Build and manage a full, alphabetized reference list from multiple sources.
The Bibliography Generator lets you build a complete, alphabetized reference list from multiple sources, one at a time, and export the finished list in a single click — a step beyond a single-citation tool. Where a citation generator formats one entry, an academic paper almost always needs a whole page of them, sorted correctly and ready to paste at the end of your document.
To use it, choose your required citation style (APA, MLA, or Chicago) once at the top, then fill in the author, year, title, publisher or website name, and an optional URL for each source you used in your paper. Press "Add Source to List" after each entry, and it will appear, automatically alphabetized by author surname, in the running list below the form. You can keep adding as many sources as your paper requires — there is no fixed limit — and each new entry is inserted in its correct alphabetical position rather than simply appended to the bottom.
This matters because most style guides require entries to be sorted alphabetically by the first author's last name, and manually re-sorting a list every time you add a new source partway through writing a paper is tedious and easy to get wrong. By handling the sorting automatically, this tool saves that repetitive work and reduces the chance that your final reference page is out of order, which some instructors specifically check for when grading formatting.
Once your list is complete, use the "Copy Full List" button to copy every entry as plain text, ready to paste directly into your word processor. From there you can apply your document's required hanging indent and font formatting, since those are visual document settings rather than something a browser tool can apply to pasted text. If you need to start over, "Clear All" empties the current list without affecting anything else on the page.
Like every tool on this site, your list is kept only in your browser's memory for the current session — it is not saved to a server and will disappear if you reload the page, so it is worth copying your list into your document as you go, especially for a long paper with many sources built up over several sittings.
For longer research papers built up over several weeks, it can help to export your running list to a plain text file periodically as a backup, in addition to pasting the final version into your document, since the in-browser list is cleared whenever the tab is closed and cannot be recovered afterward.
Many instructors also require a specific citation style to be used consistently for a single assignment while allowing a different style for another course entirely, so it is worth confirming the required style at the very start of a project before adding many sources, since switching the style selector partway through does not retroactively reformat entries you have already added — you would need to remove and re-add them under the new style to keep the whole list consistent.
No. The list is held only in your browser's memory for this session and is cleared when you reload or close the page, so copy it into your document before navigating away.
Entries are automatically alphabetized by the first author's last name as you add them, matching the standard requirement of APA, MLA, and Chicago reference lists.
Yes, you can add websites, books, and articles to the same list; just fill in the relevant fields for each source type as you add it.
Plain text copied from a browser cannot carry indent formatting. After pasting into your document, apply the hanging indent from your word processor's paragraph settings, which is required by most style guides.
Currently you can remove an entry and re-add it with corrected details; there is no in-place edit, which keeps the tool simple and avoids sorting bugs.
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