Manually enter source details to generate an APA, MLA, or Chicago reference-list citation online - no login required, no autocite lookup. Pick a style and a source type (journal article, web page, or book); the citation updates live as you type.
If this tool isn’t working as expected, please take a screenshot of the error and report the problem here so we can investigate and improve it.
Citation format rules - author order, initials, ampersands, et al., italics, punctuation, date placement - differ between APA, MLA, and Chicago and are easy to get wrong by hand. This tool applies the rules for the style and source type you pick to whatever details you type in, so you don't have to remember them yourself.
It is still worth checking the result against your institution's current style guide, especially for source types the tool doesn't cover, such as book chapters, videos, or reports.
Choose APA, MLA, or Chicago, pick a source type (journal article, web page, or book), and fill in the author, title, journal, website or publisher, year, and a URL or DOI. You get one reference-list citation, generated live as you type, with real italics. This tool doesn't look sources up automatically - every field is typed in by hand - and it follows APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, and Chicago 17th edition (notes-bibliography bibliography entries).
Choose APA, MLA, or Chicago citation style and the source type: journal article, web page, or book.
Fill in the authors (separated by semicolons), title, journal / website / publisher, year, and URL or DOI - plus volume, issue, and pages for journal articles.
The citation updates automatically as you type - no separate generate step.
Click copy and paste it into your reference list - italics are kept in Word and Google Docs. Reset clears the form.
Click APA, MLA, or Chicago, then Journal article, Web page, or Book - you can switch either at any time and the citation updates instantly.
Enter the authors (separated by semicolons), title, journal / website / publisher, year or date, and a URL or DOI - leave any field blank if it doesn't apply to your source.
The formatted citation updates automatically as you type, with no separate "generate" step. Warnings appear below it if something looks wrong.
Click Copy, then paste it into your reference list - italics are kept in Word and Google Docs. Click Reset to start a new source.
Best For
Input
Style: APA; Type: Journal article; Authors: "Smith, John; Doe, Jane"; Title: "Deep learning for text"; Journal: "Nature"; Year: "2024"; Volume: "12"; Issue: "3"; Pages: "45-67"; URL / DOI: "10.1000/xyz123"Result
Smith, J., & Doe, J. (2024). Deep learning for text. Nature, 12(3), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1000/xyz123Given names become initials, the last author follows an ampersand, the journal name and volume are italic, the page range uses an en dash, and the bare DOI is turned into a link.
Input
Same fields, Style: MLAResult
Smith, John, and Jane Doe. “Deep learning for text.” Nature, vol. 12, no. 3, 2024, pp. 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1000/xyz123.MLA keeps full names (the second author in natural order), puts the article title in quotation marks, italicises the journal, and labels volume, issue, and pages. With three or more authors it would show the first author followed by et al.
Input
Style: APA; Type: Web page; Authors: (blank); Title: "Understanding Climate Change"; Website name: "NASA Science"; Year: "2023"Result
Understanding Climate Change. (2023). NASA Science.With no author the citation starts with the title. No placeholder author is added, and the title is italic because a web page is a standalone work in APA.
Type in a source's details once and get a correctly punctuated APA, MLA, or Chicago entry.
Switch between APA, MLA, and Chicago with the same filled-in fields to see how author names, punctuation, and field order differ.
Enter the authors separated by semicolons and let the style handle initials, ampersands, and et al.
Generate, copy, and paste each citation individually into your reference list or works-cited page.
Problem
Solution
A web page and a journal article are laid out differently in every style - pick the type that matches your source before copying.
Problem
Solution
Separate authors with semicolons (or new lines), for example "Smith, John; Doe, Jane". An organisation should be wrapped in braces, such as {World Health Organization}, so it isn't split into a first and last name.
Problem
Solution
The URL / DOI field is a plain text field - whatever you type is inserted as typed (a bare DOI is turned into a doi.org link). There's no lookup, so you must type the correct details yourself.
Problem
Solution
Titles are used exactly as typed. APA article titles use sentence case and MLA and Chicago use title case, so enter the title in the capitalisation your style requires.
Either "Last, First" or "First Last" works. Initials such as "Smith, J. K." are kept as typed in MLA and Chicago.
The Year / Date field is plain text - enter "2023, May 1" for APA or "15 Mar. 2023" for MLA when your source needs a full date.
A missing title, a URL that doesn't look valid, or a year that doesn't look like a year is flagged - the text is still included exactly as typed.
Book chapters, videos, reports, and other source types aren't covered - use the closest type as a starting point and adjust by hand.
There's no DOI, ISBN, or URL lookup of any kind. Every field is typed in by hand, and nothing is fetched from an external source or database.
Harvard, IEEE, Vancouver, and other styles aren't supported. The rules applied are APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, and Chicago 17th edition (notes-bibliography bibliography entries).
Journal article, web page, and book. Book chapters, edited volumes, videos, reports, social media posts, and other source types need to be adjusted by hand.
