Master professional bibliography management in LaTeX using BibTeX. This comprehensive guide covers everything from basic citations to advanced bibliography customization for academic papers, theses, and publications.

Quick start: BibTeX automates bibliography formatting in LaTeX. Create a .bib file with your references, cite them with \cite{key}, and LaTeX handles the formatting based on your chosen style.Prerequisites: Basic LaTeX knowledge. For citations basics, see Bibliography & Citations.

What You’ll Learn

✅ How BibTeX works with LaTeX
✅ Creating and managing .bib files
✅ Citation commands and variations
✅ Bibliography styles (plain, alpha, abbrv, etc.)
✅ Advanced customization techniques
✅ Best practices for reference management
✅ Troubleshooting common issues

How BibTeX Works

BibTeX is a bibliography management tool that works alongside LaTeX to handle citations and references automatically. Here’s the workflow:

BibTeX Workflow

Create .bib file

Store references

→

Cite in .tex

Use \cite commands

→

Compile

LaTeX + BibTeX

→

Output

Formatted bibliography

Basic Setup

Step 1: Create Your Main Document

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}

\title{Sample Article with Bibliography}
\author{Your Name}
\date{\today}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

\section{Introduction}
According to \cite{einstein1905}, the theory of special relativity 
revolutionized physics. Later work by \cite{hawking1988} expanded 
our understanding of the universe.

% Bibliography
\bibliographystyle{plain}  % Choose citation style
\bibliography{references}   % Link to .bib file (without extension)

\end{document}

Step 2: Create Your Bibliography File

@article{einstein1905,
    author = {Einstein, Albert},
    title = {On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies},
    journal = {Annalen der Physik},
    year = {1905},
    volume = {17},
    pages = {891--921},
    doi = {10.1002/andp.19053221004}
}

@book{hawking1988,
    author = {Hawking, Stephen},
    title = {A Brief History of Time},
    publisher = {Bantam Books},
    year = {1988},
    address = {New York},
    isbn = {978-0553380163}
}

Step 3: Compile Your Document

Compilation sequence:

pdflatex main.tex (first pass)
bibtex main (process bibliography)
pdflatex main.tex (incorporate citations)
pdflatex main.tex (finalize references)

Rendered output:

Sample Article with Bibliography

Your Name
November 28, 2024

1 Introduction

According to [1], the theory of special relativity revolutionized physics. Later work by [2] expanded our understanding of the universe.

References

[1] Albert Einstein. On the electrodynamics of moving bodies. Annalen der Physik, 17:891–921, 1905.

[2] Stephen Hawking. A Brief History of Time. Bantam Books, New York, 1988.

BibTeX Entry Types

Common Entry Types

@article

Journal articles, magazine articles

@article{key,
  author = {Author Name},
  title = {Article Title},
  journal = {Journal Name},
  year = {2023}
}

@book

Books with publisher

@book{key,
  author = {Author Name},
  title = {Book Title},
  publisher = {Publisher Name},
  year = {2023}
}

@inproceedings

Conference papers

@inproceedings{key,
  author = {Author Name},
  title = {Paper Title},
  booktitle = {Conference Name},
  year = {2023}
}

@phdthesis

PhD dissertations

@phdthesis{key,
  author = {Author Name},
  title = {Thesis Title},
  school = {University Name},
  year = {2023}
}

Complete Entry Types Reference

All BibTeX entry types with required and optional fields

Citation Commands

Basic Citation Commands

% Basic citation
\cite{einstein1905}                    % Output: [1]

% Multiple citations
\cite{einstein1905,hawking1988}        % Output: [1, 2]

% Citation with page number
\cite[p.~42]{hawking1988}              % Output: [2, p. 42]

% Citation with prefix
\cite[see][]{einstein1905}             % Output: [see 1]

% Citation with prefix and page
\cite[see][p.~15]{einstein1905}        % Output: [see 1, p. 15]

