# JabRef/jabref

Desktop app for managing BibTeX and BibLaTeX (.bib) libraries

Repository: https://github.com/JabRef/jabref
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/jabref
Homepage: https://www.jabref.org
Language: Java
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: jabref, bibtex, java, latex, biblatex, bibliography, academia, reference-manager, research-tool, academic-publications, javafx-application, javafx-desktop-apps, javafx, hacktoberfest, ai, citation, citation-generator, citation-style-language, citation-styles, ocr
Last push: 2026-08-26T23:18:46+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 86/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 60, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 4558, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 111, "gap_med": 82, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: prerelease_only
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 4648, forks 3536 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:55.580853+00:00)

## What it is
JabRef is an open-source, cross-platform desktop application for managing BibTeX and BibLaTeX (.bib) reference libraries. It helps researchers collect, organize, search, and cite bibliographic data, with integrations for LaTeX editors, Word, LibreOffice, and online scientific catalogs.

## Use cases
- manage a bibtex bibliography for a latex thesis
- organize research papers and pdfs into groups
- fetch citation metadata from a DOI or arXiv id
- extract metadata from pdfs to build a reference library
- insert formatted citations into word or libreoffice documents
- deduplicate and clean up a large .bib file
- search google scholar and pubmed from a reference manager
- share a bibliography file with collaborators via git

## When to choose
- you write in LaTeX and need native BibTeX/BibLaTeX support
- you want a free, open-source reference manager with no vendor lock-in
- you prefer your library stored as a plain-text, version-control-friendly file
- you need to fetch metadata from many online catalogs and identifiers

## When to avoid
- you need a web-based or mobile reference manager
- your team requires a centralized cloud database as the primary storage
- you mainly work with RIS/EndNote-style workflows rather than .bib files

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: gui, search-engine, ocr, pdf, internationalization
- domain: education, developer-tools, files, cross-platform
- platform: cross-platform, jvm
- tags: bibtex, biblatex, reference-manager, citation, latex, academia, javafx, bibliography, desktop

## Member repositories
- JabRef/jabref (main) score 86

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:55.580853+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:19:30.796046+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/JabRef/jabref (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:55.580853+00:00, sha 96efeb8b28bc)
  - homepage: https://www.jabref.org (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:16.291066+00:00, sha 65d4350a7e8a)
  - site_page: https://docs.jabref.org/faq/faqcontributing (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:16.293959+00:00, sha 7fcc0a414bd3)
  - site_page: https://docs.jabref.org/getting-started (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:16.296201+00:00, sha 381b0dd03173)
  - site_page: https://docs.jabref.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:16.298201+00:00, sha 482ebeed950f)
  - site_page: https://discourse.jabref.org/c/features (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:16.299907+00:00, sha 6c44850fd569)
  - site_page: https://docs.jabref.org/faqcontributing/how-to-translate-the-ui (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:16.301594+00:00, sha cc6d9145a205)
  - site_page: https://devdocs.jabref.org/ (fetched 2026-08-29T09:04:16.303452+00:00, sha 3ba021589373)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.