)
- Fix whitespace and punctuation
- Detect and keep DOI/URL
- Deduplicate obvious duplicates
How accurate is the formatter?
Accuracy
- High parsing accuracy for common patterns
- Multilingual handling
- Robust to mixed-language entries
- Style‑compliant normalization
Quality assurance
- LLM‑assisted normalization
- Adheres to official style guidance
- Preserves key scholarly fields
- Graceful fallback behavior
Tip
Always double‑check authors, year, and page ranges.
Is there a character or item limit?
Limits
- Up to ~3000 characters per request
- Any number of items within the limit
- For best results, format 10–20 items at a time
Processing tips
- Split into batches if needed
- Group similar references together
- Typical time: 1–3s simple, 3–8s complex
How do I choose a style for my field?
By discipline
- Chinese academic writing: GB/T 7714-2015
- Psychology, education: APA
- Literature, languages: MLA
- History, art history: Chicago
By venue requirements
- Medical journals: Vancouver or AMA
- Chemistry: ACS
- Business: Harvard
- Always check the journal’s author guidelines
Tip
When in doubt, follow your advisor or school policy.
What if formatting fails?
Common issues & fixes
- Input too long: split into batches (≤3000 chars)
- Unparsable: include authors, title, venue, year
- Network errors: check connection and retry
- Rate limits: wait a minute and retry
Fallback
Basic numbering and cleanup are available as a fallback.
Tip
If issues persist, simplify or rephrase your input.
How are DOIs and URLs handled?
Preservation & normalization
- Detect and preserve DOI/URL
- Use the https://doi.org/ form when applicable
- Strip tracking parameters (utm_*)
- Hide links when a style does not require them
Style differences
Each style positions and formats DOIs/URLs differently; we follow the selected style.
How are ordering and numbering determined?
Default behavior
- Keep input order and renumber on output
- Remove existing numbering
- Ensure contiguous numbering per batch
Tip
If you need alphabetical or year sorting, sort before submission.
How are author names and initials handled?
Chinese names
Keep family name first, given name second; no abbreviation.
English names
- Order and initials follow the chosen style
- Separators and conjunctions follow style rules
- Use of et al. depends on the style
Will punctuation and capitalization be normalized?
Punctuation & spacing
- Use locale‑appropriate punctuation
- Normalize spaces and punctuation
- Consistent separators across entries
Capitalization & formatting
We apply the selected style’s capitalization rules (e.g., APA sentence case).
What fields are needed for different sources?
Journal article
Authors, title, journal, year, volume(issue), pages, DOI/URL (if any).
Conference paper
Authors, title, conference, location, year, pages, publisher/organization (if any).
Thesis/Dissertation
Author, title, degree, institution, year, city (if any), DOI/URL (if any).
Book/Chapter
Authors, book title (or chapter + book), edition, publisher, location, year, pages.
Web/Online
Author/organization, title, site, year/updated date, access date, URL.
Do you support in‑text citations?
Current
We focus on reference list formatting and do not generate in‑text placeholders.
Tip
Format your list, then add in‑text citations per your venue’s rules.
Can I paste BibTeX/EndNote/Zotero entries?
Compatibility
- Paste common BibTeX entries—we’ll parse core fields
- Plain‑text exports from EndNote/Zotero also work
- For heavy customization, simplify to common fields first
Do you deduplicate similar items?
Deduplication
- Detect obvious duplicates via authors/title/year
- Avoid risky merges when fields conflict
- Skim the output to confirm no false positives
Can I switch styles with one click?
Conversion
Switch between GB, APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, etc. We adjust authors, punctuation, capitalization, and links accordingly.
Do web resources need access dates?
General advice
Most styles recommend an access date for change‑prone content (webpages, preprints, datasets). We keep/add it when appropriate.
Do you detect pages, volume/issue, supplements?
Detection
- Detect page ranges and format per style
- Detect volume, issue/number, supplements
- Keep available fields if some are missing