% Textual citations (with natbib package)
\usepackage{natbib}
\citet{einstein1905}                   % Output: Einstein (1905)
\citep{einstein1905}                   % Output: (Einstein, 1905)
\citeauthor{einstein1905}              % Output: Einstein
\citeyear{einstein1905}                % Output: 1905

Rendered output examples:

Command	Output (plain style)	Output (author-year)
`\cite`	[1]	(Einstein, 1905)
`\cite`	[1, 2]	(Einstein, 1905; Hawking, 1988)
`\cite[p.~42]`	[2, p. 42]	(Hawking, 1988, p. 42)
`\citet`	—	Einstein (1905)
`\citep`	—	(Einstein, 1905)

Bibliography Styles

Standard BibTeX Styles

plain

\bibliographystyle

Entries sorted alphabetically by author, numbered [1], [2], [3]…

[1] A. Einstein. On the electrodynamics…
[2] S. Hawking. A Brief History of Time…

alpha

\bibliographystyle

Labels like [Ein05], [Haw88] based on author and year

[Ein05] A. Einstein. On the electrodynamics…
[Haw88] S. Hawking. A Brief History of Time…

abbrv

\bibliographystyle

Like plain but with abbreviated first names, journal names

[1] A. Einstein. On the electrodynamics… Ann. Phys.
[2] S. Hawking. A Brief History of Time…

unsrt

\bibliographystyle

Entries in order of citation, not alphabetically

[1] S. Hawking. A Brief History of Time…
[2] A. Einstein. On the electrodynamics…

Author-Year Styles (natbib)

\usepackage{natbib}

% Choose one of these styles:
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}    % Author-year version of plain
\bibliographystyle{abbrvnat}    % Author-year version of abbrv
\bibliographystyle{unsrtnat}    % Author-year version of unsrt

% Popular journal styles:
\bibliographystyle{apalike}     % APA-like style
\bibliographystyle{chicago}     % Chicago Manual of Style
\bibliographystyle{harvard}     % Harvard citation style
\bibliographystyle{agsm}        % Australian Government Style Manual

Custom Bibliography Styles

Many journals and institutions provide their own .bst files. Common examples:

IEEEtran.bst - IEEE Transactions
ACM-Reference-Format.bst - ACM publications
apa.bst - American Psychological Association
vancouver.bst - Biomedical journals
nature.bst - Nature journals

Managing Large Bibliographies

Organizing Your .bib File

% ==========================================
% BOOKS
% ==========================================

@book{knuth1984tex,
    author = {Knuth, Donald E.},
    title = {The {\TeX}book},
    publisher = {Addison-Wesley},
    year = {1984},
    address = {Reading, Massachusetts},
    isbn = {0-201-13447-0},
    keywords = {tex, typography, typesetting}
}

@book{lamport1994latex,
    author = {Lamport, Leslie},
    title = {{\LaTeX}: A Document Preparation System},
    publisher = {Addison-Wesley},
    year = {1994},
    edition = {2nd},
    isbn = {0-201-52983-1},
    keywords = {latex, documentation}
}

% ==========================================
% JOURNAL ARTICLES
% ==========================================

@article{shannon1948mathematical,
    author = {Shannon, Claude E.},
    title = {A Mathematical Theory of Communication},
    journal = {Bell System Technical Journal},
    year = {1948},
    volume = {27},
    number = {3},
    pages = {379--423},
    month = jul,
    doi = {10.1002/j.1538-7305.1948.tb01338.x},
    keywords = {information theory, communication}
}

% ==========================================
% CONFERENCE PAPERS
% ==========================================

@inproceedings{turing1950computing,
    author = {Turing, Alan M.},
    title = {Computing Machinery and Intelligence},
    booktitle = {Mind},
    year = {1950},
    volume = {59},
    number = {236},
    pages = {433--460},
    keywords = {artificial intelligence, turing test}
}

Using Multiple .bib Files

% You can use multiple bibliography files
\bibliography{books,articles,conferences}

