BibTeX Citation Generator
Paste a DOI or an arXiv ID and get a publication-quality BibTeX entry — metadata pulled live from Crossref and DataCite, the official DOI registries. Free, no sign-up.
How to use the entry
| Setup | What to write |
|---|---|
| BibTeX / natbib | \bibliographystyle{plainnat} … \cite{key} … \bibliography{references} |
| biblatex + biber | \usepackage[backend=biber]{biblatex} \addbibresource{references.bib} … \printbibliography |
| Compile order | pdflatex → bibtex/biber → pdflatex ×2 |
Getting ?? instead of citation numbers? That's the classic undefined references issue — compile twice. Not sure when to use \citep vs \citet? Here's the difference.
Frequently asked questions
How do I generate a BibTeX citation from a DOI?
Paste the DOI (e.g. 10.1038/nature12373) or the full doi.org link into the box above and click Generate. You get a complete BibTeX entry with authors, title, journal, volume, pages, year, and the DOI — ready to paste into your .bib file.
Can I generate BibTeX for an arXiv paper?
Yes. Paste the arXiv ID (e.g. 1706.03762) or the abstract-page URL. The tool builds a BibTeX entry with the eprint and archivePrefix fields that arXiv recommends for citing preprints.
How do I use the BibTeX entry in my LaTeX document?
Save the entry in a .bib file (e.g. references.bib). With BibTeX/natbib: \bibliography{references} plus \cite{key}. With biblatex: \addbibresource{references.bib} in the preamble and \printbibliography at the end. Then compile with a bibtex or biber pass.
What is the difference between BibTeX and biblatex?
BibTeX is the classic backend with .bst styles; biblatex is the modern package (usually with the biber backend) offering richer entry types and easier style customization. The entries this tool generates work with both.
Is this citation generator free?
Yes — free, no sign-up, no limits. Metadata comes live from Crossref and DataCite, the official DOI registration agencies, so entries match the publisher record.
Writing the paper too?
LetX is a free collaborative LaTeX editor — unlimited collaborators, fast compiles, 600+ templates, and your .bib managed next to your .tex.
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