bibtex-to-markdown

A Python-based utility for converting BibTeX entries into Markdown notes compatible with Obsidian, Pandoc, and reference-based workflows.

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📌 Intent

This tool automates the process of transforming academic references from a BibTeX .bib file into individual Markdown notes. Each note is formatted for compatibility with:

• Pandoc citation processing ([@citation_key])
• Obsidian-style [[wikilinks]] for internal navigation
• Markdown-based academic writing workflows

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⚙️ Actions

The script performs the following actions:

• Parses a BibTeX file using bibtexparser
• Cleans and formats metadata including author names, titles, and keywords
• Creates one Markdown file per BibTeX entry
• Adds both a Pandoc-style filename (e.g., @Smith2020-ab.md) and Obsidian-style link in the frontmatter ([[Smith2020-ab]])
• Inserts a Chicago-style bibliography block and optional abstract into each file

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📥 Input

• A valid .bib file (BibTeX format), such as main.bib
• BibTeX keys must be unique
• Optional fields supported: author, title, journal, publisher, url, year, abstract, keywords, institution

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📤 Output

• A folder called markdown_entries/ (if not present, it is created)
• Inside this folder:
  • Individual Markdown files named using the format: @BibTeXKey.md
  • Each file includes:
    • YAML frontmatter with:
      • Title, year
      • Authors (with Obsidian-style links [[Author Name]])
      • Key (in format [[@BibTeXKey]])
      • Optional fields: institution, journal, publisher (all as Obsidian links)
      • Tags (from keywords)
    • Optional abstract
    • Chicago-style bibliography section
    • Pandoc-compatible filename for citation use ([@BibTeXKey])

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🧱 Framework

• Python 3.7+
• Dependencies:
  • bibtexparser
  • Standard libraries: os, re

Ensure dependencies are installed:

pip install bibtexparser

Run the script:

python convert_bibtex.py

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🛠️ Troubleshooting

🟥 Problem: Filenames or links are not resolving in Obsidian

✅ Check that the Markdown files are stored within your Obsidian vault
✅ Ensure filenames use the @BibTeXKey format if linking via Pandoc citation syntax
✅ Use [[@BibTeXKey]] or [@BibTeXKey] depending on purpose

🟥 Problem: Non-Latin characters or accents appear incorrectly

✅ Text cleaning is applied, but additional edge cases can be adjusted in clean_text() or format_authors()

🟥 Problem: Markdown files overwrite each other

✅ BibTeX keys must be unique; conflicts will silently overwrite existing files

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For enhancements or bug reports, please open an issue in the GitHub repository. https://github.com/sjelms/bibtex-to-markdown