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.
The Supercharged Citation Picker searches across multiple fields simultaneously the moment you start typing. You never need to know exactly which field a piece of information lives in — just type what you remember and the picker will find it.
Searchable Fields
Every query searches across all of the following fields at once:
| Field | Notes |
|---|
| Title | Full title text |
| Author / Editor last name | Searches last names only |
| Year | Publication year (see match settings below) |
| Journal / Booktitle | Journal name or collection title |
| Citekey | Prefix with @ to search citekeys directly |
| Keywords / Tags | Prefix with # to search keyword fields |
BibtexEntry class, which parses author, editor, year, date, title, journal, booktitle, citekey, and keywords fields out of your .bib file.
Smart Queries
Smart queries let you combine multiple search terms — each targeting a different field — in a single query string separated by spaces.
| Query | What it matches |
|---|
grieser | Entries where an author or editor last name contains “grieser” |
2020 | Entries published in 2020 |
@Grieser2020 | The entry whose citekey is exactly Grieser2020 |
#sociology | Entries tagged with the keyword “sociology” |
2020 #cognition grieser | Entries from 2020, tagged “cognition”, by Grieser — all three at once |
#keyword tags, and a @citekey prefix in any order in the same query.
Short Queries
You do not need to fully spell out every term. As long as your prefix is unambiguous within your library, the picker will find the right entries:
gives the same result as:
This applies to author names, keyword tags, and journal/booktitle fragments alike.
Autocomplete
Press Tab while a result is highlighted to auto-complete the search field with the first author’s last name for that entry. This is useful for quickly narrowing down a result set or building up a multi-author query.
Recency Sorting
The citation picker automatically floats recently used entries to the top of the results list. This is handled at the Alfred level via the uid field (set to the citekey), so frequently cited works surface faster over time without any manual configuration.
Filter Operators
Two special filter tokens can be added anywhere in your query to restrict results to entries that have particular associated files:
| Filter token | Effect |
|---|
* | Show only entries that have a literature note in your configured notes folder |
pdf | Show only entries that have an associated PDF in your configured PDF folder |
* grieser # entries by Grieser that have a literature note
pdf 2020 # entries from 2020 that have a PDF
* #cognition 2020 # entries tagged "cognition", published in 2020, with a note
Match Settings
The following options are configurable in the workflow settings:
match_authors_in_etal
Controls whether authors beyond the first are searchable when an entry has multiple authors displayed as et al.
- When enabled (
1): all author and editor last names are included in the Alfred matcher, even for entries with three or more contributors.
- When disabled (
0): only the first author and first editor last name are matched.
match_year_type
Controls whether years are matched as 2-digit short forms, full 4-digit forms, or both.
| Setting | Behavior |
|---|
short | Match the last 2 digits of the year (e.g., 20 matches 2020) |
full | Match the full 4-digit year (e.g., 2020) |
short full | Match both forms simultaneously |
The buffer that drives the citation picker is cached and automatically rebuilt whenever your .bib file, literature note folder, PDF folder, or workflow preferences change. You can also force a manual reload via scp → Force Buffer Reload in Alfred.
