Ibis is free and open source. Searching and copying work offline after setup. Ibis adds no analytics and never changes your libraries. See privacy and local storage for runtime data and optional update checks.
What it does today
Ibis is an early preview.
- Open the picker with Ctrl+Shift+Y on Windows or Linux/X11, or Command+Shift+Y on macOS, if the shortcut is available. Existing custom shortcuts are kept. Nightly, until the next release: on Wayland, bind
ibis toggle in your desktop; it starts Ibis or shows/hides the running picker. Use ibis toggle --app "Ibis Nightly" for macOS Nightly, or --app <executable-path> on Linux/Windows. Portal shortcuts (#782) have not shipped.
- Search a BibTeX/BibLaTeX (
.bib, .bibtex) or CSL-JSON (.json, .csljson) file, or your Zotero library and any group libraries you choose (Zotero 7–10, open or closed).
- Cite with a key for Pandoc, BibLaTeX, LaTeX or Typst, a formatted citation in APA, Chicago, Harvard or MLA, or an IEEE reference entry. On macOS, output is chosen per app; on Windows and Linux, choosing a format changes the global default. Change the output in the picker.
- Press Enter to paste on macOS. Elsewhere, or when pasting is unavailable, Ibis copies. The paste permission guide is in Settings > General > Pasting.
- Works offline and never changes your library.
- Nightly only, until the next release: start Ibis when you log in, and paste a DOI, ISBN, PubMed ID (
PMID:…) or arXiv ID to find that record in your library (Ibis does not fetch it from the internet).
See the roadmap for what comes next, including pasting on Windows, any citation style, exporting a document's bibliography and checking a manuscript's citations.
Install
There are two builds. Both are free, run on Windows, macOS and Linux, and install as separate apps, so you can keep both.
On Linux you can also use the .deb on either release page. See compatibility for tested systems, runtime requirements and AppImage FUSE help.
The first time you open it. The apps are not signed by Apple or Microsoft yet, so your system warns before opening them:
- macOS: open the
.dmg, drag Ibis to Applications and open it. If macOS says it cannot check the app, open System Settings > Privacy & Security, scroll down and choose Open Anyway.
- Windows: run the installer. For a SmartScreen warning, check that the file came from the release page above; if you trust it and More info > Run anyway is available, you can continue. Smart App Control and work or school policies may block it without that option. For Smart App Control, tell us and wait for a trusted, signed build; there is no per-app exception. For a managed device, ask IT to review and approve Ibis. Keep protection enabled. If WebView2 Runtime is missing, the installer downloads it once, which needs an internet connection.
- Linux: make the AppImage executable (
chmod +x Ibis-Linux.AppImage, or tick "Allow executing" in its file properties) and open it.
On first start, Ibis asks whether to check for updates. If you say yes, it can update itself; updates are signed and checked before they install. The menu bar or tray menu shows which build and version you are running.
Some Linux desktops, including GNOME without a tray extension, show no tray icon. Use the launcher to reopen Ibis and the picker's More menu for library choices and Quit. Nightly also has its start-at-login switch there. Builds with updates enabled expose update controls in More too.
First use
- Press the shortcut. Choose Zotero or a BibTeX, BibLaTeX or CSL-JSON file. Look for libraries on this computer checks for running Zotero and
.bib files in your Documents, Desktop and Downloads folders when asked. On macOS, the format beside search follows the app you came from; choose another format there to remember it for that app. On Windows and Linux, choosing a format changes the global default. Use Just this once for one citation.
- Search by author, title, year, journal, citation key or keywords. You can combine words from different fields. Use the arrow keys to pick a reference.
- Press Enter to paste into your document on macOS. If permission is needed, follow the guide in Settings > General > Pasting. On Windows and Linux, or when pasting is unavailable, Ibis copies the citation; paste it into your document yourself. Shift+Enter adds several references to one citation. Press Ctrl+/ (⌘/ on macOS) to see every key.
Hide or show the citation output with Show what will be pasted in More, or Ctrl+I (⌘I on macOS). Ibis remembers this choice; the references you added stay selected.
Nightly only, until the next release: add a locator at the end of a search,
such as memory p 12–14, memory ch. 3 or memory S. 12. Ibis shows how it interpreted the locator; Search as typed
searches the complete text instead. Each reference you add keeps its own locator
through later searches, preview and copy. To change an already added reference,
highlight it and choose Apply locator; its locator's remove button clears
only the locator. Pages, chapters, sections, paragraphs, figures, lines, notes,
volumes and verses are supported. Times such as 01:23 stay literal search text.
Use with Zotero
Choose Zotero during setup, or Use Zotero in the picker's More menu (or Use Zotero Library in the menu bar or tray menu). Ibis reads Zotero 7–10: through its local API while Zotero runs, and from a private copy of its database while it is closed. It reads your personal library and any group libraries you choose, on your computer only, and checks for changes each time the picker opens. It never changes anything in Zotero.
If any selected library fails during a refresh, Ibis keeps the whole previous
snapshot searchable and reports that it could not be updated. Even libraries
that did respond wait until all selected libraries can be read again.
To read while Zotero runs, turn on its local API: in Zotero, open Settings > Advanced and tick Allow other applications on this computer to communicate with Zotero. Ibis reads Zotero's Citation Key field, a Citation Key: line in Extra and Better BibTeX keys. If the keys disagree, Ibis shows the conflict and refuses key output until you resolve it in Zotero.
