Terms of Service
Effective date: October 24, 2026
Acceptance of terms
By using RefRunner, you agree to these Terms of Service. RefRunner is operated by Literate Computing. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the service.
Description of service
RefRunner provides a browser-based tool for checking, formatting, and enriching academic references. The service relies on third-party APIs (OpenAlex, Crossref, the Library of Congress, Open Library and others) and is provided as-is without warranty of accuracy or completeness of the data returned.
Acceptable use
You agree to use RefRunner only for lawful purposes. You must not:
- Use the service to send automated bulk queries that violate the terms of the underlying APIs (OpenAlex, Crossref, the Library of Congress, Open Library and others)
- Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or otherwise extract the service in ways not intended by normal use
- Use the service for any illegal or unauthorized purpose
Third-party services
RefRunner uses the OpenAlex, Crossref, Library of Congress, Open Library and other bibliographic APIs to retrieve bibliographic data. Your use of these features is also subject to the terms of those services. We are not responsible for the accuracy, availability, or content of data provided by third parties.
Accounts
You may optionally create an account by signing in with Google or Microsoft. Your account lives on the RefRunner Hub, whose terms also apply to it. You must be at least 13 years old, or the minimum age of digital consent where you live if that is higher, to use RefRunner or create an account. You are responsible for activity under your account. We may suspend accounts that violate these terms. Handling of account data is described in our Privacy Policy.
Paid plans, renewal and cancellation
The Academic plan costs US$9.99 a month or US$50 a year, as shown on the pricing page when you subscribe. Payments are processed by Stripe; we never see your card number.
- Your plan renews automatically at the end of each month or year, and your card is charged the plan’s price for the next period, until you cancel.
- You can cancel at any time at hub.refrunner.com/my/billing/subscriptions (avatar menu → Billing), with no need to contact us. Cancelling stops the next renewal; your plan stays active until the end of the period you have paid for.
- We do not refund the unused part of a period. If something went wrong with a charge, contact us and we will put it right.
- If we change a plan’s price, we will tell you by email before the change applies to your next renewal.
Copyright
RefRunner does not host material that users post; the RefRunner Hub does. To report copyright infringement on the Hub, or anywhere on a Literate Computing site, contact our designated agent under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act: Jay Pfaffman, Literate Computing, LLC, 204 W Spear St, STE 3837, Carson City, NV 89703; 865-226-9465; jay@refrunner.com. What a notice must include, and how counter-notices work, is set out in the Hub’s terms.
Disclaimer of warranties
RefRunner is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied. We do not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or that reference data retrieved will be accurate or complete. You are responsible for verifying the accuracy of any references before use in published work.
Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Literate Computing shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising from your use of RefRunner.
Changes to these terms
We may update these Terms of Service from time to time. Continued use of RefRunner after changes are posted constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.
Contact
Questions about these terms may be directed to us via the Literate Computing contact page.