mdedit.io
Open app Citations help Reference document
Citations

Keep citations intact from Markdown draft to DOCX review and PDF submission

mdedit.io turns BibTeX- and CSL-style citations from raw syntax into a usable writing workflow: add references, preview output, send review-ready DOCX to supervisors, and export clean PDF from the same document in the browser.

Try citations in mdedit.io Open citations guide View sample thesis PDF View full reference example

What mdedit adds to citation-heavy Markdown

Embedded bibliography data

Keep bibliography content inside the document workflow instead of relying on fragile local filesystem paths.

Preview, review, and export

Check citation output before export and use the same source document for review-ready DOCX and final PDF delivery.

Reference-section control

Set `reference-section-title`, citation linking, and output behavior in frontmatter rather than hand-editing the final document.

Thesis-scale workflow

Use citations alongside section numbering, cross-references, and long-document structure in the same editor.

Minimal example

```mdedit-bibliography
[
  {
    "id": "smith2023",
    "title": "My Article",
    "author": [{"family": "Smith", "given": "John"}],
    "issued": {"date-parts": [[2023]]}
  }
]
```
As shown by Smith [@smith2023], structured
citation workflows scale better.

# References

How it works

1. Add frontmatter

Define citation mode and bibliography behavior in YAML frontmatter.

2. Add bibliography data

Store references in an embedded bibliography block so they travel with the document.

3. Cite while writing

Insert citation keys in the document and review them in live preview.

4. Export with confidence

Use the same document for DOCX review handoff and PDF submission instead of maintaining separate reference paths.

Mini FAQ

Is this just Pandoc syntax?

No. mdedit.io wraps the syntax in an editor workflow with preview, metadata handling, and export paths.

Can I use it for thesis references?

Yes. The citations path is designed for academic documents where the same source needs both Word-compatible review handoff and structured PDF export.

Do I need a local BibTeX file?

Not necessarily. mdedit.io supports embedded bibliography data as the document-bound default path.

Where is the full syntax reference?

Use the scientific-documents section in the help page and the thesis reference document for the deeper workflow.