CHICAGO 18TH EDITION
Chicago Citation Generator
Generate Chicago 18th-edition citations in Notes & Bibliography or Author-Date style. Find your source by DOI, URL, ISBN, title, PMID, or supported import, review the source details, then copy the citation you need.
✓ Notes & Bibliography
✓ Author-Date
✓ Reviewable source details
Chicago Citation & Reference Generator
Find a source, review its details, then generate Notes & Bibliography or Author-Date output.
BibTeX
Edit source details
Bibliography (0)
Find your source your way
ACCEPTED INPUT
DOI
Look up scholarly articles from a DOI.
URL
Retrieve available metadata from a webpage.
ISBN
Search for book information using an ISBN.
Title or keywords
Search for a source when you do not have an identifier.
PMID or PubMed URL
Find scholarly records using PubMed information.
Manual entry
Enter or correct the source details yourself.
Identify a DOI in an imported document when available.
BibTeX
Import a supported BibTeX source record.
RIS
Import a supported RIS source record.
The generator also supports BibTeX and RIS imports. PDF import can identify a DOI when one is available in the document and then use that identifier for normal metadata lookup.
Always review automatically retrieved details before using a citation.
Two Chicago citation systems. One source.
Chicago uses two systems for citing sources. Choose the one required by your instructor, department, journal, or publisher.
Notes & Bibliography
Notes & Bibliography uses numbered footnotes or endnotes and usually includes a bibliography. It is widely used in the humanities, including history, literature, and the arts.
For one source, the generator can produce:
- Full Note
- Shortened Note
- Bibliography Entry
If you are citing a particular passage, add the relevant page, chapter, section, paragraph, or other locator to the citation without changing the underlying source record.
Read the complete Chicago Notes & Bibliography guide for full notes, shortened notes, and bibliography rules.
Author-Date
Author-Date uses brief parenthetical citations in the text and a corresponding reference list. It is commonly used in the sciences and social sciences.
For one source, the generator can produce:
- In-Text Citation
- Reference List Entry
A specific page or other locator can be added when you are referring to a particular part of the source.
See the full Chicago Author-Date guide for in-text citations, locators, and reference-list formatting.
One reviewed source. Five Chicago outputs.
You should not have to search for the same source repeatedly just because you need a different type of citation.
A reviewed source can be rendered as:
Notes & Bibliography
Full Note
The complete note normally used when the source is cited for the first time.
Shortened Note
A shorter form for subsequent citations of the same source. For a deeper explanation, see the Chicago Footnotes guide.
Bibliography Entry
The source entry used in the bibliography. See the Chicago Bibliography guide for ordering, hanging indents, and bibliography mechanics.
Author-Date
In-Text Citation
The parenthetical author-and-year citation used in the text, with a locator when needed.
Reference List Entry
The complete source entry that corresponds to the in-text citation.
Switching systems does not require you to enter the source metadata again.
Generate a Chicago citation in three steps
01
1. Find your source
Enter a DOI, URL, ISBN, title, PMID, or another supported input.
02
2. Review the metadata
Check the author names, title, publication details, DOI or URL, date, and other relevant fields. Edit anything that is incomplete or incorrect.
03
3. Copy or save your citation
Choose Notes & Bibliography or Author-Date and copy the output you need. You can also add sources to your bibliography or reference list.
Cite common sources in Chicago style
Book
Generate Chicago citations for whole books and review details such as authors, title, publisher, year, edition, ISBN, and URL where relevant.
Journal Article
Search scholarly articles by DOI or title and review journal details such as volume, issue, pages, publication year, and DOI.
Website
Create citations for webpages while reviewing the author or organization, page title, website name, publication or revision date, access information, and URL.
Book Chapter
Cite a chapter or another part of an edited book while distinguishing the chapter author from the larger book and its editors.
Built for Chicago 18th edition
The 18th edition of The Chicago Manual of Style was published in 2024 and includes meaningful changes to source citations.
Among the changes, Chicago no longer normally requires a place of publication for modern book citations. The page range for a chapter in an edited book is also no longer required in standard bibliography or reference-list entries, although specific cited pages can still matter in notes or in-text citations.
The 18th edition also changed how longer author lists are shortened and clarified the use of shortened citations.
Because older citation generators may still use 17th-edition conventions, reviewing both the source metadata and the resulting citation remains important.
Read What Changed in Chicago 18th Edition for the major citation changes from the previous edition.
18 · 18TH EDITION · AREAS COVERED
Author thresholds
Publication place in books
Chapter bibliography entries
Journal date conventions
Shortened note behaviour
Understand Chicago citation style
Need more than the generated citation? Start with the Chicago Style Guide for an overview of Chicago 18th-edition citation and formatting rules.
You can then continue with the guide that matches your task:
How the Chicago Citation Generator works
A citation is only as reliable as the source information used to create it. The generator therefore separates finding the source, reviewing its metadata, and formatting the citation.
