How to Export Citations to BibTeX, RIS, and LaTeX | CiteTools - Free Citation Converter & Academic Tools

If you use Overleaf, Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote, you need your citations in a machine-readable format -- not just plain text. CiteTools can export to BibTeX, RIS, and other formats these tools understand.

Why Export Matters

Plain text citations are fine for Word documents where you format manually. But if you use:

Overleaf or LaTeX -- You need BibTeX (.bib) files
Zotero -- Imports BibTeX or RIS
Mendeley -- Imports BibTeX or RIS
EndNote -- Imports RIS (.ris) files
Reference managers -- Most support BibTeX and/or RIS

Exporting saves you from manually entering every field into your reference manager.

BibTeX Export

BibTeX is the standard format for LaTeX users. A BibTeX entry looks like this:

@article{smith2025impact,
  author  = {Smith, John D. and Johnson, Mary K.},
  title   = {The Impact of Citation Accuracy on Academic Publishing},
  journal = {Journal of Academic Writing},
  volume  = {15},
  number  = {3},
  pages   = {45--62},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.1234/example}
}

How to Use BibTeX in Overleaf

Export your citations as BibTeX from CiteTools
In Overleaf, create a new file called references.bib
Paste the BibTeX entries into that file
In your .tex document, add:

\bibliographystyle{plain}
\bibliography{references}

Cite sources in your text with \cite{smith2025impact}

BibTeX Entry Types

@article -- Journal articles
@book -- Books
@inproceedings -- Conference papers
@misc -- Websites, software, other
@phdthesis -- Dissertations

RIS Export

RIS (Research Information Systems) is a tagged format understood by most reference managers:

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Smith, John D.
AU  - Johnson, Mary K.
TI  - The Impact of Citation Accuracy on Academic Publishing
JO  - Journal of Academic Writing
VL  - 15
IS  - 3
SP  - 45
EP  - 62
PY  - 2025
DO  - 10.1234/example
ER  -

Importing RIS into Reference Managers

Zotero: File > Import > select the .ris file

Mendeley: File > Add Files > select the .ris file

EndNote: File > Import > select RIS as the filter

How to Export from CiteTools

Paste your citation (DOI, URL, BibTeX, or plain text) into CiteTools.io
Select your citation style -- this affects the formatted output but not the export
Choose your export format from the output options (BibTeX, RIS, or other formats)
Copy or download the exported data

For batch export, paste multiple citations separated by blank lines. All citations export together. Learn more about batch processing in our citation conversion guide.

Which Format Should You Use?

Use Case	Recommended Format
Overleaf / LaTeX	BibTeX
Zotero	BibTeX or RIS
Mendeley	BibTeX
EndNote	RIS
Word (manual)	Plain text (no export needed)
Multiple tools	BibTeX (most universal)

Tips for Clean Exports

Start with DOIs. DOI-based lookups produce the most complete metadata. Learn about DOIs.
Check the citation key. BibTeX entries have a key (e.g., smith2025impact). Make sure it's unique across your .bib file.
Verify special characters. LaTeX handles accented characters differently. Check names like "Muller" vs "M"{u}ller".
Export early, export often. Don't wait until your paper is done -- build your .bib file as you research.

Try It with CiteTools

Head to CiteTools.io to convert and export your citations to BibTeX, RIS, or LaTeX. Paste a DOI, get a ready-to-import file for Overleaf or your reference manager. If you're evaluating which reference manager to pair with CiteTools, see our Zotero vs Mendeley vs CiteTools comparison.