bibsanity 0.1.0

A CLI tool for sanity checking BibTeX entries

BibSanity

Experimental note: This project started as a one-day, vibe-coded experiment. Expect rough edges.

A CLI tool to sanity-check BibTeX entries and flag likely invalid citations or inconsistent metadata.

Features

• Hybrid Verification Logic: DOI lookup via Crossref API, falling back to title search via OpenAlex API
• Multiple Report Formats: Terminal output (Rich tables), JSON, and HTML reports
• Organized Output: Reports are saved in Sanity_Report next to the input file
• Caching: Caches API responses to reduce redundant requests
• Concurrent Processing: Verifies multiple entries in parallel
• Conservative Language: Uses FAIL/WARN/OK statuses with clear reasons

Installation

From source (recommended for now):

pip install -e .

Quickstart

bibsanity check examples/test_refs.bib

Options

• --format, -f FORMAT: Output format: json, html, or all (default: json)
• --json, -j PATH: Custom path for JSON report (default: saved in Sanity_Report)
• --out, -o PATH: Custom path for HTML report (deprecated; use --format instead)
• --max-workers, -w N: Maximum concurrent workers (default: 6)
• --strict, -s: Use strict verification mode (treats warnings as failures)
• --no-cache: Disable caching

Examples

# Basic check (generates JSON report in Sanity_Report folder)
bibsanity check examples/test_refs.bib

# Generate HTML report
bibsanity check references.bib --format html

# Generate all formats (JSON + HTML)
bibsanity check references.bib --format all

# Custom JSON report path
bibsanity check references.bib --json custom_report.json

# Strict mode with more workers
bibsanity check references.bib --strict --max-workers 10

Report Location

Reports are automatically saved in a Sanity_Report folder next to your input file:

references.bib
Sanity_Report/
  ├── references_report.json
  └── references_report.html

Verification Logic

1. DOI-based verification (if DOI is present):

   • Looks up the DOI in Crossref API
   • Compares title, year, and authors
   • Returns OK if metadata matches, WARN/FAIL if inconsistencies found

2. Title-based verification (if no DOI or DOI lookup fails):

   • Searches OpenAlex API by title
   • Uses fuzzy matching to find best match
   • Compares year and authors
   • Returns OK if good match found, WARN/FAIL if inconsistencies found

3. Failure cases:

   • No DOI and no title match found
   • Metadata inconsistencies (year, authors, title mismatch)

Known Limitations / Possible False Positives

1. Old papers published in conferences and journals with highly similar titles.
2. Titles with special characters such as $$ or LaTeX equations.
3. Non-English papers or journals that are not indexed in Crossref or OpenAlex.

Report Formats

Terminal Report

Rich-formatted table showing entry ID, status, and reason.

JSON Report

Structured JSON with summary statistics and detailed results for each entry.

HTML Report

Styled HTML report with summary cards and detailed table (generated when --format html or --format all is used).

Status Codes

• OK: Entry verified successfully with matching metadata
• WARN: Entry found but metadata inconsistencies detected
• FAIL: Entry could not be verified or strict mode violations

Exit Codes

• 0: Completed with no FAIL results
• 1: Errors or one or more FAIL results

Requirements

• Python 3.9+
• Internet connection (for API calls to Crossref and OpenAlex)

License

MIT. See LICENSE.