Source input ↓ Metadata lookup ↓ Normalized source record ↓ Metadata review ↓ Chicago system selection ↓ Citation formatting ↓ Bibliography or reference list
Depending on the source, metadata may be retrieved from services such as Crossref, Google Books, PubMed/NCBI, or webpage metadata.
After retrieval, you can review the source record before formatting it. The generator then uses Chicago 18th-edition Citation Style Language rules with a citation processor to create the relevant output.
A cited page, chapter, section, paragraph, or timestamp is handled separately from the permanent source metadata. This means you can cite different parts of the same source without creating duplicate source records.
The source manager can also help identify duplicate records and organize entries for a bibliography or reference list.
For a transparent explanation of the lookup, normalization, formatting, and source-management process, read Methodology & Data Sources. You can also review the site’s Editorial Policy for sourcing, citation testing, corrections, and update practices.
Review your citation before submitting it
Review your citation before submitting it
Automatic metadata can be incomplete or incorrect. A webpage may not expose an author clearly, a book record may describe a different edition, or an article record may contain incomplete publication information.
Before using a generated citation:
- check author and editor names;
- confirm the title;
- verify the publication date;
- check the edition when relevant;
- confirm DOI, URL, ISBN, volume, issue, and page information;
- make sure you selected the Chicago system required for your work;
- add the correct page or other locator when citing a specific passage.
Your instructor, institution, publisher, or required style guide should take priority if it specifies a particular variation.
Source input
DOI · URL · ISBN · title · PDF · BibTeX · RIS
↓
Metadata lookup
Crossref · Google Books · PubMed/NCBI · page metadata
↓
Normalised source record
one record, whatever the input was
↓
Metadata review
you confirm or correct every field
↓
Chicago CSL formatting
citeproc, 18th-edition style
↓
Citation output
note · shortened note · bibliography · in-text · reference
Chicago citation example
The same book looks different depending on which Chicago system you use.
Source
Charles Yu, Interior Chinatown, Pantheon Books, 2020.
Notes & Bibliography
Full Note
Charles Yu, Interior Chinatown (Pantheon Books, 2020), 45.
Shortened Note
Yu, Interior Chinatown, 48.
Bibliography Entry
Yu, Charles. Interior Chinatown. Pantheon Books, 2020.
Author-Date
In-Text Citation
(Yu 2020, 45)
Reference List Entry
Yu, Charles. 2020. Interior Chinatown. Pantheon Books.
Notice that the underlying source is the same. What changes is the citation system and, where relevant, the page being cited.
See more source types on the Chicago Citation Examples page.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Chicago citation generator?
A Chicago citation generator takes bibliographic information about a source and formats it according to Chicago citation rules. This generator supports both Notes & Bibliography and Author-Date and allows the retrieved source details to be reviewed before the citation is copied.
What is Chicago 18th edition?
The 18th edition is the current edition of The Chicago Manual of Style, published in 2024. It introduced several changes relevant to citations, including revised author thresholds and changes affecting books, book chapters, journal citations, and bibliographies. For a focused summary, see the Chicago 18th Edition guide.
What is the difference between Notes & Bibliography and Author-Date?
Notes & Bibliography uses numbered footnotes or endnotes and usually a bibliography. Author-Date uses parenthetical author-and-year citations in the text and a reference list. Use the system required by your instructor, institution, discipline, journal, or publisher. You can compare both systems in more detail in the Chicago Notes & Bibliography guide and Chicago Author-Date guide.
Can I generate Chicago footnotes?
Yes. In Notes & Bibliography mode, the generator can produce a full note and a shortened note in addition to the bibliography entry. Your word processor normally handles the actual footnote number and placement in the document. See Chicago Footnotes for the detailed workflow.
Can I add a specific page number?
Yes. A page or another locator can be added to the citation occurrence. It does not need to become permanent metadata for the source, so the same book or article can later be cited at a different page.
Can I search by DOI or ISBN?
Yes. DOI lookup is useful for many scholarly articles, while ISBN lookup can be used for books. The generator also supports URL, title/keyword, PMID/PubMed, and manual workflows.
Can I import a PDF?
PDF import is designed to identify a DOI from the document when possible and then use that identifier for metadata lookup. It should not be treated as guaranteed full bibliographic extraction from every PDF.
Are generated Chicago citations always correct?
No citation generator should replace checking the source itself. Automatically retrieved metadata may be incomplete, ambiguous, or wrong, so review the source details and the finished citation before submitting your work.
Is ChicagoReferenceGenerator.com affiliated with The University of Chicago?
No. ChicagoReferenceGenerator.com is an independent citation tool and is not affiliated with or endorsed by The University of Chicago or The University of Chicago Press.
Generate your Chicago citation
Find your source, review the metadata, choose Notes & Bibliography or Author-Date, and copy the citation you need.