Free tool
BibTeX validator
Paste your .bib file and catch problems before they render as[?] in your PDF. Runs entirely in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
BibTeX input0 entries
Validation results
Paste your .bib file to validate it instantly.
Reference
BibTeX entry types and their fields
The validator checks each entry against the classic BibTeX contract. Required fields must be present; optional fields are fine either way.
| Entry type | Required fields | Optional fields |
|---|---|---|
@article | author, title, journal, year | volume, number, pages, month, doi, url |
@book | title, publisher, year, author or editor | volume, series, edition, address, isbn, doi |
@inproceedings | author, title, booktitle, year | pages, address, publisher, doi |
@conference | author, title, booktitle, year | pages, address, publisher |
@phdthesis | author, title, school, year | address, month, type, doi |
@mastersthesis | author, title, school, year | address, month, type |
@techreport | author, title, institution, year | type, number, address, month |
@misc | none | author, title, year, url, note, howpublished |
@unpublished | author, title, note | year, month |
@proceedings | title, year | editor, publisher, address, volume |
@manual | title | author, organization, year, edition |
@incollection | author, title, booktitle, publisher, year | editor, chapter, pages, address |
In the Oleafly desktop app, this validation runs continuously against your project, and Add citation can fetch a correct entry from a DOI, arXiv id, or title so you never hand-type one again.