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Free Citation Generator (APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard)

Build a working bibliography in your browser

Reference-list entry

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In-text citation

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What is citation generator?

A citation generator turns a few facts about a source — author, title, year, where you found it — into a properly formatted reference for your paper’s bibliography or works-cited page, plus the in-text citation that goes alongside the quote or paraphrase.

This tool covers the four styles students are most often asked for: APA 7 (psychology, social sciences, education), MLA 9 (humanities), Chicago 17 notes-bibliography (history, fine arts), and Harvard in the Cite Them Right convention (most UK universities). Pick a style, pick a source type, fill the fields, click Add to list. Repeat for each source. The list survives page reloads and reformats instantly when you switch styles.

For journal articles you can paste a DOI and let it auto-fill the fields from Crossref’s public database. For books you can paste an ISBN and let Open Library fill them in. Both are free, public, no-API-key services; only the DOI or ISBN you type is sent — the rest of your form stays in your browser. Your bibliography itself is stored in localStorage, which means it’s tied to this browser on this device and never leaves it.

Citations are pedantic by nature. Different style guides disagree about en-dashes, capitalization, where the year goes, when to use et al., and whether to italicize a journal volume. This tool encodes the rules straight from APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 17, and Cite Them Right — but every style has edge cases, and for ambiguous sources (an organization with a long name and a missing year, a self-published e-book, a podcast) the right move is to check the official guide or ask your instructor. This is a calculator, not an authority.

When to use a citation generator

  • Build a working bibliography for a paper — Add citations as you research. The list is saved in your browser and survives page reloads, so you can come back to it the next day.
  • Convert one source between styles — Pick a different style and the entire list reformats — APA, MLA, Chicago notes-bibliography, or Harvard. No retyping fields.
  • Auto-fill a journal article from its DOI — Paste the DOI; the title, authors, journal name, volume, issue, and pages populate from Crossref. You can edit anything before adding.
  • Auto-fill a book from its ISBN — Paste the ISBN-10 or ISBN-13; title, authors, publisher, and year populate from Open Library.
  • Cite a YouTube video — Pick the YouTube source type and fill in channel, title, and date. Useful for citing lecture recordings, conference talks, and documentaries.

How to use the Free Citation Generator (APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard)

  1. Pick a style — Choose APA, MLA, Chicago, or Harvard at the top of the tool. Every preview and every entry in your bibliography updates to match.
  2. Pick a source type and fill the fields — Choose Website, Book, Journal, Newspaper, or YouTube. Fill the type-specific fields. Use Auto-fill from DOI (Journal) or ISBN (Book) to skip manual entry.
  3. Add to your bibliography — Click "Add to list". The entry appears below in the active style. Edit or delete any entry; click "Copy all" to copy the full bibliography.

Worked examples

Website (APA 7)

Input:  Author Jane Smith; title "How widgets work"; site "Widget World"; April 12, 2023; URL https://example.com/widgets
Output: Smith, J. (2023, April 12). How widgets work. Widget World. https://example.com/widgets

Book (MLA 9)

Input:  Author Jane Smith; title "A Book About Widgets"; publisher Acme Press; 2020
Output: Smith, Jane. A Book About Widgets. Acme Press, 2020.

Journal article (Chicago 17)

Input:  Authors Jane Smith and Karl Jones; title "On Something"; Journal of X 12, no. 3 (2023): 45-60; doi 10.1000/xyz
Output: Smith, Jane, and Karl Jones. "On Something." Journal of X 12, no. 3 (2023): 45–60. https://doi.org/10.1000/xyz.

Frequently asked questions

Which APA edition does this use?
APA 7 (the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, published 2020). It's the current edition required by most US universities.
Which MLA edition does this use?
MLA 9 (published 2021), the current Modern Language Association handbook edition.
Which Chicago variant does this use?
Chicago 17, notes-bibliography style. The "in-text" output is the first-citation footnote form. The author-date variant is not included in this version.
Which Harvard style does this use?
Harvard has no single official authority. This tool follows the Cite Them Right conventions, which are the de-facto UK university standard.
How do I cite an organization or website with no individual author?
Leave the first-name field blank and enter the organization's name in the last-name field. APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard all handle this correctly — the name is used verbatim.
How does the DOI auto-fill work?
It calls the public Crossref API at api.crossref.org. No API key is required. Only the DOI you paste is sent — your form data and bibliography never leave your browser.
How does the ISBN auto-fill work?
It calls the public Open Library API at openlibrary.org. No API key. Same privacy rules as DOI auto-fill.
Is my bibliography saved?
Yes — in this browser only, via localStorage. It survives page reloads but doesn't sync across devices, doesn't go to a server, and won't appear in another browser or in a private/incognito window.
How do I move my bibliography to another browser?
Click "Copy all" to copy the formatted bibliography to your clipboard, then paste it into a document. The raw stored data isn't exportable in this version.
Is this APA/MLA-approved?
No — this is a calculator-style tool, not an authority. For ambiguous cases (a website with a corporate author and no date, an article with 21+ authors, a translated work) consult the official style guide or your instructor.

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