For College & University Librarians
A citation tool you can confidently recommend.
RefRunner checks student references against Crossref, OpenAlex, and other public academic databases. It catches wrong DOIs, missing details, and references that don't exist — with no AI, no uploads, no login required for casual use, and a free tier that covers 5–10 papers. Safe to recommend. Easy to use in a workshop.
Why it’s safe to recommend
No IT approval needed
Everything runs in the browser. There’s no app to install, no server access to provision, and no institutional license to negotiate.
Student work stays private
Papers are never sent to RefRunner servers. Only the citations themselves are looked up in public databases.
Free for typical coursework
Students can try it without logging in (20 references per session). A free account provides 500 lookups, then 50/day. Most students will never hit a limit.
See it in action
How it works
From manuscript to verified bibliography.
Students drag in their paper. In-text citations are matched to references, DOIs verified against Crossref, and missing details filled in. Everything visible, nothing hidden behind an AI black box.
Citation styles
Any style, correctly formatted.
APA, MLA, Chicago, or any of 9,000+ styles from the Zotero library. Ideal for citation instruction — students see the correct output instantly and can compare styles side by side.
Source Verification
References validated automatically.
No AI. No hallucinations. Every reference is searched at Crossref, OpenAlex, Open Library, and Google Books. Preprints automatically get the volume, page numbers, and publication year when available. See where the data comes from. Click the DOI to see for yourself.
Live search
Search. Click. Move on.
Type an author name and a word or two from the title — matching academic papers appear instantly. Press Enter or click to add any result directly to the reference list.
Research explorer
Explore connections.
Click an author to see their publications and affiliations and graphs of citations. Click any reference to explore works that cite it or are cited by it. Click any of those to add them to the list. One-click PDF links for Open Access papers and many publishers.
Why it's good for students
Nothing Leaves the Browser
Student work is never uploaded to a server. RefRunner runs entirely in the browser and queries only public databases (Crossref, OpenAlex). Nothing to log, nothing to store, nothing to worry about.
Simplified access to academic sources
Uses EZproxy and OpenURL to seamlessly link students to full text through your library. No configuration needed for University Email addresses, and it works with any library that supports these standards.
Verified Sources, Not AI
Every reference is checked against Crossref, OpenAlex, Open Library, and Google Books. Results show exactly where data came from and link directly to the source. No AI, no hallucinations, no black box.
Any Citation Style
Export bibliographies in APA, MLA, Chicago, or thousands of publisher-specific styles — using the same formatter as Zotero. Perfect for instruction sessions on citation formatting.
Add RefRunner to your LibGuide or share it with your instruction team.