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PDF to Mendeley — Extract & Import References

Drop a PDF bibliography and get an RIS file ready for Mendeley Reference Manager. References are extracted server-side with GROBID and matched to source records where possible — no Mendeley plugin or desktop sync needed.

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What to do next

Try Zotero InsteadTry EndNote InsteadExport as RIS Instead

How does it work?

1

Step 1

Upload your PDF

Drop a PDF bibliography. CiteMe extracts references server-side using GROBID trained on academic layouts.

2

Step 2

Check the parsed references

Metadata is verified against CrossRef. Toggle off any rows that don't match the intended source.

3

Step 3

Import into Mendeley

Download the RIS file and open Mendeley Reference Manager → File → Import → RIS. Your references appear with authors, journal, and DOI populated.

By CiteMe Editorial Team·

Which citation styles are supported?

APAMLAChicagoHarvardIEEEVancouverABNTAMAASABluebookCSEOSCOLATurabianACSMHRAAPA 6thNaturePLOSScienceCellLancetAIPRSCAPSAAAAAGLCMcGillNP 405ISO 690ISO 690 (DE)ISO 690 (FR)ISO 690 (ES)Chicago NotesABNT Numérico

Need it in a specific citation style?

Format the result in the style your paper requires — APA, MLA, Harvard, Vancouver, Chicago, or IEEE.

APA Citation Generator

Author-date format for psychology, social sciences, and education.

MLA Citation Generator

Works Cited format for humanities and literature.

Harvard Referencing Generator

Author-date common in UK and Australian universities.

Vancouver Citation Generator

Numbered references for medicine and biomedical research.

Chicago Citation Generator

Notes-bibliography or author-date for history and the arts.

IEEE Citation Generator

Bracketed numbers for engineering and computer science.

More ways to look up sources

PDF to RIS (same engine)PDF to BibTeXReference CheckerDOI to RIS

This tool in other languages

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Also try

PDF to Zotero

Extract references from a PDF and import into Zotero

PDF to EndNote

Extract references from a PDF and import into EndNote

PDF to RIS

Extract references from a PDF and export as RIS

Frequently asked questions

How do I import the file into Mendeley?
Open Mendeley Reference Manager → File → Import → choose the .ris file. Each reference becomes a library entry with author, title, journal, volume, pages, and DOI. Works with both Mendeley Desktop (legacy) and Mendeley Reference Manager (current).
What about the Mendeley Cite plugin?
Unrelated workflow. Mendeley Cite is for inserting citations into Word from your existing library. This tool populates your library from a PDF's bibliography in bulk — step 1 of that pipeline.
Why RIS and not BibTeX?
Mendeley's native import format is RIS — it preserves journal abbreviations and publication dates more reliably than BibTeX. If you prefer BibTeX, switch the style selector before download.
Does this work with the new Mendeley Reference Manager (not Desktop)?
Yes. Mendeley Reference Manager — the cloud-native replacement that followed Mendeley Desktop's retirement in September 2022 — accepts RIS imports through File → Import. The workflow is identical whether you use the web app or the native desktop/browser extension.
Will extracted references sync to my Mendeley cloud library automatically?
Yes, once imported. Any reference you add to Mendeley Reference Manager syncs to the Mendeley cloud via their own sync engine — CiteMe does not connect to Mendeley directly. The .ris file is a one-way export; Mendeley handles cloud sync and cross-device availability after import.

Other tools

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Each result shows its match evidence and metadata source.

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