NBIB to BibTeX Converter
Free. No signup. Runs in your browser.
Upload or paste a .nbib file from PubMed and get BibTeX entries for your .bib file, with full author names, full journal titles, the DOI and the PMID. The same converter also turns NBIB into RIS for EndNote, Mendeley or Zotero, or into CSV or Excel for a spreadsheet.
How to convert NBIB to BibTeX
Step 1
Add your .nbib file
Use Upload file, drop it on the box, or paste the text. One record or a whole PubMed search both work.
Step 2
Pick the output
BibTeX keeps accents as UTF-8 for biblatex and biber. Legacy BibTeX writes them as LaTeX macros for older bibtex setups.
Step 3
Convert and copy
Copy one entry, or Copy all and Download .bib for the whole file.
The file is read in your browser and never sent to our server.
How to get a .nbib file from PubMed
- Run your search on PubMed and tick the results you want.
- Click Send to, then Citation manager.
- Choose which results to include, then Create file. PubMed downloads a .nbib file.
What is an NBIB file?
An NBIB file is PubMed's citation export, in the MEDLINE text format. Each line starts with a tag: PMID- for the PubMed ID, TI - for the title, FAU - for an author's full name, JT - for the journal. It is plain text, so any text editor opens it, and most reference managers import it. LaTeX cannot read it directly, which is why it needs converting to BibTeX.
Convert NBIB to RIS, CSV or Excel
Pick a different format in the To menu before you convert:
| You need | Pick | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| A file for EndNote, Mendeley or Zotero | RIS | Importing a PubMed search into a reference manager |
| A spreadsheet | Excel or CSV | Screening records for a systematic review, or sharing a list |
| A formatted reference list | Vancouver, AMA, APA and others | Pasting references into a manuscript |
Every format keeps the full author names, journal titles, page ranges and identifiers.
Where most NBIB to BibTeX converters break
Wrapped lines get cut off
NBIB wraps long titles onto lines that start with six spaces. Converters that miss this keep only the first line of the title. Here the lines are joined back together.
Authors come out as initials
NBIB lists each author twice: AU with initials ("LeCun Y") and FAU with the full name ("LeCun, Yann"). The converter uses the full name whenever PubMed has it.
Journals come out abbreviated
TA is the NLM abbreviation (N Engl J Med) and JT the full title. The converter uses the full title, properly capitalised: "The New England Journal of Medicine". If your journal wants the abbreviation, replace it or use a style that abbreviates.
The DOI is hidden
NBIB stores the DOI as LID - 10.1038/nature14539 [doi]. Converters that copy the line as it is leave [doi] in the field and the link breaks. The converter keeps the DOI alone, plus the PMID and ISSN.
Shortened page ranges (436-44) become full ranges (436--444), and the full stop at the end of PubMed titles is removed, because the citation style adds its own.
Frequently asked questions
Upload the .nbib file in the converter above, or paste its text, and press Convert. Copy the entries or download them as a .bib file for your LaTeX project.
Yes. Pick RIS in the To menu, convert, and Download .ris. EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero all import it.
Not directly, but you can convert it: pick Excel in the To menu and download a real .xlsx workbook, one row per record with title, authors, year, journal, volume, pages and DOI.
No. NBIB is the tagged text file from Send to > Citation manager. PubMed XML holds the same records in a different structure and is mostly used by programs. This page reads NBIB; if you only have PMIDs, the PubMed to BibTeX converter looks them up directly.
Check that the first line starts with PMID-. If the file is really RIS, an EndNote export or BibTeX, the converter says so and offers to switch the input. If only some records are damaged, they are listed with the reason and the rest convert.
It is free and needs no signup. Your browser reads the file; it is never sent to our server. The result is gone when you close the tab, unless you choose to have it emailed to you.
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