How to add structured BibTeX citations in Confluence Cloud

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Want to add properly formatted academic references to your Confluence documentation or research notes? Whether you're creating internal wikis, research repositories, or collaborative academic content, having structured citations can make your content more credible and easier to navigate.

Here's how to reference academic sources in Confluence using built-in tools - and how to take it further with enhanced formatting.

Option 1: Table and anchors (manual)

While Confluence doesn't include a native BibTeX citation macro, you can still manually create BibTeX-style references with a combination of anchor links and a table.

1. First, add a reference table to your page with your chosen headings (often at the bottom). Populate your table with references.
2. Type /anchor before the text in your first cell to add an anchor link for that row. Give the link a meaningful (but easy to remember) name - for example, we've called ours "Neeley".
3. On your page, find where you want to add your first citation. Add the author’s surname in square brackets (e.g. “[Neeley]”). 
4. Highlight your citation and click the link icon. Then add # followed by your anchor name (e.g. “#Neeley”).

5. Repeat steps 2-4 for every citation on your page.
6. When you’re done, press “Publish” or “Update”.

While these methods work for basic citation needs, they don't support BibTeX standards, which is important if you're looking for consistency across documents.

When you might want a more advanced solution

If you need standardised, reusable academic references (like for technical documentation or research outputs), a more structured approach like BibTeX can help:

• Searchable, standardised citation format
  
  
• In-text citations using author names or numbers
  
  
• Auto-generated reference tables
  
  

Option 2: Full BibTeX referencing

For basic referencing, anchors and tables might be enough. But if you're handling a lot of academic content or technical documentation, a third-party app can offer greater structure, clarity, and consistency. 

Our guide uses Mosaic: Content Formatting Macros & Templates, which includes a BibTeX macro that simplifies the referencing process.

Part 1: Add an in-text citation

1. Edit your Confluence page.
   
   
2. Type /bibtex and select BibTeX Referencing.
3. Choose whether your citation appears as a number or an author name.

4. Paste your BibTeX entry into the macro. Here’s an example format:
   
   
   @article{example2025,

  author = {Doe, Jane},

  title = {Understanding Citations},

  journal = {Journal of Examples},

  year = {2025}

}

5. If displaying by author, enter the author name as you want it to appear (e.g. “Doe”). 
   
   
6. Click Save to insert the citation into your page. 
7. Repeat these steps for all citations on your page.
   
   

Part 2: Add a reference table

1. Scroll to where you'd like the references to appear (often at the bottom of the page).
2. Type /bibtex and select BibTeX Summary. 

3. This inserts a reference list that collects all BibTeX citations from the page. 

4. Publish the page to see your formatted citation table in action. 

How do you structure your academic documentation? Share your tips or questions below 👇