Free online RIS to BIBTEX converter

LaTeX and BibLaTeX projects, JabRef libraries, and collaborators may require references in a .bib file instead of RIS. Converting the records makes database exports usable for citation, editing, searching, and version-controlled project files.

What RIS is

RIS is a tagged plain-text format for exchanging bibliographic records between academic databases, library catalogs, and reference managers. A typical line contains a two-character tag, - , and a value: TY identifies the reference type, AU an author, TI the title, JO or JF the journal, PY the publication year, and DO the DOI. ER marks the end of a record.

Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, ProQuest, library catalogs, publishers, EndNote, Zotero, Mendeley, and RefWorks commonly create or provide RIS files. RIS is an interchange format, so field usage, reference-type mappings, and support for optional tags vary between exporters. RIS does not define a standard equivalent to a BibTeX citation key.

What BibTeX is

BibTeX stores bibliography entries in plain text using types such as @article, @book, and @inproceedings. Each entry has a citation key and fields such as author, title, journal, year, volume, number, pages, publisher, and doi.

A .bib file can be searched, edited, version-controlled, shared, and processed by LaTeX tools. BibLaTeX uses the same general .bib syntax but supports different entry types and fields from traditional BibTeX; the receiving document must use a compatible processor and bibliography style. A filename ending in .bib does not by itself guarantee compatibility with every BibTeX or BibLaTeX workflow.

Convert with 101convert

1. Open the RIS-to-BIBTEX converter on 101convert.com.
2. Upload the .ris file and select BIBTEX as the output format.
3. Run the conversion and download the generated .bib file.
4. Open the result in a text editor or bibliography manager and check representative records before using it in a project.

This option requires no software installation and is suitable for non-confidential files. Do not upload unpublished research, private notes, licensed database exports, or personal metadata unless the service is approved for that data.

Convert with Zotero

1. Open Zotero and choose File → Import, then select the RIS file.
2. Inspect imported authors, titles, dates, reference types, identifiers, and duplicates.
3. Select the imported items or collection, then choose Export Items… or Export Library….
4. Choose BibTeX for a traditional BibTeX workflow or BibLaTeX for a BibLaTeX workflow, then save the output with a .bib extension.

Zotero creates citation keys during export. If a project requires predictable or stable keys, the Better BibTeX for Zotero extension can apply a configured key pattern. Do not change keys after LaTeX source files cite them unless the citation commands are updated.

Convert with JabRef

1. Open JabRef and choose File → Import into current library or File → Import into new library.
2. Select the RIS file and confirm the RIS import filter if prompted.
3. Review entry types and fields, correct metadata, and run duplicate detection.
4. Choose File → Save library as or the equivalent save command, select BibTeX, and save the result as references.bib.

JabRef is useful when the converted file will be maintained as a BibTeX database rather than used only as a one-time export.

Convert repeatedly with bibutils

The open-source bibutils package supports repeatable, scripted conversions through an XML intermediary:

ris2xml references.ris > references.xml
xml2bib references.xml > references.bib

Install bibutils through the operating system’s package manager, then inspect the generated file in a text editor or BibTeX application. Command options and mappings can differ between versions.

Validate the converted file

• RIS reference types do not map one-to-one to BibTeX types. Conference papers, reports, theses, datasets, and online publications may need a different entry type or BibLaTeX-specific fields.
• Compare author order, editors, titles, subtitles, dates, journal data, page ranges, abstracts, keywords, URLs, and DOI values with the source records. Conversion does not verify citation accuracy.
• Preserve corporate authors with an extra pair of braces, for example author = {{World Health Organization}}, so BibTeX does not parse the organization as a personal name.
• Protect capitalization in acronyms, chemical formulas, and proper nouns with braces, for example title = {Effects of {DNA} damage}.
• Check that every citation key is unique and that it matches the keys used by the LaTeX source. A converter may generate, alter, or duplicate keys.
• RIS exporters may encode files as UTF-8, Windows-1252, or another character set. If accented names or symbols are corrupted, re-export the RIS file or convert it with the correct encoding instead of guessing.
• Fields with no BibTeX equivalent may be generalized, moved to note, or omitted. Keep the original RIS file because discarded metadata cannot be recovered from the converted output.
• Compile a small test document with the intended BibTeX or BibLaTeX processor. Traditional BibTeX and BibLaTeX differ in supported fields, entry types, and processing commands.