% Or keep project-specific references separate
\bibliography{general-refs,project-specific-refs}

String Definitions for Consistency

% Define common strings to ensure consistency
@string{ieee = "IEEE Transactions on"}
@string{acm = "ACM Computing Surveys"}
@string{springer = "Springer-Verlag"}
@string{mit = "MIT Press"}

% Use the strings in entries
@article{example2023,
    author = {Example, Author},
    title = {Example Article},
    journal = ieee # " Software Engineering",  % String concatenation
    year = {2023},
    publisher = springer
}

Advanced Features

Cross-References

@book{edited-volume2023,
    editor = {Smith, Jane and Doe, John},
    title = {Advances in Computer Science},
    publisher = {Academic Press},
    year = {2023}
}

@incollection{chapter2023,
    author = {Johnson, Alice},
    title = {Machine Learning Applications},
    pages = {45--67},
    crossref = {edited-volume2023}  % Inherits book details
}

Custom Fields and Notes

@article{example2023custom,
    author = {Author, Example},
    title = {Article with Custom Fields},
    journal = {Example Journal},
    year = {2023},
    % Standard optional fields
    note = {Forthcoming},
    abstract = {This article discusses...},
    keywords = {keyword1, keyword2, keyword3},
    % URL and access information
    url = {https://example.com/article},
    urldate = {2023-11-28},
    % Modern identifiers
    doi = {10.1234/example.2023},
    eprint = {2301.00000},
    archivePrefix = {arXiv}
}

Special Characters and Formatting

@article{special-chars2023,
    % Preserving capitalization
    title = {The {NASA} {M}ars {R}over: A Study of {AI} in Space},
    
    % Special characters
    author = {M{\"u}ller, Hans and Garc{\'\i}a, Jos{\'e}},
    
    % Math in titles
    title = {On the $\mathcal{O}(n\log n)$ Complexity of Sorting},
    
    % Preserving spaces and formatting
    title = {The {{\TeX}} and {{\LaTeX}} Companion},
    
    % Corporate authors
    author = {{Microsoft Corporation}},
    
    % Multiple authors with "and others"
    author = {First, A. and Second, B. and Third, C. and others},
    
    journal = {Example Journal},
    year = {2023}
}

Best Practices

1. Consistent Key Naming

✅ Good Key Naming Conventions

author2023keyword - e.g., einstein1905relativity
author2023a, author2023b - for multiple papers same year
conference2023author - e.g., icml2023smith

❌ Poor Key Names

paper1, paper2 - not descriptive
my-favorite-paper - too subjective
ref:2023/05/28 - uses special characters

2. Complete Information

Always include:

DOI when available - for reliable access
URL for online resources
ISBN for books
Abstract for searchability
Keywords for organization

3. Version Control

# Track your bibliography files
git add references.bib
git commit -m "Add quantum computing references"

# Create backups before major changes
cp references.bib references.bib.backup

# Use meaningful commit messages
git commit -m "Update author names to include middle initials"

Troubleshooting

Bibliography not appearing

Common causes:

Missing \bibliography{filename} command
Incorrect filename (don’t include .bib extension)
Didn’t run BibTeX: bibtex main
Need additional LaTeX passes

Solution:

pdflatex main
bibtex main
pdflatex main
pdflatex main

Citation shows as [?] or bold

Common causes:

Typo in citation key
Entry not in .bib file
BibTeX compilation failed
Multiple .bib files not all included

Debugging:

% Check the .blg file for errors
% Look for "Warning--I didn't find a database entry for..."

