JabRef
Reference managementOpen-source reference manager built around BibTeX
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Zotero
Free tool to collect, organise, cite and share research
★ Stars15.7k15,653 on GitHub
Last commit15 Oct 2026
LicenceAGPL-3.0Per the project
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From GitHub, fetched 19 Oct 2026.
Zotero is a free, open-source reference manager from the Corporation for Digital Scholarship. A browser connector saves sources in one click, and plugins for Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs insert citations in over 10,000 styles. It includes a PDF reader and 300 MB of free sync storage.
Who it suits
- Researchers and cultural heritage institutions: Zotero is a project of Digital Scholar, a nonprofit “dedicated to the development of software and services for researchers and cultural heritage institutions”.
From zotero.org, checked 19 Oct 2026. Quotes are the project's own words.
Switching from EndNote
Your data: Export your EndNote library as XML, then import it into Zotero with File → Import. Save the XML in the right folder and your PDFs come across too.
- Convert figures (older libraries only): In EndNote, go to References → Figure and choose “Convert Figures to File Attachments…” so figures come across as attachments.
- Export the library as XML: Optionally select the references you want. Go to File → Export and save the file in your EndNote data directory (typically My Documents\endnote.Data), not a subfolder, so Zotero can find attached files. Choose “XML” as the file type, tick “Export Selected References” only for a subset, click Save, then close EndNote.
- Back up Zotero and pause sync: If your Zotero library isn't empty, back up your Zotero data directory first, and turn off automatic sync in Zotero's Sync preferences for now.
- Import into Zotero: In Zotero, choose File → Import…, select the .xml file you exported and click Open.
- Review the import notes: Fields Zotero doesn't support (such as custom fields, author address or affiliation) are saved as notes tagged “_EndnoteXML import”. Click that tag in the tag selector to review them, and delete the ones you don't need.
- Turn sync back on: When you're happy with the imported library, re-enable automatic sync.
Watch out for:
- If you save the XML outside the EndNote data directory, file attachments won't be included.
- Many “_EndnoteXML import” notes can slow Zotero down, so review and tidy them after importing.
Sources: zotero.org/support/kb/importing_records_from_endnote, checked 19 Oct 2026.
Switching from Mendeley
Your data: Zotero can import your whole online Mendeley library, folders included, using File → Import → “Mendeley Reference Manager (online import)”.
- Sync everything to Mendeley: Make sure all your data and files are on Mendeley's servers. With Mendeley Reference Manager they already are; with Mendeley Desktop, check the sync settings and that you can open your PDFs in the online library.
- Update Zotero: Make sure you're on the latest Zotero (Help → Check for Updates…).
- Start the online import: In Zotero, go to File → Import and choose “Mendeley Reference Manager (online import)”.
- Log in to Mendeley: Sign in when asked so Zotero can run the import. Zotero says it never sees or stores your Mendeley password.
Watch out for:
- Group libraries can't be imported directly: copy the group items into a collection in your own Mendeley library first.
- Citations made with Mendeley Cite can't be read by Zotero; citations from Mendeley Desktop's Word or LibreOffice plugin can be relinked by Zotero's plugins.
- If you log in to Mendeley with institutional (Shibboleth) credentials, you may need a separate Mendeley account connected to it.
Sources: zotero.org/support/kb/mendeley_import, checked 19 Oct 2026.
Fit for your research
| Runs on | Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android |
|---|---|
| Opens | RIS, BibTeX, BibLaTeX, MODS, CSL JSON, EndNote XML, Citavi XML, Zotero RDF, Mendeley (online import) EndNote .enl libraries can't be opened directly: export them as EndNote XML first. |
Sources: zotero.org/support/kb/importing_standardized_formats · zotero.org/support/kb/mendeley_import · zotero.org/support/kb/importing_records_from_endnote, checked 19 Oct 2026. “Runs on” is from this listing. Blank means we haven't found it in official docs yet, not that it's unsupported.
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