Free Auto-Citation Generator
Build APA, MLA and Chicago author-date references from manually entered sources or optional DOI metadata lookup. Review, copy or download your report. No signup required.
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How to create a bibliography with the free citation generator
Build APA, MLA and Chicago author-date references from manual source details or optional DOI lookup. Review entries and export a bibliography without signup.
- Enter source details manually, or explicitly select Look up DOI to retrieve Crossref metadata from a DOI or doi.org link. For a normal web URL, use manual entry.
- Choose web page, journal article or book. Enter the title and review authors, publication date and optional source fields.
- Select Add source, repeat for up to 50 sources, and choose APA 7, MLA 9 or Chicago 18 author-date. Edit or remove entries as needed.
- Review the bibliography and isolated in-text examples, then copy plain text or download TXT, CSL JSON, BibTeX or formatted HTML. Add quotation locators manually.
Who benefits from a quick bibliography builder
Reference lists tend to be written at the last minute, after the real work of reading and writing is done. That is when commas go missing, italics drift and author initials get mixed up. Typing each source into a structured form and letting a style file handle the punctuation removes most of those small errors.
This tool fits high school and college students writing research papers, graduate students keeping a short reading list, teachers preparing handouts with sources, and writers who need a tidy reference list for a report or blog post. It covers three source types, web pages, journal articles and books, and three styles, APA 7, MLA 9 and Chicago 18 author-date.
A worked example with a journal article
Take a fictional journal article. Choose Journal article as the source type. In the authors box, enter one author per line in Family, Given form: Nguyen, Maria on the first line and Patel, Arjun on the second. Enter the title Sleep duration and academic performance in college students, year 2021, journal Journal of Student Health, volume 14, issue 2 and pages 45-58, then select Add source.
In APA 7 the reference reads: Nguyen, M., & Patel, A. (2021). Sleep duration and academic performance in college students. Journal of Student Health, 14(2), 45–58. The in-text example is (Nguyen & Patel, 2021).
Switch to MLA 9 and the same entry becomes: Nguyen, Maria, and Arjun Patel. “Sleep Duration and Academic Performance in College Students.” Journal of Student Health, vol. 14, no. 2, 2021, pp. 45–58. In Chicago author-date it reads: Nguyen, Maria, and Arjun Patel. 2021. “Sleep Duration and Academic Performance in College Students.” Journal of Student Health 14 (2): 45–58.
How the formatting works
Your entries are stored as structured citation data, the same format reference managers use. The tool then applies a Citation Style Language file for the style you pick. That file decides the order of elements, the punctuation, title capitalization in MLA and Chicago, and the shape of the in-text example. Notice in the example that the page range hyphen becomes an en dash automatically.
Some checks run before a source is added. A title is required, the year must have four digits, a month must be 1 to 12, and a day needs a month. A name typed without a comma is treated as a single name, which suits organizations. You can also fill the Corporate author field, which overrides individual authors. The same DOI or URL cannot be added twice.
Common mistakes to avoid
Do not type authors as Given Family on one line, or put two authors on the same line. Use Family, Given with exactly one comma, one person per line. Also enter APA titles in sentence case yourself, because APA output keeps the capitalization you type.
Check DOI lookup results before adding them. Publisher metadata can contain all-capital titles, missing issue numbers or an online date instead of the print date. Finally, compare the output with your instructor's or journal's instructions, since many courses add their own rules on top of the official style.
Useful tips and limitations
- Manual formatting runs locally. DOI lookup sends the entered DOI to Crossref; it does not send your draft or scrape arbitrary websites.
- Check metadata and institutional requirements. Isolated in-text examples may need same-author/year disambiguation and page locators.
- Use the Load fictional example button to see how a filled-in book entry looks before entering your own sources.
- Keep the page open until you have copied or downloaded your list, because sources are held only in the current tab.
Common questions
Does a web URL automatically provide citation metadata?
A doi.org link can retrieve DOI metadata after you select lookup. Other web URLs use manual entry because arbitrary websites may block browser access. Enter the page title, author and publication information yourself.
Which bibliography styles are included in the citation builder?
APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition and Chicago 18th edition author-date are formatted using locally bundled CSL styles. Chicago footnotes are not included.
What information leaves my device during DOI citation lookup?
Only the entered DOI is requested from Crossref directly by your browser, which also exposes normal connection information such as IP address to that provider. Manual source entry and formatting stay local; the app does not save your bibliography.
How do I cite a report by an organization instead of a person?
Type the organization's name in the Corporate / organization author field. It replaces any individual names and appears as written.
What should I do if my source has no publication date?
Leave the year blank. The style file then handles the missing date, for example with n.d. in APA.
Can I change a source after adding it?
Yes. Select Edit under the source, change the fields, and choose Save source changes. The bibliography updates right away.
Manual source entry and citation formatting run in your browser. DOI lookup sends the entered DOI to Crossref only when requested. Your bibliography is not saved automatically.