Get References or Citations (with Bibliography Export)
library_citationsRetrieve works cited by a scholarly item or works citing it, using OpenAlex with OpenCitations fallback. Optionally return formatted bibliography in BibTeX, RIS, or APA.
Instructions
List the works a scholarly item cites (direction: "references") or the works that cite it (direction: "citations"), resolved through OpenAlex's citation graph with OpenCitations as a fallback when OpenAlex has no record. Accepts an id/source from library_search or library_ask, or a bare DOI/arXiv id. Set format: "bibtex" | "ris" | "apa" to also return a formatted bibliography string; BibTeX prefers Crossref's own citation when a DOI is resolvable, for the first 20 results only (a paced, one-at-a-time doi.org lookup per item), with later results using a locally generated entry instead. Set response_format: "detailed" for full result fields.
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| id | Yes | Item identifier from library_search/library_ask, or a bare DOI/arXiv id | |
| limit | No | Max results | |
| format | No | Also return a `formatted` bibliography string in this style | |
| source | Yes | Library source name. Run library_list_sources for the current list and descriptions. | |
| direction | Yes | references: works this item cites. citations: works that cite this item. | |
| response_format | No | concise (default) trims results/citations to high-signal fields; detailed returns the full payload, including routing reasons, scores, and stage diagnostics. | concise |
Output Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| seed | Yes | ||
| results | Yes | ||
| direction | Yes | ||
| formatted | No |