Bibiman

• Bibiman
  • TL;DR
  • Installation
    • Crates.io
    • Cargo (Build from source)
    • AUR
    • Fedora
    • NixOS
    • OpenSuse Tumbleweed
    • Ubuntu/Debian
    • Void Linux
  • Usage
    • CLI for citekey formatting
  • Configuration
    • Location of Config File
    • General Configuration
    • Citekey formatting
    • Color Configuration
  • Features
  • Keybindings
  • Search
  • Edit bib entry
  • Open connected files or links
  • Note file creation
  • Alternatives
  • Notes

TL;DR

bibiman is a simple terminal user interface for handling your BibLaTeX database as part of a terminal-based scientific workflow.

Here's a small impression how it looks and works:

bibiman.gif

screenshot with new note feature

Installation

Crates.io

You can install bibiman directly from crates.io using cargo:

cargo install bibiman

Cargo (Build from source)

To use the version including the newest commits, you can clone the repo and build it from source using cargo:

git clone https://codeberg.org/lukeflo/bibiman
cd bibiman
# Build the binary to /target/release
cargo build --release

After successfully builing bibiman you can install it together with other resources (manpages etc.) using the install.sh bash script. By default, it will install bibiman to /usr/local/bin which needs sudo privileges for the script. But its possible to define a different installation location. E.g. to install bibiman locally on Linux run the following command:

./install.sh install --prefix "$HOME/.local"

If you want to check the installation directories without installing anything, just use the print-vars command and the --prefix option.

Check ./install.sh --help for more information.

AUR

Thanks to user @matcha its possible to install bibiman on Arch-based systems via the AUR:

yay -S bibiman # or any other AUR helper

Fedora

Thanks to user @samsci you can install bibiman on Fedora through adding a custom repo:

dnf config-manager addrepo --from-repofile=https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:samsci:bibiman/Fedora_42/home:samsci:bibiman.repo
dnf install bibiman

NixOS

Thanks to user @clementpoiret you now can install it via Nix commandline:

# as package on any Linux distro
nix-env -iA nixpkgs.bibiman
# on NixOS
nix-env -iA nixos.bibiman

Or through home-manager config file:

 home.packages = [
 pkgs.bibiman
 ]

OpenSuse Tumbleweed

Thanks to user @samsci you can install bibiman on Tumbleweed through adding a custom repo:

zypper addrepo https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:samsci:bibiman/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/home:samsci:bibiman.repo
zypper refresh
zypper install bibiman

Ubuntu/Debian

A .deb package by user @werdahias can be found here: https://deb.debusine.debian.net/debian/r-werdahias-bibiman/

Void Linux

You can install bibiman through xbps-package manager:

# Through xbps directly
sudo xpbs-install bibiman
# Or using xi from xtools package
xi bibiman

Usage

The following arguments are possible:

USAGE
	bibiman [OPTIONS] [SUBCOMMAND | POSITIONAL ARGUMENTS]
	You can either use a subcommand or positional arguments, not both!
POSITIONAL ARGUMENTS
	<file>		Path to .bib file
	<directory>	Path to directory containing .bib files
	Both can be passed multiple times
SUBCOMMANDS
	format-citekeys
	Run the citekey formatting procedure on a specified bibfile.
	For further infos run bibiman format-citekeys --help
OPTIONS
	-h, --help
	Show this help and exit
	-v, --version
	Show the version and exit
	--light-terminal
	Enable default colors for light terminal background
	-c, --config-file=<PATH>
	Path to config file used for current session.
	Takes precedence over standard config file.
	-l, --log-file=<PATH>
	Path to log file used for current session.
	Takes precedence over standard logging path.
	--pdf-path=<PATH>
	Path to directory containing PDF files.
	If the pdf files basename matches an entrys citekey,
	its attached as connected PDF file for the current session.
	Does not edit the bibfile itself!
	-C, --cli-only
	Load only entries from the file(s)/dirs set at the CLI.
	Ignores files from the config file

As seen, you can pass a single file, multiple files, the path of a directory containing bibfiles, or mix files and directories.

Directories will be searched recursively for files with the .bib extension and add them to the entry list. Other files will be ignored.Thus, be careful not to pass a directory with multiple subdirectories (like eg /home/usr/), because this could lead to some delay while parsing GBs of data.

