Description
JabRef is a free, open-source reference manager founded in 2003 and built by a community of researchers, including PhD students, postdocs and researchers in industry, who develop it in their free time. Its stated mission is to advance open access to scientific information.
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The core of JabRef is discovering, collecting, organising and citing references. It saves a user's library in a plain, text-based BibTeX file format rather than a proprietary database, so there is no vendor lock-in, and the desktop app works across Windows, macOS and Linux, with browser extensions for capturing citations while researching online. Users and volunteer contributors can also help translate the interface, improve documentation, or contribute code.
JabRef also includes AI features for working with linked PDFs. It can generate an AI summary of an entry that has a linked PDF, and offers an AI chat interface where users can ask questions about that reference, with a set of example questions to help start a conversation; chat citations can jump straight to the cited page in JabRef's PDF viewer. Users choose which AI provider powers this, from OpenAI, Mistral AI, Hugging Face or Google, and can test the connection from JabRef's AI preferences. Chat responses render as Markdown and support copying, can be regenerated if a user wants a different answer, and JabRef can generate relevant follow-up questions; both AI summaries and chats can be exported as Markdown or JSON.
JabRef is 100% free and open-source, funded through donations, and developed openly on GitHub, where users can request features, report bugs, or contribute code and translations.
It suits students and researchers who want a citation manager that keeps their data in an open format, with an optional AI chat and summary layer for working through PDF-linked references. Using the AI features requires connecting an external AI provider; JabRef's core reference management works without one.
- CategoryAcademic Writing & Citations
- Pricing ModelFree
- DeploymentDesktop app
- PlatformsDesktop
JabRef's Core Features
Reference collection and organisation in a plain-text BibTeX library with no vendor lock-in
AI-based summarisation of entries with a linked PDF
AI chat for asking questions about a reference, with citations linking back to PDF pages
Choice of AI provider: OpenAI, Mistral AI, Hugging Face or Google
Regenerate responses and follow-up question suggestions in AI chat
Export of AI summaries and chats as Markdown or JSON
Cross-platform desktop app for Windows, macOS and Linux, plus browser extensions
Free and open-source, developed by a community of researchers since 2003
How to use JabRef?
Download JabRef: install the free desktop app for your platform.
Build your library: import references and PDFs, or add entries manually.
Set up AI (optional): open AI preferences, choose a provider (OpenAI, Mistral AI, Hugging Face or Google), and connect it.
Summarise or chat: open a PDF-linked entry to get an AI summary or start an AI chat about it.
Ask follow-up questions: use suggested or your own questions, and jump to cited PDF pages from the chat.
Cite your work: export citations in your preferred format for papers and manuscripts.
JabRef's Use Cases
- Literature review
- PDF summarisation
- Research Q&A
- Citation management
