# Convert BibTeX to CSV

Paste BibTeX and get CSV, one row per entry. Choose columns, delimiter and header, decode LaTeX accents, reformat author names, sort rows and add an Excel BOM.

## Run it

- **CLI:** `gizza tool bibtex-to-csv "@article{curie1898,
  title   = {Sur une substance nouvelle radio-active},
  author  = {Curie, Marie and Curie, Pierre},
  journal = {Comptes Rendus},
  year    = {1898}
}"`
- **Web:** https://gizza.ai/tools/bibtex-to-csv/
- **Agents:** machine-readable descriptor (parameters JSON Schema) at https://gizza.ai/tools/bibtex-to-csv/tool.json

## Inputs

- `bibtex` — BibTeX source _(field)_
- `columns` — Columns _(field)_
- `custom_columns` — Custom column names _(field)_
- `delimiter` — Delimiter _(field)_
- `header` — Header row _(field)_
- `decode_latex` — Decode LaTeX accents and braces _(field)_
- `author_format` — Author name format _(field)_
- `author_separator` — Author separator _(field)_
- `expand_strings` — Expand @string macros _(field)_
- `sort` — Row order _(field)_
- `bom` — Add UTF-8 BOM for Excel _(field)_

## Output

- CSV (text)

## Query parameters

Open the tool pre-filled and auto-run via URL:

- `bibtex` — BibTeX source
- `columns` — Columns
- `custom_columns` — Custom column names
- `delimiter` — Delimiter
- `header` — Header row
- `decode_latex` — Decode LaTeX accents and braces
- `author_format` — Author name format
- `author_separator` — Author separator
- `expand_strings` — Expand @string macros
- `sort` — Row order
- `bom` — Add UTF-8 BOM for Excel

Example: `https://gizza.ai/tools/bibtex-to-csv/?bibtex=%40article%7Bcurie1898%2C%0A%20%20title%20%20%20%3D%20%7BSur%20une%20substance%20nouvelle%20radio-active%7D%2C%0A%20%20author%20%20%3D%20%7BCurie%2C%20Marie%20and%20Curie%2C%20Pierre%7D%2C%0A%20%20journal%20%3D%20%7BComptes%20Rendus%7D%2C%0A%20%20year%20%20%20%20%3D%20%7B1898%7D%0A%7D&columns=standard&custom_columns=key%2Ctitle%2Cauthor%2Cyear%2Cdoi&delimiter=comma&header=true&decode_latex=true&author_format=bibtex&author_separator=and&expand_strings=true&sort=source&bom=true`

---

## About this tool

`bibtex-to-csv` turns a BibTeX bibliography into a CSV table: one row per `@type{key, ...}` entry, one column per field. It is for the moments when a `.bib` file has to leave LaTeX — auditing a reference list in a spreadsheet, importing into a reference manager or a database, checking for duplicate DOIs, or handing a publication list to someone who does not use LaTeX.

The parser is a real BibTeX parser, not a regex sweep. It reads `{braced}`, `"quoted"` and bare-number values, brace-balanced nesting, `@string` macros with `#` concatenation, `@comment` / `@preamble` blocks, parenthesised entries (`@article(key, ...)`), values that wrap across lines, and free text between entries. LaTeX accent macros are decoded to real UTF-8 by default, so `\'{e}` becomes `é`, `{\H o}` becomes `ő`, `\ss` becomes `ß`, `---` becomes an em dash, and protective braces disappear so `{DNA}` stays `DNA`. Output is quoted per RFC 4180: a cell is wrapped in quotes only when it contains the delimiter, a double quote, or a line break, and internal quotes are doubled.

### Worked example

This BibTeX:

```
@article{curie1898,
  title   = {Sur une substance nouvelle radio-active},
  author  = {Curie, Marie and Curie, Pierre},
  journal = {Comptes Rendus},
  year    = {1898},
  volume  = {127},
  pages   = {175--178}
}
```

with the default settings gives:

```
type,key,title,author,year,journal,booktitle,volume,number,pages,publisher,doi,isbn,issn,url
article,curie1898,Sur une substance nouvelle radio-active,"Curie, Marie and Curie, Pierre",1898,Comptes Rendus,,127,,175–178,,,,,
```

Every standard column is present even when the entry has no such field, so rows from different entry types stay aligned. The author cell is quoted because it contains a comma; `175--178` was decoded to an en dash.

