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Download and Install BibTeX

BibTeX is not a separate download. It is a program that is part of every TeX distribution, so installing LaTeX gives you BibTeX as well.

On this page
  1. BibTeX comes with your TeX distribution
  2. Windows
  3. macOS
  4. Linux
  5. Without installing: BibTeX online
  6. Updating
  7. BibTeX is not a LaTeX package
  8. Editors that run BibTeX for you
  9. Next steps

BibTeX comes with your TeX distribution

There is no BibTeX installer. The bibtex program and the standard styles (plain, alpha, …) are included in TeX Live, MacTeX and MiKTeX. If LaTeX already works on your computer, BibTeX is almost certainly installed. Check with:

bibtex --version

On TeX Live and MacTeX the answer starts like this; MiKTeX prints a similar line with its own name:

BibTeX 0.99e (TeX Live 2026)

TeX Live 2025 and older report version 0.99d. For everyday use the two are the same.

If the command is not found, install a distribution as described below.

Windows

Choose one of the two:

  • MiKTeX: download the Basic Installer and run it. MiKTeX starts small and installs missing packages and styles on demand.
  • TeX Live: download and run install-tl-windows.exe. The default is a full installation of several gigabytes that contains everything.

Both add bibtex.exe to the PATH. Open a new Command Prompt or PowerShell window afterwards and run the version check.

macOS

MacTeX is TeX Live for the Mac, packaged with the TeXShop editor and the BibDesk reference manager. Download the .pkg from the website or install it with Homebrew:

brew install --cask mactex          # full TeX Live with GUI applications
brew install --cask mactex-no-gui   # full TeX Live only
brew install --cask basictex        # small TeX Live, about 130 MB

All three include bibtex. With BasicTeX, further styles and packages are added individually, for example sudo tlmgr install ieeetran. The programs are in /Library/TeX/texbin; open a new terminal window after installing so that the directory is on your PATH.

Linux

The distribution packages are the quickest way. Each command installs LaTeX with BibTeX, the additional bibliography styles and biber:

# Debian, Ubuntu, Linux Mint
sudo apt install texlive-latex-recommended texlive-bibtex-extra biber

# Fedora
sudo dnf install texlive-scheme-basic texlive-collection-bibtexextra biber

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S texlive-basic texlive-latex texlive-bibtexextra biber

The bibtex program itself is in texlive-binaries on Debian and Ubuntu, in texlive-bibtex on Fedora and in texlive-bin on Arch. These are pulled in as dependencies, so you don’t have to name them. texlive-full (Debian/Ubuntu), texlive-scheme-full (Fedora) or the texlive group (Arch) install everything.

Distribution packages can lag behind the current TeX Live release, particularly on long-term-support systems. For the newest version, use the TeX Live installer from TUG instead; it installs to /usr/local/texlive/<year> and is updated with tlmgr.

Without installing: BibTeX online

Overleaf is a LaTeX editor that runs in the browser. Upload or create a .bib file in your project, and Overleaf runs BibTeX (or biber) on its servers each time you compile. Nothing has to be installed, and the free plan is sufficient for this.

If you only need a BibTeX entry rather than the program, use the DOI → BibTeX converter.

Updating

BibTeX itself has been stable for decades. Version 0.99d of 2010 differs little from the 0.99c of 1988, and 0.99e of 2025 only tidied up the source file without changing the program. What changes are the styles and packages around it.

  • TeX Live, MacTeX: tlmgr update --self --all (with sudo on macOS and Linux). MacTeX also ships the TeX Live Utility application for this.
  • MiKTeX: open MiKTeX Console and use the Updates page.
  • Linux distribution packages: through the system’s package manager, like any other package.

A TeX Live release receives package updates until the next year’s release is being prepared. After that, tlmgr reports that the release is frozen, and you install the new one.

BibTeX is not a LaTeX package

A frequent mistake is to load BibTeX in the preamble:

\usepackage{bibtex}   % wrong: LaTeX Error: File `bibtex.sty' not found.

BibTeX is a separate program that runs between LaTeX runs. In the document it needs only \bibliographystyle{...} and \bibliography{...}. Related names that are easy to mix up:

Name What it is
bibtex The program described here. It reads the .aux file and a .bib file and writes the .bbl file.
bibtex8, bibtexu Variants of the program with 8-bit and Unicode (UTF-8) sorting. They use the same .bst styles and are included in TeX Live.
natbib A LaTeX package (\usepackage{natbib}) for author-year citations. It still uses bibtex.
biblatex A LaTeX package that replaces .bst styles with LaTeX macros.
biber A separate program that replaces bibtex for documents using biblatex.

Editors that run BibTeX for you

You rarely have to call bibtex by hand. The editor does not contain BibTeX, though: it calls the program from your TeX distribution, so that has to be installed first.

  • TeXstudio (Windows, macOS, Linux) runs BibTeX or biber as part of its build and on its own with F8.
  • TeXShop (macOS, part of MacTeX) has a BibTeX command in the Typeset menu.
  • LaTeX Workshop for Visual Studio Code builds with latexmk by default.
  • latexmk on the command line: latexmk -pdf paper runs LaTeX, BibTeX or biber as often as needed.

Next steps

How to Use BibTeX walks through the first run, from the .bib file to the finished bibliography. To get entries without typing them, use the DOI → BibTeX converter; for the layout of the reference list, see bibliography styles.