PDF to Zotero — Extract References for Your Library
Drop a PDF bibliography and get a reference file ready to drag into Zotero. No Better BibTeX plugin needed — CiteMe extracts server-side with GROBID, verifies DOIs against CrossRef, and exports RIS (or BibTeX if you prefer).
No signup · No credit card · Works in your browser
How it works
Step 1
Upload your PDF
Drop a PDF bibliography. CiteMe extracts the reference list via GROBID — works with papers, theses, and review articles.
Step 2
Verify references
Each extracted reference is matched against CrossRef and OpenAlex for DOI verification. Uncheck wrong matches before export.
Step 3
Import into Zotero
Download the .ris file and drag it into your Zotero library, or use File → Import → Reference Manager (RIS). No Zotero plugin required.
Supported citation styles
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
Also try
Frequently asked questions
How do I import the references into Zotero?
Does this replace the Zotero browser connector?
Can I export as BibTeX instead?
Can I extract references from multiple PDFs in one batch?
Will the output preserve journal abbreviations and issue numbers?
Other tools
Free Academic Citation Generator
Search by topic, DOI, ISBN, or URL — get formatted citations in APA, MLA, Harvard, Vancouver, Chicago, IEEE, and 40+ styles. 250M+ verified sources. Free, no signup.
DOI to Citation Generator — CrossRef Verified
Paste a DOI or doi.org link and generate a verified citation in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, Vancouver, IEEE, and 40+ styles. CrossRef-backed metadata, no signup required.
ISBN to Citation Generator — APA, MLA, Harvard
Paste an ISBN-10 or ISBN-13 → get a verified book citation in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and 40+ styles. Google Books + CrossRef metadata, no account needed. For BibTeX format specifically, see the ISBN to BibTeX tool.
URL to Citation Generator — DOI, Author, Date
Paste any article URL, website link, report URL, or doi.org link to extract title, author, publication name, date, and DOI when available. Format the citation in APA, MLA, Harvard, Vancouver, and 40+ styles. Free.
PMID to Citation Generator
Convert PubMed IDs to properly formatted medical citations. Supports Vancouver, AMA, APA, and other biomedical citation styles. Free tool.
arXiv to Citation Generator — Cite Preprints Free
Paste an arXiv ID or URL to generate a formatted citation for any preprint. Supports APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE, BibTeX, and 40+ styles. Pulls metadata directly from arXiv. Free.
Citation from Title — Find & Cite Any Paper
Paste a paper title and get a verified, formatted citation from real academic databases. No DOI or URL needed — just the title. Searches OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar, PubMed, CrossRef, and more. Free.
Free Title Page Maker — APA, MLA, Chicago, ABNT & More
Create a properly formatted title page for your paper in APA, MLA, Chicago, ABNT, Vancouver, or IEEE. Preview instantly and download as Word. Free.
Citation Formatter — Reformat Any Reference Instantly
Paste a citation in any format and convert it to APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, or 40+ styles. Reformats existing references without searching. Free.
BibTeX Converter — BibTeX to APA, MLA & More
Convert BibTeX entries to APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and 40+ citation styles. Export to RIS with Pro. Works with Overleaf, Zotero, and Mendeley.
BibTeX to RIS Converter — Online
Convert BibTeX entries to RIS format for import into EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero, RefWorks, and other reference managers. Paste your .bib content and get a .ris file instantly.
RIS to BibTeX Converter — Online
Convert RIS references to BibTeX format for LaTeX, Overleaf, and other academic tools. Paste your RIS entries and get clean .bib output. Compatible with Zotero, Mendeley, and EndNote exports.
Free PDF Citation Generator — Extract Refs
Free PDF citation generator. Extract all references from a PDF and format them in APA, MLA, Chicago, or 40+ citation styles. Your PDF is used only to extract references — never stored.
PDF to BibTeX Converter — Overleaf, LaTeX & Zotero
Extract references from a PDF bibliography, verify them against academic databases, and export BibTeX for Overleaf, LaTeX, Zotero, Mendeley, and JabRef.
PDF to APA Converter — Extract References from PDF
Upload a PDF bibliography, extract the references, verify them against academic databases, and copy the result in APA 7th edition format.
PDF to MLA Converter — Extract References from PDF
Upload a PDF bibliography, extract the references, verify them against academic databases, and copy the result in MLA 9th edition format.
PDF to Vancouver Converter — Extract Medical References
Upload a PDF bibliography, extract the references, verify them against academic databases, and copy the result in Vancouver style.
PDF to Harvard Converter — Extract References from PDF
Upload a PDF bibliography, extract the references, verify them against academic databases, and copy the result in Harvard referencing format.
PDF to Reference List — APA, ABNT, Vancouver, MLA, Chicago
Upload a PDF, pick a citation style, and get a clean reference list. Verified metadata from academic databases. APA, ABNT, Vancouver, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE — 39+ curated styles. Free with a CiteMe account.
PDF to CSL-JSON — Extract References for Pandoc & Zotero
Extract references from a PDF bibliography and download as CSL-JSON. Drop directly into Pandoc, Zotero, Quarto, or any CSL-aware pipeline. Verified metadata, no plugin required.
BibTeX to PDF Converter — Free Online
Convert BibTeX entries to a formatted PDF bibliography. Paste .bib content from Overleaf, Zotero, or Mendeley and download a ready-to-share PDF. Free, no signup.
PubMed Import — Convert MEDLINE to Any Citation Style
Upload a .nbib file exported from PubMed and convert all references to APA, MLA, Chicago, Vancouver, or 40+ citation styles. Free, no account required.
Reference Checker — Verify Your Bibliography Free
Paste your bibliography and verify every reference against real academic databases. Detect hallucinated references, wrong DOIs, missing authors, and formatting errors before submission. Free, no signup.