BibTeX reference and tools

BibTeX is the reference format and bibliography tool for LaTeX. Look up the format, learn how to use it, or convert a DOI into a BibTeX entry.

Reference

Format
Entry types, required and optional fields, names, strings and syntax.
Entry types
Fields and a complete example for each type.
Using BibTeX
From .bib file to bibliography with LaTeX, natbib or biblatex.
- Install
Styles
plain, alpha, IEEE, APA and other bibliography styles compared.
Special symbols
Capitalization, math and characters that need escaping.
- Accents
.bib file
Create, open, import and convert a BibTeX file.
FAQ
Citing websites, "et al.", undefined citations, BibTeX vs. biblatex.
Tools
Reference managers, editors and utilities that work with BibTeX.

DOI → BibTeX

Lookups go straight from your browser to doi.org and the registration agency (Crossref, DataCite). bibtex.org does not see or store them.

More about the converter

From source to bibliography

BibTeX keeps references in a plain-text database. You cite entries by key, and a style decides how they are typeset. Hover over a field to see where it ends up.

1Entry in references.bib

@book{knuth1984texbook,← entry type, citation key
  author    = {Donald E. Knuth},  title     = {The {\TeX}book},  publisher = {Addison-Wesley},  address   = {Reading, Massachusetts},  year      = {1984}}

2Citation in your LaTeX document

As Knuth showed~\cite{knuth1984texbook}, …
 
\bibliographystyle{plainalphaapalike}
\bibliography{references}

Style:

3Typeset result

As Knuth showed [1][Knu84](Knuth, 1984), …

References

[1]Donald E. Knuth. The TeXbook. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1984.

[Knu84]Donald E. Knuth. The TeXbook. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts, 1984.

Knuth, D. E. (1984). The TeXbook. Addison-Wesley, Reading, Massachusetts.