OnePassAppsOnePassApps product guide · Citation Formatter
How to format APA, MLA and Chicago bibliographies
Citation Formatter builds an alphabetised bibliography from source details you enter yourself. It supports standard authored books, ordinary web pages and journal articles using limited, versioned subsets of APA 7th, MLA 9th and Chicago 17th bibliography styles. It does not look up sources or invent missing authors, dates, publishers or other metadata.
Writing / Research / Documents
Citation Formatter
Format manually entered sources using a limited set of versioned citation styles.
What you can do
- Enter personal or organisational authors and supported publication, container, DOI, URL and accessed-date details.
- Preview and edit saved entries, switch styles and resolve any newly required source fields.
- Copy text, download text or HTML, print a bibliography, and export JSON for an editable backup.
How to use this app
- 01Choose a source type and style, then enter details from the source. Use Surname, Given names for personal authors and preserve the title's appropriate spelling and case.
- 02Review the preview, correct required-field errors and add the source. Check the alphabetised bibliography and edit entries as needed.
- 03Copy or download the finished bibliography. Use HTML or print for italics and hanging indents; export JSON separately to retain editable sources and an unfinished draft.
Limits and privacy
- The session supports 100 sources and up to ten authors per source. It excludes in-text citations, notes, legal sources, editors, translators and editions.
- Chicago uses notes-and-bibliography bibliography formatting, not author-date. Check institutional requirements and unsupported cases yourself. Leaving or reloading clears the session unless you export a backup.
Common questions
What happens when an author or date is missing?
The formatter uses the source title for a missing author and the supported style's no-date or omission rule. Missing mandatory publication details block output instead of being fabricated.
Can I return to an unfinished bibliography?
Export bibliography JSON before leaving. Importing that file restores supported sources, the style and unfinished draft after replacement confirmation. There is no automatic backup.
Is Citation Formatter free, and do I need an account?
Yes, it is free. Citation Formatter runs in your browser with no account or payment details, and it never uses OnePassApps credits.