Free citation generator · CSL
Public Library of Science Citation Generator
Generate references in Public Library of Science from a DOI or link in seconds. CitApp renders this style with citeproc, the same engine as Zotero and Mendeley, so every comma matches the spec. Free for students, no sign-up to try.
What a Public Library of Science reference looks like
Public Library of Science is a numeric style: sources are cited with a bracketed or superscript number in the order they first appear, and the reference list is numbered to match.
Rendered live from the same engine CitApp uses in the app:
Journal article
1. Babonis LS, Martindale MQ. A novel regulatory gene network in cnidarians. PNAS. 2022;119: e2113701119. doi:10.1073/pnas.2113701119
Book
1. Kuhn TS. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. University of Chicago Press; 1970.
Web page
1. IPCC. Climate change 2021: the physical science basis. 9 Aug 2021 [cited 15 July 2026]. Available: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/
Journal article with 26 authors
1. Harris CR, Millman KJ, van der Walt SJ, Gommers R, Virtanen P, Cournapeau D, et al. Array programming with NumPy. Nature. 2020;585: 357–362. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2649-2
Public Library of Science at a glance
Read from the style file and checked against the examples above.
- Used mainly in the natural sciences.
- In the text, the first source is cited as [1].
- For a paper with 26 authors, the reference list names the first 6 authors and shortens the rest.
- First names are shortened to initials.
- DOIs are printed with a "doi:" prefix.
- Web pages include the date you accessed them.
- The reference list is numbered in the order sources are first cited.
- The style file was last updated in September 2019.
The guide this style follows: plosone.org
How Public Library of Science compares with CSE Manual: Scientific Style and Format 9th edition (citation-sequence)
Where Public Library of Science differs:
- For a paper with 26 authors, the reference list names the first 6 authors and shortens the rest.
- DOIs are printed with a "doi:" prefix.
- In the text, the first source is cited as [1].
The same journal article in CSE Manual: Scientific Style and Format 9th edition (citation-sequence)
1. Babonis LS, Martindale MQ. A novel regulatory gene network in cnidarians. PNAS. 2022;119(19):e2113701119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2113701119
Frequently asked questions
How many authors does Public Library of Science list?
For a paper with 26 authors, the reference list names the first 6 authors and shortens the rest.
How does Public Library of Science handle DOIs and web pages?
DOIs are printed with a "doi:" prefix. Web pages include the date you accessed them.
How is the reference list ordered in Public Library of Science?
The reference list is numbered in the order sources are first cited.
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