cobib

Console-based bibliography manager

TLDR

Start the TUI

$ cobib

Initialize a new database with git tracking

$ cobib init --git

Add an entry from a DOI

$ cobib add --doi [10.1234/example]

Add an entry from an arXiv ID

$ cobib add --arxiv [1701.08213]

Import entries from a BibTeX file

$ cobib import --bibtex [references.bib]

List entries sorted by year

$ cobib list --sort year --reverse --limit 20

Search case-insensitively with a filter

$ cobib search --ignore-case "[quantum]" -- ++year [2024]

Export to BibTeX

$ cobib export --bibtex [output.bib]

SYNOPSIS

cobib [-c CONFIG] [-v] [COMMAND] [ARGS...]

cobib (Console Bibliography) is a bibliography management tool that stores references in a plain-text YAML database. It provides both a command-line interface and a TUI built on the Textual framework. The tool supports importing references from arXiv, DOI, ISBN, BibTeX, URL, and YAML sources, and can automatically download PDFs. The database can be tracked with git for version control, enabling undo/redo operations. Search supports regex, fuzzy matching, LaTeX and Unicode decoding, and full-text PDF search via ripgrep-all. A plugin system allows custom commands, importers, exporters, and parsers.

PARAMETERS

-c, --config CONFIG

Path to configuration file.

-v, --verbose

Increase verbosity.

CONFIGURATION

Configuration stored at ~/.config/cobib/config.py (Python file). Can be overridden with -c flag or COBIB_CONFIG environment variable. Generate an example config with cobib _example_config.

SUBCOMMANDS

init [--git]

Initialize the database. Use --git to enable git tracking.

Add a new bibliography entry from various sources.

list [-s FIELD] [-r] [-l N] [-i] [-z N] [FILTER...]

List and filter database entries. Filters use ++FIELD VALUE to include or --FIELD VALUE to exclude.

search [-c N] [--skip-files] QUERY [-- FILTER...]

Search through entries with regex patterns.

show LABEL

Display a single entry in BibTeX format.

edit LABEL

Edit an entry in your editor.

delete [-y] LABEL...

Remove entries. Use -y to skip confirmation.

open LABEL

Open associated files for an entry.

export --bibtex|--zip [-- FILTER...]

Export entries to BibTeX or ZIP archive.

import --bibtex FILE

Bulk import entries from a BibTeX file.

review [FILTER...]

Interactive review workflow for entries.

note LABEL

Open/edit notes for an entry.

undo / redo

Undo/redo database changes (requires git integration).

git [ARGS...]

Pass-through to git for the database repository.

lint

Validate and check database entries.

CAVEATS

Requires Python 3.10 or later. Windows support is experimental; WSL is recommended. Fuzzy matching requires the optional regex dependency. Full-text PDF search requires ripgrep-all (rga). The undo/redo commands require git integration to be enabled.

HISTORY

cobib was created by Max Rossmannek in June 2019 as an easy-to-use alternative to reference managers like Mendeley or Zotero. Written in Python under the MIT license. Version 4.0 introduced a TUI built on Textual. The latest version is 6.0.1 (October 2025), with over 1,420 commits and 66 releases.