Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/chrisgrieser/alfred-bibtex-citation-picker/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
All shortcuts listed below are Alfred modifier keys pressed while a search result is highlighted in the citation picker. No external app is required — the picker works system-wide in any text field.
Triggering the Picker
| Trigger | Action |
|---|
| Hotkey (user-configured) | Open the citation picker from any text field in any app |
Keyword ct | Open the citation picker from Alfred |
Keyword cc | Alternative keyword to open the citation picker |
Citation Insertion
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| ↵ | Paste the citekey in the currently configured citation format |
| ⌥↵ | Add another citation to the same bracket (multi-cite) |
| ⇧⌘↵ | Paste as an inline citation (no surrounding brackets), e.g. @Grieser2022 |
| ⌘↵ | Open a page-number prompt before pasting |
| Confirmation | Action |
|---|
| ⌥↵ | Paste with page number, then continue adding citations |
| ⌘↵ | Paste with page number and close |
| ⇧⌘↵ | Paste as inline citation with page number, e.g. @Grieser2022 [p. 42] |
URL Actions
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| ⌃↵ | Open the entry’s URL in the default browser (falls back to DOI URL if no url field is present) |
| ⌘C | Copy the entry’s URL to the clipboard |
Bibliography & Entry Management
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| ⇧↵ | Reveal the entry in Zotero, BibDesk, VS Code, Sublime Text, or Neovim — depending on the open_entries_in workflow setting |
| ⌘⌥↵ | Paste the full formatted bibliographic entry (requires Pandoc; citation style configurable in workflow settings, default: APA 7th) |
| ⌘L | Large Type overlay: show the full unabridged title, abstract, and complete keyword list |
| ⌘fn↵ | Delete the entry from the BibTeX file (⚠️ irreversible — cannot be undone) |
| ⌘Y | QuickLook preview of the entry’s URL |
⇧↵ to reveal an entry in an external app does not work for entries from the secondary library.
Literature Notes
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| ⌃⌥↵ | Open the literature note for the selected entry. If the note file is located inside an Obsidian vault, it is opened directly in Obsidian instead of the default text editor. If no literature note exists yet, a new one is created in the configured folder. |
PDF Management
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
| Hyper↵ | Open the associated PDF in the default PDF reader. The picker looks for a PDF named {citekey}.pdf or {citekey}_{anything}.pdf in the configured PDF folder. |
| ⌃⌥⌘↵ | Open the attachment file referenced in the BibTeX file, local-url, or attachment field. If multiple attachments are listed, the first one is opened. |
Hyper key = ⌘⌥⌃⇧ all four modifier keys pressed simultaneously. This is an artificial “fifth” modifier that does not exist on a standard Mac keyboard by default. You can create it using Karabiner Elements, BetterTouchTool, or the Hyperkey app, all of which allow you to remap a key (typically Caps Lock) to send all four modifiers at once. Auxiliary Actions (via scp keyword)
These options are accessed by typing scp in Alfred rather than through modifier keys on a search result.
| Option | Action |
|---|
| Change citation format | Switch between Pandoc, LaTeX, org mode, Multi-Markdown, eta, iA Writer, wikilink, tag, bare citekey, bracketed citekey, or formatted single entry |
| Cheat Sheet | Open a quick-reference cheat sheet of all available citation picker actions |
| Citation Style Search | Search for a CSL file online and download it to the folder configured in workflow settings (default: ~/.pandoc/csl/) |
| Force Buffer Reload | Force a full reload of the citation cache, bypassing the automatic staleness check |
