JabRef Free plan 8.8 Visit refbase
wiki.refbase.net
What it is
refbase is a web-based, multi-user application for managing scientific literature and bibliographic references. It offers quick, simple, advanced, and SQL searches, including searches within results. Records can be shown in citation or print views, and the application generates formatted citation lists. It imports and exports records in formats such as MODS XML, RIS, BibTeX, and EndNote. The feature list names compatibility with desktop clients including Zotero and EndNote, as well as an open API and command-line client. Dynamic RSS feeds can track recently added or edited records and custom queries. Users can keep personal keywords and notes in user-specific fields. refbase is a free, self-hosted application licensed under the GNU General Public License version 2.0. Running it requires a web server, PHP 4.4.0 or greater, and MySQL 4.1.x or greater for Unicode support. The web installer requires a MySQL user with full database access, and some shared hosts may require manual installation. Bibutils is optional and recommended for added import and export functionality.
Spec sheet
- What it does
- refbase is a web-based, standards-oriented multi-user system for managing scientific literature and bibliographic references.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Purpose
- refbase is a web-based, multi-user interface for managing scientific literature and bibliographic references.Read 4 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Integrations
- Documented integrations include Bibutils, Zotero, EndNote, Bookends, Microsoft Word and OpenOffice Writer.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Support
- The project directs users to its documentation, forums, and mailing lists for help and discussion.Read 4 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- License
- refbase is distributed under the GNU GPL.Read 14 Oct 2026 · en.wikipedia.org
- Backend
- The application is written in PHP and uses MySQL as its backend database.Read 14 Oct 2026 · en.wikipedia.org
- Citation output
- Formatted citations can be produced in HTML, RTF, PDF, LaTeX and text, with AMA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA and Vancouver styles.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Collaboration
- The interface is multi-user and includes user-specific fields for personal keywords and notes.Read 4 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Command-line tools
- Perl command-line clients can search, upload, append and update local BibTeX or MODS/SRW XML files and extract citation IDs.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Company origin
- The project originated at the Institute of Polar Ecology at Kiel University, Germany, with its first project announcement dated 2002-10-14.Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
- Current release
- SourceForge lists refbase 0.9.6 as the latest downloadable archive, dated 2014-02-28 and sized 1.4 MB.Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
- Customization
- Administrators can configure branding, languages, file visibility, resolver settings, citation styles and global defaults through ini.inc.php and database tables.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Duplicate handling
- Version 0.9.5 added initial facilities to search and manage duplicate records.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Export formats
- Exports include MODS XML, EndNote, RIS, BibTeX, Atom XML, Dublin Core XML, Word XML, ADS and ISI tagged formats.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Feeds
- It offers dynamic RSS feeds for recently added or edited records and custom queries.Read 4 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- File permissions
- PDF and other attached-file visibility can be restricted to everyone, logged-in users or selected users, with configurable exceptions.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Hosting
- Installation requires a web server, PHP 4.4.0 or greater, and MySQL 4.1.x or greater for Unicode support.Read 4 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Import and export
- It supports importing and exporting bibliographic records in formats including MODS XML, RIS, BibTeX, and EndNote.Read 4 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Import formats
- Supported imports include EndNote, RIS, BibTeX, MODS XML, PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts and COPAC.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Installation constraint
- The web installer requires a MySQL user with full access to the MySQL database; some shared hosts may require manual installation.Read 4 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Limit: aging maintenance
- The public download page shows 0.9.6 from 2014 as the latest archive, indicating a long gap since the last listed release.Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
- Limit: documentation depth
- An independent digital-library guide criticized refbase as having documentation beyond only basic installation instructions that was lacking.Read 14 Oct 2026 · library.sprep.org
- Limit: internationalization
- The same independent guide reported that refbase was not well internationalized at the time of its assessment.Read 14 Oct 2026 · library.sprep.org
- MediaWiki extension
- A MediaWiki extension can retrieve refbase metadata and render it through citation templates.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Metadata interoperability
- The software supports unAPI and COinS metadata plus OpenURL and ISBN resolver links.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Notable news
- The 0.9.6 announcement reported PHP 5.3 deprecation fixes, current RIS handling, improved EndNote/DOI/PubMed/CrossRef imports and Russian and Japanese localizations on 2014-02-28.Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
- Notifications
- The system can send email announcements for newly added records.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Online metadata import
- Records can be fetched from arXiv and CrossRef using arXiv IDs, DOIs or OpenURLs, and from PubMed using PMIDs.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- OpenSearch
- refbase exposes an OpenSearch service for standardized searching from clients such as browser toolbars.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Optional dependency
- Bibutils is optional but recommended for additional EndNote and BibTeX import/export capabilities.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Personal metadata
- Users can maintain personal keywords, notes and other user-specific fields.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Praise: openness and customization
- Reviewers repeatedly cite the open-source model, high customizability and suitability for budget-constrained academic libraries.Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
- Praise: support and community
- G2 and SourceForge reviewers repeatedly praise responsive support, helpful community assistance and the quality of support.Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
- Praise: usability
- Reviewers describe the interface as easy to use and report that core functions work as expected.Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
- Project developers
- SourceForge identifies karnesky, michaelbartz and msteffens as the project contributors, while Wikipedia names Richard Karnesky, Michael Bartz and Matthias Steffens.Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
- Rating on G2
- 4.3 out of 5 from 3 reviewsRead 14 Oct 2026 · g2.com
- Rating on SourceForge
- 5.0 out of 5 from 5 reviewsRead 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
- Release availability
- The SourceForge files page lists refbase 0.9.6, dated 2014-02-28, as the latest version.Read 4 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
- Result views
- Users can view records as customizable lists, detailed records, citations or print-oriented pages.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- RSS
- It generates RSS feeds for recently added or edited records and for custom queries.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Saved queries
- Search queries can be saved together with display settings and recalled through query history.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Search
- It provides quick, simple, advanced and SQL search modes, including searching within existing results.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Security control
- Release notes describe stronger XSS defenses and stripping HTML from the headerMsg URL parameter.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- Self-hosting
- The documented installer is web-based, but manual installation is available when the host cannot grant the installer full MySQL privileges.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- show.php API
- The show.php interface can dynamically embed results from a refbase server into other web pages.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- SRU service
- Its SRU/W service accepts CQL searches and returns MODS records wrapped in SRW XML.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
- System requirements
- Installation requires a web server, PHP 4.4 or newer with sessions and MySQL support, and MySQL 4.1 or newer for Unicode.Read 14 Oct 2026 · wiki.refbase.net
Plans and prices
Open-source self-hosted Free PHP/MySQL server · downloadable 1.4 MB archive · self-managed hosting Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
refbase Free Self-hosted web application · GPLv2 Read 4 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net
Strong points and limits
Strong points
- Advanced and SQL search options
- Imports and exports several bibliographic formats
- Multi-user interface with personal notes and keywords
- Free under the GNU General Public License version 2.0
Limits
- Requires a web server, PHP, and MySQL
- Installer needs a MySQL user with full database access
- Some shared hosts may require manual installation
Who it suits
refbase suits researchers and groups who want a self-hosted, multi-user reference manager with search, citation output, and import/export tools. It requires a web server, PHP, and MySQL.
Verdict
refbase provides reference search, citation formatting, feeds, and shared record management in a self-hosted package. Its installation requirements and the possibility of manual setup on shared hosting matter before choosing it.
Where Specifiction places it
- Reference Management Software#9 of 268.3
