Citation converter
RIS to BibTeX Converter: Free Online RIS & NBIB to BibTeX Tool
Convert exported RIS and PubMed NBIB citation files directly into clean, standardized BibTeX (.bib) format. Whether you downloaded references from IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, Nature, Springer, or PubMed, parse citation metadata instantly in your browser without uploading your library to third-party servers.
01 RIS or NBIB input
02 Clean BibTeX
Your BibTeX entry will appear here
Generate the entry when the known source fields are ready. Unknown fields stay out of the file.
Keep the source with the manuscript
Open a Rivul AI workspace to save references, insert citations, and export Word or LaTeX.
Use this converter when you have an exported .ris or .nbib file, or pasted RIS reference text from PubMed, IEEE Xplore, ScienceDirect, or Springer, and need clean BibTeX entries.
Use the DOI to BibTeX converter when you have a single DOI instead of an exported RIS or NBIB citation file →Citation converter
How to convert an RIS or NBIB file to BibTeX
RIS (Research Information Systems) is a standardized tag format used by major academic publishers to export bibliographic data. Converting RIS or PubMed NBIB text into BibTeX maps two-letter tags (such as TY, TI, and AU) to corresponding LaTeX bibliography fields.
Paste RIS text or upload your citation file
Paste exported citation text directly into the input area or upload a .ris, .txt, or .nbib file downloaded from your academic search engine or publisher portal.
Verify the mapped fields and citation keys
Inspect the generated BibTeX records. Verify that author names are split correctly into family and given components, journal names are preserved, and title capitalization conforms to your venue guidelines.
Copy the BibTeX or download a .bib file
Copy individual BibTeX entries directly to your clipboard or download the complete converted bibliography as a .bib file ready to import into Overleaf or your LaTeX project directory.
Formatting a reference does not prove that a source supports a claim. Check the relevant passage in the source before you rely on it.
Read the complete IEEE citation format guide →Field reference
How RIS and NBIB tags map to BibTeX fields
Each tag in an RIS or PubMed NBIB file corresponds to a specific bibliographic component. Understanding how our converter maps these tags helps you verify your exported .bib records before compilation.
| Field | Source | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| TY (Reference Type) | RIS type tag | Standard journal articles (JOUR) become @article entries, conference proceedings (CONF, CPAPER) map to @inproceedings, books (BOOK) map to @book, and unrecognized types fall back gracefully to @misc. |
| TI and T1 (Title) | RIS title tags | BibTeX lowercases non-initial words under standard bibliography styles. Our converter preserves uppercase acronyms and proper nouns by wrapping them in curly braces. |
| AU and A1 (Authors) | Repeated author tags | Multiple author tags are joined with the required BibTeX 'and' delimiter rather than commas or semicolons, ensuring correct author parsing in BibTeX and BibLaTeX engines. |
| JO, JF, JA, JT (Journal / Venue) | Journal title tags | RIS exports may contain either full journal names or abbreviated ISO titles. Ensure your target journal accepts abbreviated titles before submitting your final manuscript. |
| PY and DP (Publication Year) | Date tags | RIS dates frequently include month and day information (e.g., 2024/05/12) while PubMed uses formats like 2021 Aug. The parser isolates the four-digit year to maintain BibTeX compliance. |
| DO and LID (DOI) | Identifier tags | Resolves digital object identifiers while stripping out unnecessary URL prefixes or bracketed [doi] tags common in PubMed NBIB exports. |
Troubleshooting
Common RIS to BibTeX conversion issues and fixes
Only the first reference appears when pasting a multi-record RIS file.
Why it happens. Individual records in RIS format must terminate with the 'ER -' (End of Record) tag.
What to do. Check your pasted text to ensure each reference block concludes with an ER tag on its own line before the next TY tag begins.
Author names are formatted incorrectly or merged into one entry.
Why it happens. Some reference managers export all authors on a single line separated by commas instead of repeating the AU tag.
What to do. Verify that each author is listed on a separate line starting with 'AU - Last, First' or split author entries before conversion.
LaTeX compiler shows undefined citation warnings or key collisions.
Why it happens. Exported RIS files often assign generic numeric IDs instead of meaningful author-year citation keys.
What to do. Our parser automatically synthesizes semantic keys (e.g., author2024title). You can inspect and adjust these keys to match your document cite commands.
Special characters or accents produce errors in pdflatex.
Why it happens. UTF-8 characters like umlauts, accents, or em-dashes may require LaTeX escape sequences in older compilation engines.
What to do. Our converter automatically applies smart LaTeX escaping for accented characters while preserving mathematical symbols and braces.
PubMed NBIB tags are not recognized as RIS tags.
Why it happens. PubMed exports use MEDLINE/NBIB tag formats (such as FAU and JT) rather than standard RIS tags.
What to do. Our converter automatically detects PubMed NBIB files and maps PubMed fields directly into valid BibTeX structures without requiring manual reformatting.
Questions
RIS to BibTeX questions
What is an RIS file and how does this converter turn it into BibTeX?
An RIS file is a standardized citation exchange format developed by Research Information Systems. It uses two-character tags followed by hyphens to represent bibliographic metadata. This converter parses those tags directly in your browser and formats them into clean BibTeX entries compatible with LaTeX and Overleaf.
Can I convert multiple RIS citations or an entire bibliography file at once?
Yes. You can paste multiple RIS citation blocks separated by standard ER tags or upload an entire .ris file containing dozens of citations. The converter processes all records in batch and generates a combined .bib file ready for download.
Does this tool support PubMed NBIB files as well as standard RIS files?
Yes. When you download citations from PubMed or NCBI, they are often exported in NBIB or MEDLINE format. Our converter automatically detects NBIB tags (such as PMID, FAU, and JT) and translates them into standard BibTeX records.
How are RIS reference types like JOUR and CONF mapped to BibTeX entry types?
The converter maps standard RIS reference types to their LaTeX equivalents: JOUR becomes @article, CONF and CPAPER become @inproceedings, BOOK becomes @book, and CHAP becomes @incollection. Any unrecognized types default gracefully to @misc.
Why does my exported BibTeX protect certain capitalized words in braces?
Standard BibTeX bibliography styles automatically convert article titles into sentence case, which unintentionally lowercases acronyms like DNA, API, or BERT. Our converter wraps capitalized words in curly braces so their proper casing is preserved during compilation.
Does this RIS to BibTeX conversion require uploading files to a server?
No. All parsing and BibTeX generation execute entirely client-side in your browser using modern JavaScript. Your research papers, citation files, and bibliography data are never uploaded to or stored on an external server.