PaperCitation

Citation generator · DOI

DOI to citation

Paste a DOI, with or without the https://doi.org/ in front, and get the citation in the style you pick.

  • Accepts 10.xxxx/…, doi: and doi.org links
  • Reads the record from Crossref or DataCite
  • APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard and IEEE
  • Free, no signup, no ads

What are you citing?
Papers and books
Web and media

Your citation

Start with a title, or search above. Your citation appears here as you type.

What the generator does

A DOI points to one work only, so this is the most exact way to start a citation. Paste it and the tool asks Crossref, then DataCite, for the record: authors, title, year, journal, volume, issue, pages and publisher. The form fills in, you pick a style, and the citation updates as you edit.

Because a DOI is exact, the match is not a guess. If the DOI is valid you get that work, not the closest one. It is also the quickest way to confirm that a DOI in a reference list really leads to the paper named next to it.

What a DOI is made of

A DOI starts with 10., followed by a number for the organization that registered it, a slash, and a code for the work. Putting https://doi.org/ in front turns it into a link that keeps working even when the publisher moves the page. That is why citation styles prefer it to the page’s own web address.

Preprints and updated versions

Some works have more than one DOI: a preprint on a server such as arXiv and a published version in a journal. Each has its own record. Use the one for the version you read, and check whether a published version exists before you cite a preprint.

Retractions

If a paper has been retracted, withdrawn or removed, that is recorded separately from the DOI’s metadata. To see whether a paper on your list is affected, paste the whole list into the retraction checker.

Questions people ask

What forms of a DOI can I paste?

Any of these work: the bare DOI (10.1038/nature14539), the same with “doi:” in front, or a full link beginning https://doi.org/. The tool strips the extras and looks up the DOI itself. Capital letters in a DOI don't matter.

Where do I find the DOI of an article?

Usually on the article's page, near the title or abstract, and on the first page of the PDF. If you only have a title, use the search box above or Crossref's own metadata search. Books and web pages often have no DOI.

It says it couldn't find my DOI. Why?

Check for a typo first, and for a full stop or bracket copied from the end of a sentence. If it is correct, the DOI may be registered with an agency we don't search. Crossref and DataCite cover most scholarly work, but a few DOIs are registered elsewhere. In that case type the details in by hand.

How is a DOI written in a citation?

APA and MLA both write it as a link starting with https://doi.org/. IEEE writes “doi:” followed by the number. The generator uses the form your chosen style asks for.

The record has the wrong year or a messy title. Can I change it?

Yes. Every field in the form can be edited before you copy. Records are only as good as what the publisher deposited, so read the result against the source.

Last reviewed . Style rules on this page are paraphrased from the official sources listed here.

Official sources

We paraphrase official guidance and link to it. When in doubt, follow the source and your instructor.