Library → Collection: References: References
Refs holds BibTeX entries — the metadata for the works you cite. It maps onto library/collection/refs/ in the project.
How Docs and Refs divide the work: Docs is the article itself (the full-text PDF); Refs is how to cite it (authors, year, journal, DOI). Ideally the two pair up one-to-one.
Getting entries in
The + menu at the bottom:
| Source | Notes |
|---|---|
| BibTeX file (.bib)… | Import a .bib file |
| RIS / EndNote file (.ris)… | Import RIS; converted to BibTeX automatically |
| From clipboard (BibTeX) | Paste a BibTeX snippet |
| External sources… | Search external libraries through the agent |
You can also right-click a document in Docs → Add to References to generate an entry for it.
The pairing banner
A banner sits above the Refs list: "Docs and refs should pair 1:1. Expand to see and resolve the gaps."
Expanded, it breaks the gaps down by status:
| Status | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| linked | Paired | — |
| unmatched | Entry with no full text | Attach (find and download it) |
| need review | Matched automatically, but uncertain | Link / Ignore |
| downloaded | Full text just retrieved | — |
| failed | Lookup failed | — |
Attach takes the entry's DOI and looks for open-access full text (via Unpaywall). If it finds one, it downloads it into Docs and links the two. Entries without a DOI can't use this — fill the DOI in first.
The reverse case is covered too: when Docs has a full text but Refs has no entry, the banner offers Generate to create one.
Opening an entry
Click a row to open the BibTeX editor in the middle pane.
In the toolbar:
- Citation style — pick a CSL style (APA, MLA, Chicago, …); the rendered citation above updates live
- Reference type — change the BibTeX entry type (
@article,@inproceedings, …) - Fill missing fields — complete missing metadata from Crossref / Semantic Scholar / OpenAlex, keyed on DOI or title
- Find and link an attachment — locate the full text (requires a DOI, and exactly one selected entry)
- Preview the linked document — jump to the linked full text
- Import the references this work cites — bulk-import this paper's own bibliography (see below)
How styles render is covered in Citations.
Importing a paper's bibliography
Import the references this work cites pulls the paper's citation list and lets you pick which entries to import.
Coverage depends on the publisher
Citation lists come from what publishers submit to Crossref, so coverage varies. Some publishers (ACS, for one) supply DOIs but no full metadata; arXiv preprints typically supply none at all. The list tells you how many entries it actually retrieved before you import.
Sorting and filtering
Sort by: Created · Modified · Title · Year
Filter by entry type: All · Journal article · Conference · Book / chapter · Thesis · Other
Entry types come from the BibTeX @type. Entries not yet indexed appear only under "All".
Reading queue and groups
Refs supports the reading queue and file groups exactly as Docs does — see Docs.
Multi-select
Select several entries (Cmd / Shift) and open them for an aggregate preview: every selected entry rendered together in the current citation style, ready to paste into a paper's bibliography.