VersoFold separates the shared reference library from a manuscript's bibliography. The library is your research collection across workspaces. A .bib file is the portable bibliography source used by a particular LaTeX document.
Collect a paper
Open Reference library on Home. Drag a paper in from your browser (the tab's address, or a link on a page) and it is saved straight away, or paste a DOI, publisher link, arXiv link, direct paper URL, BibTeX or RIS. Add a paper in the editor takes dragged links the same way. VersoFold creates an unchecked record and attempts registry metadata retrieval where supported. Metadata lookup needs connectivity; PDF access can depend on the publisher.
You can import exports from tools such as Zotero and EndNote. Local Zotero integration depends on Zotero running with its local API available. Inspect the imported title, authors, year, identifier and entry type rather than assuming an import proves accuracy.
Scan workspaces reads bibliography entries from saved workspaces without changing those files. Records retain their originating workspace, bibliography path and citation keys.
Organize and reconcile
Use tags and named collections to gather papers by question, method or project. Add reading notes, attach PDFs and copy/download a selection as BibTeX. A collection can generate its own bibliography.
Reconcile duplicates groups records that appear to describe the same work. Identifier matches and supported title/author/year similarities help detect candidates. Preprints and published versions are shown for your decision instead of being silently merged.
Choose which record to keep; merging preserves associated keys, sources, links, tags, notes and attachments. It does not rewrite existing manuscript citation keys. These are different papers records a durable distinction. A duplicate group may temporarily mark records as Needs review until resolved.
Cite while writing
In the source editor, begin a citation command and search the suggestions. In this paper shows existing workspace keys. Shared-library suggestions can match titles, authors, venues, years and identifiers.
Selecting a library paper inserts its citation key and appends its full BibTeX entry to the workspace bibliography. Existing identity matches are reused. If a desired key belongs to another work, the insertion coordinates the new bibliography key with the typed citation rather than silently overwriting the existing entry.
The suggestion list keeps Browse the reference library and Add a paper by link or BibTeX available. The full library opens with the typed query and offers Cite this paper. The Bibliography panel also has an Add a paper action.
Useful suggestion filters include:
| Filter | Purpose |
|---|---|
is:checked | Restrict to checked library records. |
in:Related-work | Search a named collection. |
from:NSERC | Narrow by workspace/source name. |
tag:methods | Narrow by tag. |
sort:year | Order by publication year. |
The citation command must be supported by your template. \citep/\citet commonly require natbib; \parencite/\autocite belong to biblatex workflows. The editor can insert a command that still needs the right package. See LaTeX bibliographies.
Inspect the bibliography and reference cards
Bibliography searches project entries, opens their .bib source and lets you copy citations or follow paper links. Notes/References orders reference cards by first citation; This page narrows the list to the current PDF page when citation locations are available.
Clicking a citation in the PDF highlights its record in References. In the LaTeX editor a click only places the cursor; in the Visual editor it edits the citation command. For imported PDFs, extracted references and Crossref matching are heuristic. Strong matches can populate metadata; uncertain matches need selection. Find paper opens the identified destination or a search. Download PDF attaches an available copy and becomes Open PDF when present.
Review what an agent hands back
When an agent cannot settle a record, it marks it Needs review and says why. The References tab, the Bibliography panel and Home → Reference library each show N references need your review; Review goes through them one at a time, in the order they are listed. Review now on a card opens the same review at that record.
Each record fits on one screen:
its fields, with a check mark on each one the agent verified. A field the agent changed says what it was. A field the agent only proposes shows the current value struck through beside the proposed one, with a box to leave it out.
the
.bibentry that holds it and where the paper cites it. If that entry disagrees with the library record, the differing values are shown too.the agent's open questions, limitations and corrections, and every source it consulted as a link.
Open paper (the DOI, then arXiv, then the record's own link), Open PDF when one is attached, and searches on Google Scholar, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and arXiv built from the title and first author.
Decide with one click. A note is optional.
| Action | Result |
|---|---|
| Confirm — it's correct | The record becomes Checked by you. |
| Apply correction & confirm | Writes the proposed values you left ticked, then confirms. Keep current & confirm keeps what the record says. |
| Needs work | The record stays in Needs review as Flagged by you. Your note goes to the next agent check. |
| Edit BibTeX | Replace the record with your own entry, then Save BibTeX & confirm. |
Enter confirms (⌘Enter while editing BibTeX), ← and → move between records, and Esc closes. Undo appears after each decision, and Reopen your review in a record's verification report does the same later: the fields the decision changed are put back and the record returns to Needs review. Review this check on an agent-checked record lets you overrule it with Needs work.
If the record changed while you were looking at it, for example because a new agent report arrived, the review shows the latest version and asks again instead of overwriting it. If it may be the same paper as another record, the review shows both. Merge them if they are one paper, or mark them as different papers; the decision waits until that is settled.
Decisions change the shared library, never a workspace .bib. When a paper's .bib disagrees with the library record, Copy library BibTeX and paste it over the entry, open the entry, or keep the paper's values with Use this paper's values & confirm.
Metadata checking is different from evidence
Records distinguish Unchecked, Checked by an agent, Checked by you, Needs review and Flagged by you. Verification briefs explain what to check and preserve evidence-backed reports. An agent can leave a correction it could not confirm as a proposal, which you accept or leave in the review. Metadata changes can require rechecking. A registry match alone does not set a checked status.
A correct title/DOI does not establish that a paper supports your claim. Use Check the sources to find the passages a citing sentence rests on, and judge support separately. Read the actual source before strengthening wording in the manuscript.
Library records live outside individual projects. Export or generate the bibliography you need when sharing source, and back up the shared library separately when preserving your research collection.