Description
CiteKit – Citations Manager makes it easy to add professional in-text citations to your WordPress content using simple [cite] shortcodes. Automatically generate a bibliography at the end of your post with [bibliography], styled in APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard, and other major formats.
Use the built-in Citation Library to:
+ Track every citation used across posts
+ Edit citation details (author, title, year, URL)
Perfect for bloggers, educators, journalists, and researchers who need clean, consistent citation formatting.
Features
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Inline [cite] Shortcode with Auto-ID
Insert citations directly into post content using [cite]. Unique citation IDs are automatically generated, or set manually with [cite id=”my-custom-id”]. -
Post-Level Citation Editor (Citebox)
View and edit all citations associated with a post from a dedicated metabox. Modify author, title, year, or URL without leaving the editor screen. -
Centralized Citation Library Dashboard
Manage all citations across your entire site in one place. Search, filter, and update entries inline to ensure consistency sitewide. -
Auto-Generated Bibliography
Use the [bibliography] shortcode to automatically output a formatted bibliography for the current post. Entries are ordered and backlink to their corresponding in-text references. -
Manual Bibliography Composition
Create a standalone bibliography using [bibliography title=”References”] Source 1 ; Source 2 ; Source 3 [/bibliography] — ideal for static lists or non-[cite] workflows. -
Multiple Citation Style Support
Output citations in APA, MLA, Chicago (Author-Date and Notes), Harvard, or IEEE styles using [bibliography style=”apa|mla|chicago-ad|chicago-nb|harvard|ieee”]. -
Tooltip-Style Inline Notes
Add lightweight footnotes or definitions using [tooltip]…[/tooltip] shortcodes. Renders as clean tooltips with no visual clutter or numbering.
CiteKit Shortcodes
- [cite] — Inline citation with auto-generated ID
- [cite id=”user-defined-id”] — Inline citation with user-defined ID
- [bibliography title=”Works Cited” style=”mla”] — Formatted reference list
- [bibliography] Smith, 2026; John Jacobs, The Red Roof, 2021; Mary Martha, Happy Homes, https://happyhomes.com [/bibliography] – Manually listed entries
- [tooltip]…[/tooltip] — Define tooltip annotations
Installation
3 Ways to Install CiteKit
- Automatically Install via WordPress Admin Panel
– Log in to your WordPress admin dashboard.
– Navigate to Plugins > Add New.
– In the search bar, type “CiteKit”.
– Find the CiteKit – Citations Manager plugin in the results.
– Click Install Now, then click Activate once installation is complete.
- Install via ZIP Upload
– Download the CiteKit plugin .zip file from the WordPress Plugin Directory.
– In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins > Add New.
– Click the Upload Plugin button at the top of the page.
– Upload the .zip file and click Install Now.
– Once installed, click Activate Plugin to enable CiteKit.
- Install via FTP
– Download the CiteKit plugin .zip file and extract it to your computer.
– Open your FTP client (e.g., FileZilla) and connect to your WordPress server.
– Navigate to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory.
– Upload the extracted citekit folder (not the .zip file).
– In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins, locate CiteKit, and click Activate.
Post-Installation Setup
Manage Post-Level Citations (Citebox)*
After activation, a new **“Citations in this Post” metabox will appear in the post and page editor.
– Use [cite] shortcodes directly in your content to reference sources.
– The Citebox lets you edit citation metadata (author, title, year, URL) per post.
Use the Citation Library Dashboard
– Navigate to Citations > Citation Library in your admin sidebar.
– Here you can search, edit, or audit all citations across your site from a centralized interface.
– All changes are saved instantly via AJAX — no reloads required.
Display Bibliographies
– Use the [bibliography] shortcode in a post or page to output all [cite] references in that content.
– Switch styles with [bibliography style="apa"], [bibliography style="mla"], etc.
Add Tooltip Notes
– Use [tooltip]...[/tooltip] to create clean, inline footnote-style tooltips in your content.
– These are ideal for brief definitions, asides, or source clarifications.
Need help installing or customizing CiteKit?
Visit our support page or open a support ticket on the WordPress plugin forum.
FAQ
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Which fields are supported?
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Each citation supports: Author, Title, Year, and URL.
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Is this a replacement for Zotero or EndNote?
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No, this plugin is optimized for WordPress publishing, not full academic reference management.
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Does this work with the block editor?
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Yes, CiteKit shortcodes work in both the classic editor and block editor – insert shortcodes into any paragraph, heading, or custom block.
Reviews
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Contributors & Developers
“CiteKit – Citation and Reference Manager” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
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Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.0.0
- Initial release
- Shortcode support for [cite], [bibliography], and [tooltip]
- Citation Library (Tools Citations)