If you prefer a file, let Zotero keep a .bib file up to date instead:
- Install the Better BibTeX plugin for Zotero.
- In Zotero, right-click My Library (or a collection) and choose Export Library… (or Export Collection…).
- Choose the Better BibLaTeX format, tick Keep updated, and save the file somewhere that stays put.
- In Ibis, choose that file as your library.
Better BibTeX rewrites the file whenever your library changes, and Ibis reloads it automatically. Ibis only reads the file; it never changes Zotero or the export.
Help and feedback
Ask questions and suggest ideas in GitHub Discussions. Report a problem through the issue forms. The app's menu has Report a Problem and Suggest an Idea too.
Command line
ibis is the engine itself, for people, scripts and AI agents. Download it from the nightly or a release: ibis-macOS-Apple-silicon.tar.gz, ibis-macOS-Intel.tar.gz, ibis-Windows.zip or ibis-Linux.tar.gz. Unpack it and put ibis somewhere on your PATH. The macOS binary is not signed yet; if macOS refuses to run a downloaded copy, run xattr -d com.apple.quarantine ibis once.
ibis search "garcia" --file refs.bib
ibis cite accents2021 --file refs.bib --style apa
ibis cite accents2021 protected2020 --file refs.bib --format autocite
ibis --help lists every command. From a checkout, cargo run -p ibis -- <command> does the same, for example with the synthetic fixtures/bibtex/fidelity.bib:
cargo run -p ibis -- libraries --file fixtures/bibtex/fidelity.bib --json
cargo run -p ibis -- schema cite --json
cargo run -p ibis -- call search --params '{"query":"garcia"}' --file fixtures/bibtex/fidelity.bib --json
cargo run -p ibis -- serve --stdio --file fixtures/bibtex/fidelity.bib
cargo run -p ibis -- mcp --file fixtures/bibtex/fidelity.bib
The terminal kit includes an fzf picker recipe,
ibis completions bash|zsh|fish and read-only ibis doctor --json diagnostics.
The command line calls the same typed engine methods as the app: libraries,
search, show, cite, styles, schema and call. Repeat --file to open
several BibTeX, BibLaTeX or CSL-JSON libraries. Use --zotero for the local
personal library or repeat --zotero-group GROUP_ID for chosen groups.
Both --file and --zotero-group accumulate before and after the subcommand,
in that order; duplicate choices are ignored.
Library IDs are opaque and source paths stay private. libraries reports typed
source warnings; loading never writes to a library.
Every command accepts --json, including help and argument errors. It writes
one versioned envelope to stdout: {"ibis":1,"ok":true,"data":…} or
{"ibis":1,"ok":false,"error":{"code":…}}. Diagnostics go to stderr. Exit codes
are 0 for success (including empty searches), 1 for findings, 2 for usage,
3 for bad input, 4 for a missing item/library, 5 for an unavailable source or exhausted resources,
6 for a newer unsupported format, 70 for an internal error and 130 for cancellation.
cite --request reads a canonical CitationRequest JSON object from stdin.
Use schema cite for its fields and search --json or show --json for item
identities and cite fingerprints. Requests preserve order and repeated items,
carry typed locators and styled affixes, and return the canonical citation text,
display tree, per-item outcomes, losses and content hash. Incomplete results stay
inspectable in JSON; plain citation text is printed only after the engine's
completeness and hash check. Input JSON is bounded to 1 MiB and duplicate members
are rejected. Responses are bounded to 16 MiB, with space reserved for envelope
fields; oversized results return resource-limit (exit 5). Reduce the selection
or search limit when that happens. Human key arguments resolve in the engine as well.
Use --format csl-json to export selected records. styles lists the five bundled
CSL styles. cite KEY --style apa formats a citation; add --bibliography for
bibliography entries, sorted by the style. The same text, HTML, RTF, notices and
typed refusals are available through --json, cite --request and call cite.
Plain output reports citation notices and omitted fields on stderr without changing
canonical stdout. Styles that need a whole document return a full reference entry
with that explanation. Unsupported styles remain explicit per-item
unsupported-output refusals.
ibis call METHOD --stdin reads method parameters from stdin. The stdio server uses JSON-RPC 2.0 with bounded
Content-Length frames, library-change notifications and
$/cancelRequest; it writes no terminal text to that stream.
ibis mcp serves AI agents over the Model Context Protocol (stdio, revision
2025-06-18) with four read-only tools: search, show, cite and styles.
Add it to an agent as a stdio server, for example
ibis mcp --file references.bib. Agents see summaries and citations, never
notes, annotations, source paths or local links. Long values are shortened and
each answer is at most 256 KiB.
Contributing
You do not need to be a programmer to help. Reporting an app where pasting fails, adding a test example, or improving documentation are all valuable. AI-assisted contributions are welcome under clear rules. Start with CONTRIBUTING.md. See testing for what the checks prove and what comes next.
License
Ibis is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later. Contributions use the Developer Certificate of Origin. See also PRIVACY.md, SECURITY.md, CONTRIBUTING.md, TRADEMARKS.md and the code signing policy.
Citation styles come from the Citation Style Language project (CC BY-SA 3.0).
