RIS to BibTeX
Paste RIS or upload a .ris file and download a BibTeX bibliography. First 10 references free. Review converted fields before importing.
Your references BibTeX
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Prepare a reference-manager export for LaTeX
RIS to BibTeX reads tagged library records and writes a bibliography database for a LaTeX project. Export the required collection as RIS from your manager, then paste the records or upload the .ris file. Choose BibTeX as the output. The conversion changes the record structure; it does not insert citations into your manuscript or decide which references belong in the paper. Keep an untouched copy of the RIS export so you can compare the original fields.
This direction is useful when a collaborator shares an RIS library but your writing project expects a .bib file. A citation-ready database needs more than valid syntax: entry types, names and titles must fit your bibliography style. Test the converted file in the destination project and review its rendered bibliography before treating a successful import as a finished reference list.
Worked example: tags become named fields
This synthetic example describes a book with a single personal author. TY identifies BOOK, TI supplies the title, AU supplies the creator and PY supplies the publication year. ER closes the record. The corresponding BibTeX entry places those values inside one book entry. The illustrative key river2020 is a local label; generated keys can differ and should be checked for uniqueness when you combine bibliography files.
If two AU lines occur inside the same RIS record, they describe two creators of that work. They should become names separated by BibTeX’s author separator, not two separate book entries. If two complete TY–ER blocks occur, they describe two records. Checking these boundaries is particularly helpful when copying RIS through an email or word processor that might alter line breaks.
Input → output
Input
TY - BOOK AU - River, Alex TI - Research notes PY - 2020 ER -
Output
@book{river2020, author = {River, Alex}, title = {Research notes}, year = {2020} }
Synthetic fixture; illustrative key and minimal mapped fields, not exact export serialization.
Check name, date and identifier mappings
RIS TI maps to title, AU to author, PY to year, PB to publisher and DO to DOI. Journal, volume, issue and page tags contribute to the corresponding fields when available. Different exporters use alternative tags and source-type conventions. Check articles, chapters and conference proceedings separately, and distinguish the journal title from the article title. A date field containing more than a year may require a closer look in your chosen LaTeX style.
Names deserve special attention because a corporation is not a person with a surname. Check that a group author remains one creator and that particles and accents survive. Attachment paths, collection membership and custom manager data do not constitute portable bibliographic fields. Protected capitals and TeX characters can also affect rendered output. Inspect warnings and preserve your original RIS rather than assuming a round trip will recreate the entire library.
Choose BibTeX when the destination uses citation keys
Use BibTeX for a project that stores references in a .bib database, including compatible Overleaf projects. RIS remains useful for exchanges between reference managers. Neither format decides the final citation style: the manuscript’s bibliography processor does that. If you only need a readable reference list, select APA or MLA output instead. When adding converted entries to an existing file, resolve duplicate records and key collisions before using them in citation commands.
Conversion limits and processing
- The first 10 references are free per browser, shared across all six converter pages. Files: up to 1 MB; batches: up to 100 references.
- File formats are parsed in your browser. Identifier lookups go through the server to Crossref / DataCite (DOI), NCBI PubMed (PMID), Open Library (ISBN) or arXiv. No AI is used to convert references.
- Review any field-loss warnings and keep your original file. Attachments and custom library fields are not a complete portable backup.
Popular reference conversions
Frequently asked questions
Can I upload an RIS file?
Yes. Upload a .ris file or paste its complete text. Preserve each TY opening tag and ER closing tag. If you copied a human-readable reference list instead, choose the appropriate input mode rather than labelling untagged prose as RIS.
Is the result an APA bibliography?
The default result is BibTeX code, not a formatted APA reference list. Your LaTeX project applies its chosen style when rendering that database. You can select APA output here when you need readable references instead of a structured bibliography file.
What is the free batch allowance?
The first 10 references share one allowance across the converter family in this browser. A batch accepts up to 100 references and a file up to 1 MB. Copying or downloading a completed result does not consume additional references.
What if an RIS record has no DOI?
The record can still become BibTeX with its available fields. Conversion does not invent a DOI or perform a title search to fill the gap. Check the publication and add a verified identifier separately if your destination needs it.
How do I fix broken RIS boundaries?
Look for a missing ER tag, a second TY inside an unfinished record or altered tag spacing. Re-exporting from the original manager is often clearer than repairing a long damaged paste. Test one complete record before retrying the whole file.
Will authors and custom fields round-trip exactly?
Do not assume exact round-trip fidelity. Check corporate creators, name particles, abstracts, keywords and identifiers against the source, and read any loss warnings. Library-specific fields, attachments and formatting conventions may have no equivalent in the destination format.
How do I use the .bib download?
Add it to the bibliography location expected by your LaTeX project, then inspect generated keys before citing entries. Compile a small sample and compare the displayed author, title and year. The conversion does not automatically modify your project or upload to Overleaf.