Incorrect sorting or formatting

Encoding and special character issues

For UTF-8 support:

\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}  % For pdfLaTeX
% or use XeLaTeX/LuaLaTeX for native UTF-8

For special characters:

author = {M{\"u}ller, J{\"o}rg}  % ü, ö
author = {Garc{\'\i}a, Jos{\'e}}   % í, é

Modern Alternatives

BibLaTeX (Advanced Users)

BibLaTeX is a modern replacement for BibTeX with more features:

Better Unicode support
More entry types and fields
Customizable citation styles
Multiple bibliographies in one document

Learn more: BibLaTeX Guide

Reference Managers

Popular tools that export to BibTeX:

Zotero - Free, open-source
Mendeley - Free with Elsevier account
JabRef - BibTeX-specific manager
EndNote - Commercial, widely used
Paperpile - Modern web-based

Quick Reference Card

BibTeX Quick Reference

Essential Commands

\bibliographystyle{style}\bibliography{bibfile}\cite{key}\nocite{key}\nocite{*}

Compilation Order

pdflatex main.tex
bibtex main
pdflatex main.tex
pdflatex main.tex

Common Styles

plain - Numbered, alphabetical
alpha - Author-year labels
abbrv - Abbreviated names
unsrt - Citation order
apalike - APA style

Next Steps

Citation Styles Guide

Explore different citation formats and journal requirements

BibLaTeX Tutorial

Learn the modern bibliography system

Bibliography Templates

Ready-to-use bibliography examples

Thesis Bibliography

Managing references for large documents

LaTeX Cloud Studio handles BibTeX compilation automatically! Simply upload your .bib file and cite your references - we take care of the compilation sequence for you.

Getting Started

LaTeX Basics

Text & Formatting

Mathematics

Figures & Tables

Specialized Notation

Bibliography & References

Advanced Topics

​What You’ll Learn

​How BibTeX Works

​Basic Setup

​Step 1: Create Your Main Document

​Step 2: Create Your Bibliography File

​Step 3: Compile Your Document

​Sample Article with Bibliography

​1 Introduction

​References

​BibTeX Entry Types

​Common Entry Types

@article

@book

@inproceedings

@phdthesis

​Complete Entry Types Reference

​Citation Commands

​Basic Citation Commands

​Bibliography Styles

​Standard BibTeX Styles

​plain

​alpha

​abbrv

​unsrt

​Author-Year Styles (natbib)

​Custom Bibliography Styles

​Managing Large Bibliographies

​Organizing Your .bib File

​Using Multiple .bib Files

​String Definitions for Consistency

​Advanced Features

​Cross-References

​Custom Fields and Notes

​Special Characters and Formatting

​Best Practices

​1. Consistent Key Naming

​✅ Good Key Naming Conventions

​❌ Poor Key Names

​2. Complete Information

​3. Version Control

​Troubleshooting

​Modern Alternatives

​BibLaTeX (Advanced Users)

​Reference Managers

​Quick Reference Card

​BibTeX Quick Reference

​Essential Commands

​Compilation Order

​Common Styles

​Next Steps

Citation Styles Guide

BibLaTeX Tutorial

Bibliography Templates

Thesis Bibliography

What You’ll Learn

How BibTeX Works

Basic Setup

Step 1: Create Your Main Document

Step 2: Create Your Bibliography File

Step 3: Compile Your Document

Sample Article with Bibliography

1 Introduction

References

BibTeX Entry Types

Common Entry Types

Complete Entry Types Reference

Citation Commands

Basic Citation Commands

Bibliography Styles

Standard BibTeX Styles

plain

alpha

abbrv

unsrt

Author-Year Styles (natbib)

Custom Bibliography Styles

Managing Large Bibliographies

Organizing Your .bib File

Using Multiple .bib Files

String Definitions for Consistency

Advanced Features

Cross-References

Custom Fields and Notes

Special Characters and Formatting

Best Practices

1. Consistent Key Naming

✅ Good Key Naming Conventions

❌ Poor Key Names

2. Complete Information

3. Version Control

Troubleshooting

Modern Alternatives

BibLaTeX (Advanced Users)

Reference Managers

Quick Reference Card

BibTeX Quick Reference

Essential Commands

Compilation Order

Common Styles

Next Steps