About RefConvert
RefConvert converts reference lists into structured records, exports them as RIS, BibTeX or CSL-JSON, and formats them in any of the more than 10,800 styles of the Citation Style Language project.
Who built it
RefConvert is designed and maintained by Asif Altaf, systems librarian. It grew out of years of helping students and researchers move reference lists into reference managers.
Website · LinkedIn · Google Scholar · GitHub
RefConvert is a personal, independent project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or operated on behalf of any employer, university or library.
Cite RefConvert
If RefConvert helped your research or teaching, please cite it:
Altaf, A. (2026). RefConvert: Reference converter and citation generator [Computer software]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23919150
The software is archived on Zenodo, and GitHub's “Cite this repository” button on the repository page gives the citation in APA and BibTeX.
Why it exists
Researchers, students and librarians often have a finished reference list but not the records behind it: in a PDF, a Word file or an e-mail. Retyping them into a reference manager takes time. RefConvert turns that list back into data in a few seconds, without an account and without sending your text to a server.
How it works
A rule-based parser recognises the common patterns of APA, Harvard, Chicago, MLA, IEEE, Vancouver, AMA and ISO 690 references. Formatting uses citeproc-js, the citation processor behind Zotero, with the official CSL styles and locales. The optional Crossref check completes records from the Crossref REST API.
Trademarks
APA, MLA, Chicago Manual of Style, IEEE, AMA, Vancouver, Harvard, ISO, DIN, Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley, Citavi, Crossref and all journal and publisher names are trademarks or names of their respective owners. They are used only to describe compatibility. RefConvert is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
Open-source components
RefConvert is free software under the GNU AGPL v3.0 or later, with its source code on GitHub. It is built on open-source software and openly licensed data. See Licences for the full list and licence texts.
Contact
Questions, errors or ideas: asifaltaf1987@gmail.com, or open an issue on GitHub.