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Research & References

NoteCove includes a built-in reference management system for academic and research workflows. Import a BibTeX file, cite references by citekey, and export notes with formatted bibliographies.

BibTeX Integration

Link a .bib file to a storage space and NoteCove will automatically keep your references in sync.

Setting Up

  1. Open Settings (Cmd/Ctrl+,) → BibTeX tab
  2. For each storage space, enter the path to your .bib file or click the folder icon to browse
  3. Click Save — NoteCove immediately imports all references from the file
  4. References are kept in sync: edits in your .bib file are reflected in NoteCove, and changes made in NoteCove are written back to the file

What Gets Imported

NoteCove imports the following fields from each BibTeX entry:

  • Title, Authors, Year
  • Journal / Book title
  • Abstract
  • DOI and URL
  • Entry type (article, book, inproceedings, etc.)

Duplicate citekeys in the same .bib file are handled gracefully — the last occurrence wins.

Citing References in Notes

Once references are imported, type @ in any note to see the autocomplete list. References appear alongside date suggestions and user mentions.

  • Select a reference to insert its citekey (e.g. @smith2024)
  • The citekey is stored as plain text in the document (Pandoc-compatible)
  • In the editor, citekeys are displayed as formatted citations: Smith (2024)

Hover Cards

Hover over any decorated citekey to see a popup card with:

  • Title and authors
  • Year and journal
  • Abstract (truncated, with “show more”)
  • A clickable DOI or URL link (opens in your default browser)

Reference Library

Open the Reference Library to browse and search all references in the active storage space.

  • Keyboard shortcut: Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+R
  • From Settings: Settings → BibTeX → View Reference Library

The library shows title, authors, year, and citekey. Click any entry to see the full record including abstract and a link to the source.

DOI Drop-in

Paste or type a DOI anywhere in a note and NoteCove will offer to create a reference automatically.

  • Paste a DOI (e.g. 10.1038/s41586-024-xxxxx) or a https://doi.org/... URL
  • An inline banner appears — click Create Reference to fetch metadata from CrossRef and add it to your library
  • If no .bib file is configured, the banner includes a Set up BibTeX file link

Bibliography Export

When you export a note to Markdown, NoteCove automatically appends a References section listing all cited references found in the note, formatted in APA-lite style:

## References

**@smith2024** — Smith, J. (2024). *A New Study*. *Nature*. <https://doi.org/10.1038/test>

Only references that are cited in the note (via @citekey) and present in the library are included.