The tool generates a single full citation entry for a bibliography or works-cited list - it doesn't generate parenthetical in-text citations like "(Smith, 2023)" or Chicago footnotes.
The tool doesn't change title capitalisation or reformat dates; the Year / Date field is a single text field.
Only a single citation is generated at a time, with Copy and Reset - there's no way to build or save a list of multiple citations, and no download or print feature.
Both produce formatted citations, but only one looks sources up for you.
| This Tool (Manual Entry) | An Autocite Generator (e.g., by DOI or URL) | |
|---|---|---|
| Data entry | You type every field by hand | Paste a URL/DOI/ISBN and fields are fetched automatically |
| Accuracy of fetched data | As accurate as what you type | Depends on the source page's metadata - can mis-scrape |
| Styles | APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 17 (3) | Often hundreds via a CSL engine |
| Source types | Journal article, web page, book | Often has dedicated fields per source type |
Visitors most often ask which style to use, how several authors are entered, and whether this tool looks sources up automatically. It doesn't - every field is typed in by hand. The FAQ below also covers how authors, et al., blank fields, and italics are handled.
No. The URL/DOI field is a plain text field - whatever you type is inserted into the citation exactly as typed. There's no lookup, API call, or metadata fetching of any kind; you need to find and enter the correct details yourself.
Just the reference-list entry - the full citation formatted for your bibliography or works-cited page. It doesn't generate a parenthetical in-text citation like "(Smith, 2023)".
Type them in the Author(s) field separated by semicolons or new lines, each as "Last, First" or "First Last" - for example "Smith, John; Doe, Jane". Wrap an organisation in braces, such as {World Health Organization}, so it is kept as one name. Each style then formats the list itself: APA turns given names into initials (Smith, J., & Doe, J.), while MLA and Chicago keep the full names (Smith, John, and Jane Doe).
The tool follows APA 7th edition, MLA 9th edition, and Chicago 17th edition (notes-bibliography bibliography entries). APA 7 lists up to 20 authors with an ampersand before the last; with 21 or more it lists the first 19, an ellipsis, and the final author - it does not use et al. in the reference list. MLA 9 lists one or two authors in full and, for three or more, gives the first author followed by et al. Chicago 17 lists up to ten authors; with more than ten it lists the first seven followed by et al.
The citation is shown with real italics, not asterisks. Copy puts formatted text on the clipboard, so pasting into Word or Google Docs keeps the italics; pasting into a plain-text box gives the same words with no formatting symbols. If an app ignores formatted clipboard data, apply the italics there yourself.
The element is simply left out - nothing is invented or substituted. With no author, the citation starts with the title (the title-first form for the selected style). With no year, APA shows (n.d.) and MLA and Chicago omit the date. A missing title or a URL that doesn't look valid is flagged under the citation, and the URL is still included exactly as typed.
APA (American Psychological Association): Author-date format. Used in social sciences, psychology, education. Example: Smith, J. (2023). Title of work. Publisher. MLA (Modern Language Association): Author-page format. Used in humanities, literature, language. Example: Smith, John. Title of Work. Publisher, 2023. Chicago: Two systems - Notes-Bibliography (history, arts) and Author-Date (sciences). Check your institution's style guide to confirm which is required for your subject.
Choose the Web page source type. A standard APA 7 website citation follows: Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of page. Website Name. URL. Example: World Health Organization. (2023, May 1). Global health overview. https://www.who.int/global-health - the website name is left out when it is the same as the author. If there is no author, the title moves to the front. If there is no date, APA shows (n.d.). The Year / Date field is plain text, so type "2023, May 1" there when your source needs a full date.
Choose the Web page source type. A standard MLA 9 website citation follows: Last, First. "Title of Page." Website Name, Day Month Year, URL. Example: Smith, John. "Understanding Climate Change." NASA Science, 15 Mar. 2023, science.nasa.gov/climate-change. Type the date as you want it printed (for example 15 Mar. 2023) in the Year / Date field. The tool drops the https:// from web addresses, as MLA recommends. If there is no author, the citation starts with the page title. There is no separate access-date field, so add one by hand if your instructor requires it.
Yes - always. Citation is required for any idea, argument, data, or finding that originated from another source, regardless of whether you quoted it directly or paraphrased it. The only exception is common knowledge: facts that are widely known and can be confirmed in multiple independent sources without attribution (e.g., the year World War II ended). When in doubt, cite.
DOI (Digital Object Identifier) is a permanent identifier for academic articles, books, and datasets - a stable link that does not change when URLs do. Include it if one exists. DOIs are found on the journal article page, usually labeled 'DOI' or starting with '10.'. Type it into the URL / DOI field either as a full link or as 10.XXXX/XXXXX - a bare DOI is turned into https://doi.org/10.XXXX/XXXXX. This tool doesn't fetch or validate DOIs, so check that the one you typed is correct.
No. CoditTools's citation generator runs entirely in your browser - the details you type are never sent to a server or any external database.
Leave your email so we can prioritize similar tools and updates.