Frequently Asked Questions
Is RefCopy free? Do I need an account?
RefCopy is free, and there’s nothing to sign up for. You don’t create an account or log in, and your reading stays anonymous. Everything RefCopy needs happens in your browser, and your settings stay on your own device.
Which browsers does RefCopy support?
RefCopy runs on Chromium-based browsers — Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, Opera, and Arc. Firefox and Safari aren’t supported yet, though they may come later.
How reliable is the citation data?
RefCopy builds each reference from the article’s DOI and the metadata that Crossref and other registries publish for it. When the DOI is correct, the data is dependable. Because a source record occasionally has a gap or a typo, it’s worth reading through a generated reference before you submit it. If something looks off, you can correct the DOI in the side panel.
Can RefCopy cite a website or a resource without a DOI?
No. RefCopy is built for journal articles that carry a DOI, so pages without one — news sites, blog posts, most reports — fall outside what it reads. For those, a general-purpose reference manager such as Zotero or Mendeley is the better fit.
Where do I find a paper’s DOI?
On most article pages RefCopy detects the DOI for you. If the detected DOI is wrong or missing, type or paste the correct one into the side panel. If you only have a title or an author, search for the paper on Crossref; with RefCopy installed, you can open it straight from the Crossref results. For more on what a DOI is and where it appears, see Introduction to DOI.
Can I use RefCopy’s references in academic work?
Yes. RefCopy is at its best for essays, reports, slides, and other documents with a manageable number of citations. For a thesis, a dissertation, or any project with a large, evolving bibliography, a dedicated reference manager — Zotero, Mendeley, or EndNote — will serve you better.
Next: New to RefCopy? Start with the Quick start, or learn how to choose a citation style.