The Reference Library is Writano’s Mendeley-style store for the papers you cite. Add a reference once and it is available to cite across your projects, with the underlying BibTeX kept in step with your document.

Add references to your library

There are a few ways to get a paper into the library:

  • Search for it from the Discovery/paper search — results come from a fallback chain across several scholarly indexes, so a slow source never leaves you stuck.
  • Import a PDF and let Writano extract the DOI and metadata on upload.
  • Paste BibTeX directly, or drop in a .bib file.

Each reference keeps its metadata, an optional attached PDF with highlights, and notes.

Cite in your document

With a reference in the library, use the citation flow in the editor to insert it. Writano writes the citation command and makes sure the key exists in the project’s bibliography:

Recent work established this bound~\cite{smith2024}.

The unified cite flow handles the different citation commands too — biblatex styles like \textcite and \autocite resolve correctly, not just plain \cite.

Keeping .bib and the library in sync

Writano treats your project’s .bib file and your library as two views of the same references:

  • Adding a library reference to a document adds its entry to the project .bib.
  • An inline bibliography can be extracted into a .bib for the library.
  • A paper already in your library stays resolvable, so citations don’t show as “Not Cited” by mistake.

Tip: Collaborators on a shared project can see and cite the project’s references, so a co-author never has to re-add a source you already filed.

Compile with the bibliography

Because the compiler ships a complete LaTeX distribution, biblatex with biber works out of the box — compile and your citations and reference list render together.