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Chicago citation generator

Format references in the Chicago author–date system — common across history-adjacent social sciences and university coursework. Enter the details once or paste BibTeX/RIS, and copy the finished entry.

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Who uses Chicago style

The Chicago Manual of Style defines two systems: notes–bibliography (footnotes, favored in history and some humanities) and author–date (in-text citations, favored in the sciences and social sciences). This generator produces the author–date form; if your department asks for footnotes, the same data maps to the notes system with reordered elements.

Chicago (author–date) at a glance

Reference-list example

Chen, Maria, and James Okafor. 2023. “Sleep Deprivation and Working Memory.” Cognitive Science 47 (2): 112–39.

In-text citation

(Chen and Okafor 2023, 118) — no comma between author and year; page after a comma.

The rules that trip people up

  • First author inverted, the rest in normal order; the year follows the authors directly, set off by periods.
  • Article titles in quotation marks and Title Case; journal titles in italics.
  • Volume, then issue in parentheses, then a colon and the page range: 47 (2): 112–39.
  • In-text: (Author Year) with no comma — add pages after a comma: (Chen and Okafor 2023, 118).
  • Four or more authors become "et al." in text, but up to ten are listed in the reference list.

Frequently asked questions

Chicago author–date or notes–bibliography — which do I need?
Ask your department or journal. History and many humanities venues expect footnotes (notes–bibliography); social science venues using Chicago usually expect author–date. The underlying data are identical — only the rendering differs — which is why keeping references as data matters.
Is Turabian the same as Chicago?
Turabian is the student-focused adaptation of the Chicago Manual, and its citation forms match Chicago closely. If your syllabus says Turabian, the entries this generator produces in author–date form are what you need for the author–date option.
How are websites cited in Chicago author–date?
Author or organization, year, page title in quotation marks, site name, and the URL — with an access date only when no publication date exists. Choose "Web page" as the source type and the generator applies the pattern.

Other citation styles

APAMLAHarvardIEEEVancouverAll styles

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Citation styles explained (guide)BibTeX ⇄ RIS converterFind a paper’s PDF

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Inside Kahubi the AI cites papers from your own library as it drafts — in Chicago or any other style, with the bibliography always in sync.

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In Kahubi, your library carries the metadata: the agent cites papers as it writes in Chicago style, and the bibliography always matches the in-text citations — in LaTeX or rich text.

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