How do I cite a GitHub repository?

Paste the public GitHub repository URL into GitHub Citation. The tool prefers CITATION.bib, converts CITATION.cff to BibTeX when needed, and otherwise drafts a BibTeX @misc entry from GitHub metadata. Then choose APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE, Harvard, or BibTeX from the citation style tabs.

What happens when a repository has no citation file?

When no CITATION.bib or CITATION.cff file exists, the tool generates a reviewable fallback citation from repository metadata including repository name, owner profile name, creation year, repository URL, and access date.

Does this support multiple citation styles?

Yes. The app parses CITATION.cff and maps citation metadata such as authors, title, DOI, version, year, and URL into BibTeX, APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE, and Harvard formats.

GitHub Citation

APA (American Psychological Association): Used in the social sciences (e.g., psychology, education, business). It emphasizes the publication date to show the chronology of research.

MLA (Modern Language Association): Used in the humanities (e.g., literature, language, cultural studies). It emphasizes page numbers so readers can easily locate exact quotes.

Chicago Manual of Style: Commonly used in history and the arts. It is highly flexible and offers two formats: Notes and Bibliography (using footnotes/endnotes) or Author-Date.

IEEE: Used in engineering, computer science, and information technology. It uses bracketed numbers in the text (e.g., [1]) tied to a numbered reference list.

Harvard: A widely used author-date system, very similar to APA, that is commonly used in the UK and Australia.