Citation generator
APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard citations, with optional DOI/ISBN lookup.
Runs in this tab. The file stays here.
Preview
Anonymous (n.d.). .
Bibliography (0)
No entries yet.
This runs in your browser. Nothing is uploaded.
About Citation generator
Build APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard citations from form fields in your browser. Optional DOI or ISBN lookup uses public Crossref or Open Library APIs.
Citation generators online often want an account or quietly scrape every URL you paste. Manual entry here stays offline: pick a source type, fill author, title, year, and the rest, and get formatted strings for APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. Add several sources to a running bibliography and copy the whole list when the paper needs it.
DOI and ISBN lookup are optional and honest about the network. Crossref and Open Library return public publication metadata over CORS-friendly HTTPS. Your essay text never goes there—only the identifier you typed. If a lookup fails or the record is thin, fall back to manual fields. I will not scrape arbitrary webpage URLs; that needs a proxy and breaks the no-backend rule.
Styles differ on italics, commas, and DOI display. This tool aims for common student use, not a law-review style guide. Check your syllabus when it conflicts. Close the tab when you are done; bibliography state is only in memory unless you copied it.
How to use Citation generator
- 1Choose a source type and fill the fields, or look up a DOI or ISBN if you accept a public metadata request.
- 2Pick a citation style and add the formatted entry to your bibliography list.
- 3Copy one entry or the whole bibliography into your document.
What it won't do
- Not a full reference manager with sync or Word plugins.
- Lookup depends on third-party APIs being reachable.
Common questions
Does citation lookup upload my paper?
No. Only the DOI or ISBN string is requested from Crossref or Open Library. Manual mode makes no network calls after the page loads.
Which styles are supported?
APA, MLA, Chicago (notes-ish bibliography form), and Harvard-style author–date. Edge cases in each style may still need a human editor.
Why can’t I paste any URL to auto-cite?
Most sites block cross-origin reads. A generic scraper would need a server. DOI and ISBN APIs already allow browser fetches; that is the line I draw.
Related tools
Why this one doesn't upload your file
There is no server to upload to. This page is a static file, and the work happens in your browser using the same graphics and WebAssembly code that renders every other site you visit. Your file is read from disk into memory, processed, and handed back as a download. Once the page has loaded you can disconnect from the network entirely and it keeps working. The longer explanation