The following lines are all valid CLI calls to run bibiman using the test files from the tests folder:

# single file
bibiman tests/biblatex-test.bib
# multiple files
bibiman tests/multi-files/bibfile1.bib tests/multi-files/bibfile2.bib
# directory containing bibfiles
bibman tests/multi-files/
# mixed arguments
bibiman tests/biblatex-test.bib tests/multi-files/

If you want to ignore files from the config file occassionally, you can use the -C/--cli-only flag. That might be necessary if bibman should be used as default program to open .bib files, e.g. via xdg-open.

CLI for citekey formatting

Beside the TUI bibiman can format and replace citekeys. To make use of this feature run the program with the format-citekeys subcommand. For more information use bibiman format-citekeys --help and the see docs.

Configuration

Location of Config File

bibiman can be configured through a config file. The standard location is the user's config dir following the XDG scheme. On Linux systems this defaults to:

# XDG scheme:
$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/bibiman/bibiman.toml
# Fallback:
$HOME/.config/bibiman/bibiman.toml

You can set a custom config file through the CLI (-c/--config-file= flag) which takes precedence over the standard one for the active session:

bibiman --config-file="/path/to/temporary/config"

If neither a file exists at the default location, nor a temporary config file is set through the CLI, bibiman will offer to create a default config file at the standard location. This will very likely happen on the first run of bibiman after installation. If rejected, you probably will be asked again next time.

The created config contains all values which are set as default by bibiman.

General Configuration

The following general values can be set through the config file:

[general]
# Default files/dirs which are loaded on startup
# Use absolute paths (~ for HOME works). Otherwise, loading might not work.
bibfiles = [ "/path/to/bibfile", "path/to/dir/with/bibfiles" ]
## Default editor to use when editing files. It can be set as plain string
## only representing the command, or with arguments array.
 editor = { command = "vim", args = [ "-y", "-R" ] }
# OR
# editor = "vim"
# Default app to open PDFs/Epubs
pdf_opener = "xdg-open"
# Default app to open URLs/DOIs
url_opener = "xdg-open"
# Prefix which is prepended to the filepath from the `file` field
# Use absolute paths (~ for HOME works). Otherwise, loading might not work.
file_prefix = "/some/path/prefix"
# Path to folder (with subfolders) containing PDF files with the basename
# of the format "citekey.pdf". Other PDF basenames are not accepted.
# Use absolute paths (~ for HOME works). Otherwise, loading might not work.
pdf_path = "/path/to/pdf-folder"
## Path to folder (with subfolders) containing note files with the basename of
## the format "citekey.extension". Other basenames are not accepted. The possible
## extensions can be set through the "note_extensions" array.
note_path = "path/to/note-files"
note_extensions = [ "md", "txt" ]
## Symbols/chars to show if not has specific attachement
file_symbol = " "
link_symbol = "󰌹 "
note_symbol = "󰧮"
## Select a custom column beside standard "author", "title" and "year"
## Possible values are "journaltitle", "organization", "instituion", "publisher"
## and "pubtype" (which is the default)
custom_column = "pubtype"
## Define a custom formatter to format entries added via DOI. The formatter command
## must be able to read from stdin and print to stdout. Check the docs of
## your preffered formatter if specific options are needed to accomplish that.
formatter = { command = "tex-fmt", args = ["--stdin", "--tabsize=8", "--wraplen=30"] }
## Set the clipboard program to be used. If not set, bibiman will choose a default
## depending on OS, envrionment vars and available binaries.
## Its possible to explicitly set one of the standard providers:
clipboard = "wayland" # other possible values: 'x-clip', 'x-sel', 'win32-yank', 'tmux'
## Its also possible to set a custom command:
[global.clipboard.custom]
paste = { command = "wl-copy", args = [ "--type", "text/plain" ] } # "paste" is meant as pasting to the clipboard, thus, the copy-command is needed
[citekey_formatter]
fields = []
ascii_only = true
case = "lowercase"

bibfiles

If no file or dir is set as bibfiles value, you have to add a path via CLI interface. If the bibfiles value is set and a further path (or multiple) is provided through the CLI call, the entries of all those files will be opened in the started bibiman session.

file_prefix

The file_prefix offers the possibility to keep file paths in your .bib file short: E.g. a combination of those values in config and bibfile:

# bibiman.toml
file_prefix = "~/Documents/literature"

% bibfile.bib
file = {aristotle.pdf}

Will result in opening the file ~/Documents/literature/aristotle.pdf when trying to open the PDF from inside bibiman. The .bib file itself will not be edited!

