liminfoBibliography Generator
Free web tool: Bibliography Generator
About Bibliography Generator
The Citation Generator (bibgen) instantly formats academic references in the four most widely used citation styles: APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, Chicago, and Harvard. Enter the author name, title, publication year, publisher, and optional URL, and the tool simultaneously generates all four formatted citations in real time — no page reload required. Each style has its own copy button so you can grab exactly the format your institution requires.
The tool applies the formatting rules specific to each style. For APA, it formats as "Last, F. (Year). Title. Publisher." with an optional "Retrieved from" URL. MLA uses "Last, First. Title. Publisher, Year." with the URL appended. Chicago follows a similar "Last, First. Title. Publisher, Year." pattern. Harvard formats as "Last, F. (Year) Title. Publisher." with "Available at:" for URLs. Author name parsing splits on spaces to extract the last name and first initial automatically.
Because all citation formatting happens client-side using JavaScript's useMemo hook, results appear immediately as you type without any server round-trips. This means your research data — titles, authors, and URLs — never leaves your device. The tool is ideal for students, researchers, and academics who need to quickly format references for papers, theses, bibliographies, or reading lists.
Key Features
- Generates citations in 4 styles simultaneously: APA 7th, MLA 9th, Chicago, and Harvard
- Real-time generation — citations update as you type without clicking a button
- Individual copy button for each citation style for targeted use
- Automatic author name parsing to extract last name and first initial
- Optional URL field supporting "Retrieved from" (APA) and "Available at:" (Harvard) formats
- Handles missing fields gracefully — uses "n.d." for missing year in APA and Harvard
- 100% client-side processing — your research data never leaves your browser
- No sign-up, no account, and completely free to use
Frequently Asked Questions
Which citation styles does this tool support?
The tool generates citations in APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, Chicago (author-date), and Harvard styles. These four formats cover the vast majority of academic, journalistic, and professional citation requirements worldwide.
How does the APA citation format work?
APA 7th edition formats citations as: Last, F. (Year). Title. Publisher. Retrieved from URL. The tool automatically extracts the last name and first initial from the full author name you provide. If no year is given, it defaults to "(n.d.)" for "no date" as per APA guidelines.
How does the MLA citation format work?
MLA 9th edition formats citations as: Last, First. Title. Publisher, Year. URL. The full first name is used (not just the initial), and the URL is appended at the end followed by a period. MLA is commonly required by humanities departments and literary journals.
What is the difference between Chicago and Harvard styles?
Both Chicago and Harvard follow a similar "Last, First. Title. Publisher, Year." pattern in this tool. The key differences in full Chicago style involve footnotes and bibliography formatting, while Harvard (author-date) uses parenthetical in-text citations. For URLs, Harvard adds "Available at:" while Chicago appends the URL directly.
Can I cite a website or online article?
Yes, enter the URL in the optional URL field. APA will add "Retrieved from [URL]" at the end, MLA will append the URL with a period, Chicago will include the URL directly, and Harvard will add "Available at: [URL]." For full online source citation, fill in all fields including author and publication date.
What if the author has a middle name or multiple names?
The tool splits the author field on spaces and uses the last word as the surname and everything before it as the first name (from which only the first initial is taken for APA and Harvard). For names like "John Michael Smith," it will use "Smith, J." in APA. For MLA and Chicago, the full first and last name combination is used.
Is this tool accurate enough for university submissions?
This tool implements standard citation rules for the four supported styles and is suitable for most academic papers and assignments. However, citation styles have many edge cases (edited books, multiple authors, journal articles, etc.) that this simplified tool does not fully cover. Always verify your citations against your institution's style guide or a dedicated tool like Zotero for critical submissions.
Is the Citation Generator free?
Yes, completely free with no usage limits and no account required. It is part of liminfo.com's collection of free online tools for students and researchers.