bib-verify

Instructions

Verify BibTeX references for: $ARGUMENTS

If no file path is given, ask the user for the .bib file path.

Step 1: Extract entries from the bib file

Read the .bib file and extract all entries. For each entry, collect:

• Citation key
• DOI (if present)
• Title
• Authors
• Journal/Booktitle
• Year
• Volume, pages

Step 2: Verify entries with DOI

For entries that have a DOI, verify via CrossRef API:

curl -s "https://api.crossref.org/works/{DOI}" --max-time 8 | python3 -c "
import sys,json
d=json.load(sys.stdin)['message']
print('Title:', d['title'][0][:100])
print('Authors:', ', '.join([a.get('family','') for a in d.get('author',[])][:5]))
print('Year:', d.get('published',{}).get('date-parts',[['']])[0][0])
print('Journal:', d.get('container-title',[''])[0][:60])
print('Volume:', d.get('volume',''))
print('Pages:', d.get('page',''))
"

Compare the returned metadata with the bib entry. Flag mismatches in:

• Title (significant difference, not just capitalization)
• Authors (different people, not just name format)
• Journal name (completely different journal)
• Year (off by more than 1 year)
• Volume or pages (significant difference)

Step 3: Verify entries without DOI

For entries without DOI, search CrossRef by title:

curl -s "https://api.crossref.org/works?query={URL_ENCODED_TITLE}&rows=1" --max-time 8

If a match is found, report the real DOI so it can be added. If no match is found, flag the entry as unverifiable (may need manual check).

Step 4: Batch processing

Process DOIs in batches of 5-8 to avoid rate limiting. Use parallel curl calls where possible.

For large bib files (>50 entries), first extract all DOIs:

grep -oP 'doi\s*=\s*\{([^}]+)\}' refs.bib | sed 's/doi\s*=\s*{//;s/}//'

Step 5: Report

Output a summary table:

Severity levels:

• FABRICATED: Journal, authors, or title entirely wrong (GPT hallucination)
• MISMATCH: Some fields incorrect but paper exists
• DOI_NOT_FOUND: DOI returns 404/no result
• NO_DOI: Entry has no DOI (suggest adding one)
• OK: All verified fields match

Notes

• CrossRef API is free and doesn't require authentication
• Rate limit: ~50 requests/second for polite pool (add mailto param for higher limits)
• IEEE DOIs often return HTTP 418 (anti-bot) on doi.org but work fine on CrossRef API
• Books (@book) may not be in CrossRef; flag as "unverifiable" rather than "fabricated"
• Conference papers (@inproceedings) may have limited metadata in CrossRef