The prefix will only be added to filepaths which are explicitly set in the .bib file itself using the file field. It will not "destroy" file paths created through the pdf_path variable. Thus, it is safe to mix both approaches if wanted!

pdf_path and note_path

The pdf_path/note_path is used as path wich is recursivley searched for files which basename consists of the an entrys citekey plus a .pdf ending or one of the specified note endinfs (case-insensitive). Every file which matches this pattern for an existing citekey is associated with the particular entry for the current bibiman session and can be opened from within.

custom_column

Set a value for the fourth column used in the bibentry list. Possible values are:

• journaltitle: Lists the title of the journal the paper was published in.
• organization: Name of the organization.
• institution: Name of the institution the author belonged to.
• series: Title of the book series the work was published in.
• publisher: Name of the publisher.
• pubtype: BibLaTex pubtype; e.g. article, book, incollection etc.

Since the width of the values for the different fields can vary, it might be a good advice to use a rather wide terminal window when using a value like journaltitle.

editor and formatter

Can be set to external commands. If you want to use arguments use the syntax { command = <cmd>, args = [<args array>] }, otherwise the simple command name is enough.

If no editor is set, the fallbacks are VISUAL or EDITOR environment vars and as last try vi. The following editors have been tested:

• Helix
• Vim/Neovim
• Emacs (Terminal)
• Nano
• Emacs (GUI)

If the formatter is unset or the arguments are incorrect, the entries downloaded via DOI will be added with very basic formatting of the biblatex crate only. To run properly, the formatter must read from stdin and print the formatted string to stdout. Check the manpages of your favourite program for necessary options.

clipboard

Explicitly choose the used clipboard. Possible values:

• wayland
• x-clip
• x-sel
• pasteboard
• tmux
• win32-yank

Or set a custom program under the subheading [general.clipboard.custom]:

paste = { command = <cmd>, args = [<args array>] }

Citekey formatting

bibiman now also offers a citekey generating feature. This enables to reformat all citekeys based on an elaborated pattern matching syntax. For furthter information and examples see the docs.

Color Configuration

Furthermore, it is now possible to customize the colors. The following values can be changed:

[colors]
# Default values for dark-themed terminal
main_text_color = "250"
highlight_text_color = "254"
entry_color = "36"
keyword_color = "101"
info_color = "99"
confirm_color = "47"
warn_color = "124"
bar_bg_color = "234"
popup_fg_color = "43"
popup_bg_color = "234"
selected_row_bg_color = "237"
note_color = "123"
file_color = "209"
link_color = "27"
author_color = "38"
title_color = "37"
year_color = "135"

Colors can be set through three different methods: ANSI color names, 256-color indices and HEX codes. For example, the following definitions are all valid:

selected_row_bg_color = "darkgray" # ANSI color name (light_black or bright_black would also work)
selected_row_bg_color = "237" # 256-color index
selected_row_bg_color = "#3a3a3a" # HEX code

To run bibiman with some default values for a light-colored terminal use the --light-terminal flag.

Features

These are the current features, the list will be updated:

• Browse through the bib entries using Vim-like keybindings and a fuzzy search mode.
• Filter the bib entries by keywords (and afterwards filter further by fuzzy searching).
• Edit the current entry by opening a terminal-based editor at the specific line.
• Yank/Copy the citekey of the current entry to the system clipboard.
• Connect PDF files via file field or matching citekey basename.
• Open related PDF file with keypress.
• Open related URL/DOI with keypress.
• Scrollbar for better navigating.
• Sort Entries by column (Authors, Title, Year, <Custom column>), or by position in bibfile.
• Custom column to show extra information per entry.
• Load multiple files into one session.
• Add Entry via DOI.
• Format added entries with external formatting CLI tool.
• Implement config file for setting some default values like main bibfile, PDF-opener, or editor
• Connect notes files throuch matching citekey and basename.
• Create note file for bib entries.
• Hide LaTeX macros in user interface (e.g. in title, subtitle or abstract field).
• Format citekeys via CLI with elaborated pattern syntax.
• Support Hayagriva(.yaml) format as input (on hold for now, because the Hayagriva Yaml style doesn't offer keywords; s. issue in Hayagriva repo).