Switch **Columns** to *Custom*, list `key,author,year`, set **Author name format** to *Last, First* and **Author separator** to *Semicolon*, and the same input gives:

```
key,author,year
curie1898,"Curie, Marie; Curie, Pierre",1898
```

### Options and limits

- **Columns** — *Standard* is the fixed set `type,key,title,author,year,journal,booktitle,volume,number,pages,publisher,doi,isbn,issn,url`. *All fields* emits `type,key` then every field name that appears anywhere in the file, alphabetised. *Custom* emits exactly the names you list, in your order.
- **Custom column names** are matched case-insensitively against field names; `type` and `key` are accepted as virtual columns, and a name no entry uses becomes an empty column. Up to 200 columns.
- **Delimiter** — comma, semicolon, tab or pipe. Semicolon is the one to pick when the CSV is destined for Excel in a locale that uses a comma as the decimal mark.
- **Header row** can be turned off when appending to an existing CSV.
- **Decode LaTeX accents and braces** is on by default. Turn it off to keep the source spelling byte-for-byte, which is what you want if the CSV is going back into LaTeX later.
- **Author name format** and **Author separator** only touch the `author`, `editor` and `translator` fields. Lowercase particles (`van`, `von`, `de`) stay with the last name, a `Last, Jr, First` suffix stays glued to the last name, and a brace-protected corporate name such as `{The MIT Press}` is never split.
- **Expand @string macros** resolves macro names and `#` concatenation. Off, the unresolved macro name is written into the cell instead.
- **Row order** — file order, cite key, year (entries with no parseable year go last), or entry type then key.
- **Add UTF-8 BOM for Excel** prepends a byte-order mark. It is off by default because parsers that do not strip a BOM will report the first column name as `type`.
- The input limit is 1,000,000 bytes per run. Split a larger `.bib` file and convert it in parts.
- Fields are not renamed, merged or validated: `journal` and `booktitle` stay separate columns (an `@inproceedings` entry can carry both), and no entry is enriched from an external database.

## FAQ

<details>
<summary>Why is my author column one cell instead of several?</summary>

BibTeX stores all authors in one field, so this tool keeps one `author` cell per entry — splitting into `author_1`, `author_2`, … would give every row a different width. Choose an **Author separator** of *Semicolon* or *Pipe* if you want to split the cell later in a spreadsheet, because those survive a comma-delimited CSV without ambiguity. Pair it with the *Last, First* format when you need a consistent spelling.

</details>

<details>
<summary>My accented characters look wrong in Excel — what do I change?</summary>

Two separate settings. Turn on **Add UTF-8 BOM for Excel** so Excel recognises the file as UTF-8 rather than guessing a legacy code page. If the whole row also lands in one column, switch the **Delimiter** to *Semicolon*, which is what Excel expects in locales that use a comma as the decimal mark. Leave the BOM off for pandas, R, or anything that reads UTF-8 directly.

</details>

<details>
<summary>What happens to entries that are missing a field?</summary>

The cell is empty; the row is never shortened and the entry is never dropped. That is why *Standard* mode always emits the same 15 columns. If you want to see only the fields that actually exist in your file, switch **Columns** to *All fields found in the file* — it takes the union of every field name across all entries.

</details>

<details>
<summary>Can it handle @string macros, `#` concatenation and `@comment` blocks?</summary>

Yes. `@string{jcp = "J. Chem. Phys."}` followed by `journal = jcp # { (Letters)}` produces `J. Chem. Phys. (Letters)` with **Expand @string macros** on, and the raw `jcp (Letters)` with it off. `@comment` and `@preamble` blocks, and any prose between entries, are parsed and skipped rather than turned into rows. A genuinely broken entry is a hard error naming the entry and the character position, so nothing is silently half-converted.

</details>

<details>
<summary>Is my bibliography uploaded anywhere?</summary>

No. The same Rust core is compiled to WebAssembly for this page and runs in your browser, and the identical code runs locally in the CLI. Nothing is sent to a server, and no external database is consulted.

</details>

## Related tools

- [Beancount to CSV Converter](https://gizza.ai/tools/beancount-to-csv/): Flatten Beancount or Ledger journal postings into spreadsheet-ready CSV, then rebuild a simple journal from that flat CSV schema.
- [BibTeX Formatter & Validator](https://gizza.ai/tools/bibtex-format/): Free BibTeX formatter and validator — pretty-print, sort and align .bib bibliography entries in your browser. Consistent indentation, no sign-up, no upload.
- [TOML to CSV Converter](https://gizza.ai/tools/toml-to-csv/): Turn a TOML array-of-tables into spreadsheet-ready CSV: one row per entry, a unioned header, and dot-notation columns for nested tables.
- [FASTA to CSV Converter](https://gizza.ai/tools/fasta-to-csv/): Convert FASTA sequences to CSV or TSV in your browser — id, description, sequence and length columns, plus optional GC content and base counts. No upload.
- [Fill the gaps in a number series by linear interpolation](https://gizza.ai/tools/linear-interpolate-gaps/): Paste readings with blanks or NA markers and fill gaps by linear interpolation. Cap run length, choose direction, and control edge gaps.