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Cite as you write in Google Docs
Writing an essay in Google Docs and juggling a citation tool in another tab? The CitApp add-on puts your saved sources in a sidebar inside Docs. Click a source, the in-text citation lands at your cursor, and the reference list at the end updates itself.
How it works
- 1Install the add-on and pair it with your CitApp account using a short one-time code.
- 2Pick one of your projects. Your saved sources appear in the sidebar, grouped by category.
- 3Click Insert on a source and the citation appears exactly where your cursor is.
- 4When you are done, one click writes or updates the References section at the end of the document.
What the add-on does
No tab switching
Your sources live in the sidebar, next to your text. You never leave the document to fetch a citation.
The reference list stays correct
The add-on rebuilds the References section from the sources you actually cited, in the right order and format. No duplicates, no leftovers.
Numbered styles renumber themselves
In Vancouver, IEEE and other numeric styles the markers renumber automatically when you insert a citation earlier in the text, so the numbering always runs in the right order.
Every style you use
All 17 built-in styles work, plus the 130+ CSL journal and university styles and any style you built yourself in CitApp. Switch style from the Style tab and the document follows.
Add sources without leaving Docs
Paste a link or a DOI straight into the sidebar, or upload a PDF and let it read out the title, author and year. You can create projects and categories from the sidebar too.
Sources from your extension show up
Anything you captured with the browser extension lands in an inbox in the sidebar, ready to file into a category while you write.
Source-type labels
Every source carries a label: peer reviewed, preprint, book, official, news, encyclopedia, organisation, blog or web page, along with the source-criticism questions worth asking about that kind of source. It describes the type, it never grades the source.
Academic Shield
Select a paragraph you have written and Shield compares it with the source you cited. Two checks read your writing: whether the wording sits too close to the original, and whether it fits the section it sits in (introduction, method, results or discussion). A third reads the source in the other direction — does it actually carry what your paragraph claims? That is the one that catches a citation pointing at the wrong source, and it is the check a similarity report cannot make. Every phrase it flags is quoted from your own text so you can find it in the document, and it only ever reports what it could not find in the source text we saved — never that a source is false. For each check it names what already works in your paragraph, explains why a phrase sits too close rather than just flagging it, and gives you a concrete next step. It never rewrites your text for you: the point is that you learn to fix it yourself.
Common questions
When can I install it?
It is live now on the Google Workspace Marketplace. Create a free CitApp account, install the add-on, and your projects and sources are already there waiting in the sidebar.
What will it cost?
The add-on is free to install. Inserting citations is free up to 30 insertions a week, which covers a normal essay, and Pro removes the limit. Building and refreshing the full reference list is free for everyone, always, with no weekly cap.
Which citation styles does it support?
The same ones as the app: APA, MLA, Harvard, Chicago, Oxford, Vancouver, IEEE and ten more built in, plus the 130+ CSL styles from the official style library and any custom style you have built yourself.
Do I need a CitApp account?
Yes, a free one. The add-on shows the projects and sources from your account, so there has to be an account to pair with.
Does it work with footnote styles like Oxford?
Yes. Put the cursor where the citation belongs, press Ctrl+Alt+F (⌘+⌥+F on Mac) to make the footnote, then press Insert — the full reference goes into the note itself, not into your body text. Google Docs does not let an add-on create a footnote for you, which is why that one keystroke stays yours.
Can I add a source from inside Docs?
Yes. Paste a link or DOI in the sidebar, or upload a PDF for a paywalled article or a handout you only have as a file. The add-on reads the metadata and saves it to the project you choose.
What is the Academic Shield?
Shield checks a paragraph you have written against the source it cites. Two checks read your writing — closeness to the original wording, and fit with the academic section it sits in — and a third reads the source, asking whether it actually supports what you wrote. The free plan includes 10 checks a week and Pro is unlimited.
More from CitApp
Cite as you write, today
Create a free CitApp account, install the add-on from the Workspace Marketplace, and your saved sources are already waiting in the sidebar.
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