Please feel free to suggest further features through the issue functionality.

Keybindings

Use the following keybindings to manage the TUI:

Fast selection keys:

There are some shortcuts to select an item from the opening/yanking popup without navigating the list:

• o-o|o-l|o-n: directly opens the first file|link|note for the selected entry.
• y-y: directly yanks the citekey of the selected entry to the clipboard.

Search

To search through most important fields, just press / or Ctrl-f. If you only want to search specific fields (like Abstract or Title), press Alt-/ or Alt-f and select a field from the list.

The search mode uses the nucleo-matcher crate. Thus, fuzzy searching is enabled by default. You can use some special chars to alter pattern matching:

• ^... matches literally at beginning of the string.
• ...$ matches literally at end of the string.
• '... matches literally everywhere in string.

For the last literal match option beginning with ', which should be the most used feature, matches are highlighted in the selected search field. The highlighting stays intact until the list is reset or a new search is triggered.

Edit bib entry

The main editor can be set through the config file. Otherwise, the environment variables VISUAL and EDITOR will be used in this order. The last fallback solution is vi.

I've tested the following editors (set as value of VISUAL and through the config file):

• Helix: export VISUAL="hx"
• Vim/Neovim: export VISUAL="vim/nvim"
• Emacs (Terminal): export VISUAL="emacs -nw"
• Nano: export VISUAL="nano"
• Emacs (GUI): export VISUAL="emacs" (open emacs in separate window, blocks the terminal running bibiman as long as emacs is opened)

Feel free to try other editors and report. Important is that the editor supports the argument +.. to set the line number that the cursor should be placed at. Otherwise, the functionality might not work properly.

While this behaviour is most likely supported on UNIX-based systems (Linux, MacOS), it might not work under Windows. I can't test it on a Windows machine, thus, there might be unexpected errors with it.

Open connected files or links

bibiman also provides the possibility to open PDFs , note files, as well as DOIs and URLs connected with the different entries of the bibfile.

For selecting the right program, it uses xdg-open on Linux, open on MacOS, and start on Windows by default. Thanks to the report from @bastislack in #2 MacOS seems to work.

However, Windows does not work. Have to figure this out. Reports from some Windows users are very welcome.

Furthermore, DOIs have to begin with either https://doi... as full URL or 10.(...) as regular DOI style. URLs work if they begin with either http... or with www....

Note file creation

It is possible to create notes for an entry missing such a file. The note_path and note_extensions values need to be set in the config file or it will fail.

The notes basename is always the citekey of the selected entry and the directory is set to the value of the note_path variable. The extension can be choosen from one of the file format extension set in the note_extensions array.

Be aware: The operation of creating new notes is not permitted if the citekey contains some special chars which could cause problems with Unixish shell commands and file operations. Currently, the following chars are not allowed as part of the citekey: / | | | # | * | \ | " | ' | ; | !

The bibfile itself will not be edited. Therefore, you can't break anything in your bibfile with this operation!

Alternatives

I used JabRef for many years, but its way to bloated in my eyes. There exists a bunch of other graphical tools...

But there are also some TUI alternatives with slightly different approaches. Maybe one of these might fit your personal needs better:

• bibman (Haskell): A very nice CLI program including a TUI I also used for some times. It has way more CLI features (export etc.) at the moment.
• bibman (Python): A TUI written in Python with focus on Zotero-like functions. If you're used to Zotero, this might be a good fit.
• bibman (Perl): A fast and simple TUI written in good ol' Perl. It looks like back in the days, but seems not being maintained anymore.
• cobib: Very elaborated bib manager with CLI and TUI functions.
• papis: Powerful CLI tool for managing bibliographies and documents. Has also some TUI features.

Notes

No line of bibimans code in this repo was written by or only with the direct support of an AI agent. Thats very obvious if you take a look in the code since its not very idiomatic and sometimes even too complicated in some parts. It's one of my first hobby coding projects and I want it to be all human blood, sweat and tears 😉 . Thus, I also wont accept any PRs which contain obvious parts of LLM generated code and I leave it to myself to make a final assessment if this was the case or not.

However, all other PRs are very welcome and I'm always happy for any contribution; be it in form of code, issues or just ideas.