FAQ

Short answers to the questions we hear most often. Can’t find what you need? Email us at [email protected].

  • What is a DOI and where do I find one?

    A DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a permanent code assigned to a scholarly work. It usually starts with 10. and looks like 10.1038/s41586-020-2012-7. You will find it on the article’s landing page, in the PDF header, or in any database search result.

  • Which citation styles do you support?

    We support 11 styles out of the box: APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago (author–date & notes), Harvard (Cite Them Right), IEEE, Vancouver, AMA 11, Nature, ACS, Cell and Elsevier (Harvard). You can switch styles at any time inside a project without re‑entering data.

  • Do I need an account?

    No. The generator is free for one‑off citations without an account. Sign up only if you want to save references to a project, share them across devices, or export bibliographies.

  • Can I cite a book by ISBN or a webpage by URL?

    Yes. Paste an ISBN, a URL or any keyword string into the search bar at the top of a project. We look up the metadata automatically through Crossref, OpenLibrary and our web scraper, then format it in your chosen style.

  • How do I save a citation to a project?

    After signing in, open or create a project, generate a citation in the search bar and click Save. Saved citations are listed in the project and can be exported as a bibliography at any time.

  • Which export formats are available?

    From any project you can download the full reference list as BibTeX (.bib), BibLaTeX (.bib), RIS (.ris), HTML or plain text. BibTeX/BibLaTeX import directly into LaTeX; RIS into EndNote, Zotero and Mendeley.

  • Can I enter a citation manually if the lookup fails?

    Yes. Inside any project click Cite manually next to the search bar. A form lets you fill in author, title, year, publisher and other CSL fields; we then render the citation in your selected style.

  • Can I change the citation style after I have already saved sources?

    Absolutely. Citations are stored as raw CSL‑JSON metadata, so switching the project style instantly reformats every reference — no re‑entry required.

  • Is my data private?

    Your account, projects and citations are private to you. We never sell or share personal data. See our privacy policy for details.

  • Is The Citation Generator really free?

    Yes. Core citation lookup, formatting and export are free for individual academic use. We may introduce optional paid plans for teams in the future, but the personal tier will remain free.

Still have questions?

Our team is happy to help with anything about citations, exports, or your project workflow.

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