Cite Style Converter

Cite Style Converter

An academic citation style conversion tool supporting APA (7th), MLA (9th), IEEE, and Harvard — the four most widely used citation formats. It enables cross-format conversion, format validation, and batch processing.

Supported Styles

Quick Start

1. Convert by Text Input

Convert an APA citation to IEEE format:

python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py convert --to ieee "Smith, J. A. (2023). Machine learning approaches. Nature, 12(3), 45-67."

2. Convert by Structured JSON Input (More Precise)

echo '{"authors":["Smith, John A.","Jones, Mary B."],"year":"2023","title":"Machine learning approaches","journal":"Nature","volume":"12","issue":"3","pages":"45-67","entry_type":"article"}' | python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py format --style ieee

3. Format Validation

python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py check --style apa "Smith J (2023) Machine learning. Nature 12(3) 45-67"

4. Batch Processing

# Batch convert from a file (one citation per line)
python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py convert --to mla --input refs.txt

# Batch validate
python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py check --style apa --input refs.txt

5. Auto-Detect Style

python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py detect "Smith, J. A. (2023). Title. Nature, 12(3), 45-67."

Subcommand Reference

format — Format Structured Data

Converts structured citation data in JSON into a formatted citation string. This is the most reliable method since it doesn't require text parsing.

# Pass JSON via stdin
echo '{"authors":["Zhang, Wei"],"year":"2024","title":"Deep Learning","publisher":"Springer","entry_type":"book"}' | python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py format --style harvard

# Pass JSON via --data flag
python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py format --style apa --data '{"authors":["Li, Ming"],"year":"2024","title":"AI Methods","journal":"Science","volume":"5","pages":"1-10","entry_type":"article"}'

# Batch: pass a JSON array file
python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py format --style mla --input citations.json

JSON Field Reference:

parse — Parse Text into Structured Data

python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py parse "Smith, J. A. (2023). Title. Nature, 12(3), 45-67."
# Outputs structured JSON

convert — Convert Between Styles

# Auto-detect source style, convert to target
python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py convert --to harvard "Smith, J. A. (2023). Title. Nature, 12(3), 45-67."

# Specify source style explicitly
python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py convert --from apa --to ieee "Smith, J. A. (2023). Title. Nature, 12(3), 45-67."

# JSON output
python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py convert --to mla --json "Smith, J. A. (2023). Title. Nature, 12(3), 45-67."

check — Validate Citation Format

# Check if a citation conforms to APA style
python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py check --style apa "Smith, J. A. (2023). Title. Nature, 12(3), 45-67."

# JSON output (useful for programmatic processing)
python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py check --style apa --json "Smith, J. A. (2023). Title. Nature, 12(3), 45-67."

Validation checks include:

• Missing required fields (author, title, year)
• Year format correctness
• Journal name, volume, and page numbers for journal articles
• Publisher information for books
• DOI format
• Style-specific punctuation and structural conventions

detect — Auto-Detect Citation Style

python3 scripts/citation_formatter.py detect "[1] J. Smith, \"Title,\" Nature, vol. 1, 2023."
# Output: ieee

Usage Tips

1. Most reliable method: Extract structured information from user input, build the JSON, then use the format subcommand
2. Quick conversion: If the user already has properly formatted citation text, use the convert subcommand directly
3. Batch processing: Place citations in a file (one per line) and use the --input flag
4. Quality assurance: After conversion, verify results with the check subcommand

Prerequisites

• Python 3.7+
• No additional dependencies required (uses only the standard library)
• No API key needed