OverCite: Add citations in LaTeX without leaving the editor

TL;DR

OverCite is a lightweight, open-source tool that enables seamless citation insertion in LaTeX editors by querying literature databases without leaving the writing environment.

Contribution

It introduces a novel, integrated citation tool for LaTeX that simplifies referencing by using context-aware queries to literature databases within editors.

Findings

Supports multiple disciplines including physics, biology, and computer science.

Works within Overleaf and VS Code for local LaTeX projects.

Enables quick, in-editor citation management without manual BibTeX editing.

Abstract

Adding citations while drafting in LaTeX often requires leaving the editor, searching for a paper in mind, copying its BibTeX entry into the project bibliography, renaming the cite key, and then returning to the sentence. \texttt{OverCite} is an open-source, lightweight tool that lets authors find, select, and insert citations without leaving the writing environment. In Overleaf, \texttt{OverCite} uses rough citation placeholders (e.g., $\texttt{\textbackslash citep\{Perlmutter1999\}}$) and local sentence context to query ADS/SciX-indexed literature, rank likely matches, and insert the selected reference, without leaving the editor. A companion \texttt{VS Code} extension provides the same functionality for local LaTeX projects. The ADS/SciX database includes astronomy, physics, computer science, mathematics, biology, and \emph{all} indexed arXiv e-prints, making \texttt{OverCite} useful across a broad range of scientific disciplines.