Citation Styles

Zotero ships with several popular citation styles for creating citations and bibliographies, and over 8,100 additional styles can be found in the Zotero Style Repository. All these styles are written in the Citation Style Language (CSL), a format also supported by Mendeley, Papers, and many other programs.

Installing Additional Styles

Zotero Style Repository

You can install styles from the Zotero Style Repository by clicking on the “Get additional styles…” option in the Zotero Style Manager (in the Cite pane of Zotero preferences). Search for the style you want and click the style title to install it into Zotero. You can also visit the Zotero Style Repository webpage in Firefox or Chrome with the Zotero Connector plugin installed to install styles directly into Zotero.

The repository allows you to search by style name, and filter by style type and academic field of study. By checking the box “Show only unique styles”, duplicate styles that share the exact same format are hidden (e.g. for the journal-specific styles “Nature”, “Nature Biotechnology”, “Nature Chemistry”, etc., only the independent “Nature” style is shown).

Alternative Installation Methods

You can also install CSL styles (with a “.csl” extension) from local files on your computer (e.g., styles that you edit yourself or that you download from another website). In the Zotero Style Manager, click the '+' button, then find the style file on your computer.

Managing and Editing Styles

You can remove installed styles by clicking the '-' button in the Zotero Style Manager. From this tab, you can also preview style output for the selected items in Zotero and edit installed styles.

Reporting Style Errors

If a CSL style doesn’t give the expected output, first make sure that you are running the latest (stable) version of Zotero, and have the most recent version of the style installed from the Zotero Style Repository. Once you have made sure that the style deviates from the style guide, instructions for authors, or published examples, report the error to the Zotero forums. For your post, use the title “Style Error: [Name of style]”, and give a link to, or excerpt from, the style guide that shows that the CSL style is wrong. You can also try to edit the style yourself.

Requesting New Styles

If you can't find the style you're looking for in the Zotero Style Repository, feel free to request a style. When requesting styles, please provide formatted references for the Campbell/Pedersen article and the Mares chapter listed on the linked page. Please also provide a link to a free-to-access article using the style (if available). You can also try to create the style yourself.

Questions