logos-refs

An Obsidian plugin that simplifies referencing and linking material from Logos Bible Software. Easily create formatted citations with metadata-based references and automatically generate bibliographies for your notes. Reference metadata is stored in YAML frontmatter format, making it compatible with Obsidian properties, Dataview queries, and the Bases plugin.

[!IMPORTANT] Before using this plugin, you must configure Logos Bible Software to use BibTeX citation style. Without this setting, copied references will not be recognized by the plugin. See Initial Setup for instructions.

Table of Contents

• Features
• Installation
• Configuration
• Usage
  • Pasting Logos References
  • Generating a Bibliography
• File Structure & Organization
• Development
• Contributing
• Support

Features

📋 Paste Logos Reference with BibTeX

Copy a passage from Logos Bible Software and paste it directly into your Obsidian notes with automatic citation formatting:

• Creates formatted quote blocks with proper attribution
• Automatically extracts BibTeX citation data
• Generates reference notes with YAML metadata (compatible with Obsidian properties and the Bases plugin)
• Generates or updates reference notes with bidirectional links
• Handles page numbers intelligently (single page vs. page ranges)
• Assigns unique block IDs for precise reference tracking
• Maintains a citation counter for each note
• Customizable citation callout type
• Backward compatible with existing BibTeX code block format

🧹 Clean Stale Citation Backlinks

Remove broken citation entries from reference notes with a single command:

• Checks every backlink in a reference note's ## Citations section
• Removes entries whose source block no longer exists in the linked note
• Only available when the active note is a reference note (in your refs folder or has a citekey frontmatter field)

📚 Generate Bibliography

Automatically compile all BibTeX references from your current note into a formatted bibliography:

• Scans all links in your document for BibTeX references
• Supports multiple bibliography formats (LaTeX/BibTeX, MLA, APA, and Chicago)
• Updates existing bibliography sections or creates new ones
• Removes duplicate entries automatically

📤 Export References

Export all your BibTeX references to a single file:

• Collects all references from your reference folder
• Creates a single .bib file ready for use with LaTeX or other citation managers
• Updates existing export file or creates a new one

Installation

From Obsidian Community Plugins

1. Open Obsidian Settings
2. Navigate to Community Plugins and disable Safe Mode
3. Click Browse and search for "logos-refs"
4. Install the plugin and enable it

Initial Setup

[!IMPORTANT] Logos Bible Software must be configured to use BibTeX citation style — this is required for the plugin to work. Without this setting, copied references will not be recognized. See Step 1 below.

1. In Logos Bible Software, configure the citation style:

   • Open Logos and go to Program Settings (gear icon or via the Logos menu)
   • Navigate to the Citation section
   • Set the citation style to BibTeX Style
   • ⚠️ This step is essential — the plugin will not work without it.

2. In the logos-refs plugin settings in Obsidian, configure your reference directory (e.g., refs or sources/biblical)

3. You're ready to start taking notes!

Configuration

Access the plugin settings through Obsidian Settings → Community Plugins → Logos-refs.

BibTeX Note Folder

Default: Vault root

Specify the folder where reference notes will be created. The plugin provides folder autocomplete to help you select an existing folder. If the folder doesn't exist, it will be created automatically when you paste your first reference.

Examples:

• refs - A simple refs folder at the vault root
• sources/biblical - Nested folder structure
• Leave empty to create reference notes at the vault root

Bibliography Format

Default: LaTeX (BibTeX)

Choose how bibliographies are formatted when using the "List all BibTeX references" command:

• LaTeX (BibTeX): Displays BibTeX entries in code blocks, ideal for academic writing with LaTeX
• MLA: Converts BibTeX to MLA format for humanities writing
• APA: Converts BibTeX to APA format (7th edition style)
• Chicago: Converts BibTeX to Chicago Manual of Style format

Citation Callout Type

Default: "Logos Ref"

Customize the callout type used for citations. You can change it to any Obsidian callout type you prefer (e.g., "Quote", "Citation", "Note"). This allows you to match your personal note-taking style or use different callout styles for different types of content.

Usage

Pasting Logos References

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/444c5892-8e17-43c4-8c8b-27a319315eec

1. In Logos Bible Software, select and copy the text you want to reference (Ctrl/Cmd+C)
2. In your Obsidian note, use the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P) and run "Paste Logos reference with BibTeX"
   • Or set up a hotkey for faster access
3. The plugin will:
   • Insert a formatted quote block with your copied text
   • Create a link to a reference note (or update an existing one)
   • Add page numbers if they were included in the Logos copy
   • Format the citation according to your selected bibliography format
   • Create a unique block reference ID for precise linking

What gets created:

In your current note (format varies by selected bibliography format):

> [!Logos Ref]
> Your copied text from Logos appears here
> [[refs/AuthorYear|(Author, 2020, p. 123)]] ^AuthorYear-1

Citation format examples:

• LaTeX/BibTeX: AuthorYear, p. 123
• APA: (Author, 2020, p. 123)
• MLA: (Author 123)
• Chicago: (Author 2020, 123)

In the reference note (refs/AuthorYear.md):

---
type: book
citekey: AuthorYear
author: Author Name
title: Book Title
publisher: Publisher
year: 2020
---

## Citations
- [[YourNote#^AuthorYear-1]] → p. 123

Generating a Bibliography

After citing multiple sources in your note, you can automatically generate a bibliography:

1. Use the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P) and run "List all BibTeX references"
2. The plugin will:
   • Scan all links in your current document
   • Collect BibTeX entries from linked reference notes
   • Generate a formatted bibliography based on your chosen format
   • Add or update a "## Bibliography" section at the end of your note

Example output (LaTeX format):

## Bibliography

\`\`\`bibtex
@book{AuthorYear,
  author = {Author Name},
  title = {Book Title},
  publisher = {Publisher},
  year = {2020}
}
\`\`\`

\`\`\`bibtex
@article{Smith2019,
  author = {Smith, John},
  title = {Article Title},
  journal = {Journal Name},
  year = {2019}
}
\`\`\`

Example output (MLA format):

## Bibliography

Author Name. *Book Title*. Publisher, 2020.

Smith, John. "Article Title." *Journal Name*, vol. 10, no. 2, 2019, pp. 45-67.

Example output (APA format):

## Bibliography

Author Name (2020). *Book Title*. Publisher.

Smith, J. (2019). Article Title. *Journal Name*, *10*(2), 45-67.

Example output (Chicago format):

## Bibliography

Author Name. *Book Title*. Publisher, 2020.

Smith, John. "Article Title." *Journal Name* 10, no. 2 (2019): 45-67.

Exporting References

After building your reference library, you can export all references to a single BibTeX file:

1. Use the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P) and run "Export all references to BibTeX file"
2. The plugin will:
   • Scan all reference notes in your configured reference folder
   • Collect all BibTeX entries
   • Create or update exported-references.bib in your vault root
   • Display how many references were exported

This file can be used directly with LaTeX documents or imported into citation managers like Zotero or Mendeley.

Cleaning Stale Citation Backlinks

Over time, you may delete or edit citations in your notes, leaving orphaned backlinks in the corresponding reference notes. To clean these up:

1. Open the reference note you want to clean (e.g., refs/Wright2013.md)
2. Use the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P) and run "Clean stale citation backlinks"
3. The plugin will:
   • Check every backlink in the ## Citations section
   • Remove any entry whose source block no longer exists in the linked note
   • Show a notice with how many stale entries were removed

Note: This command is only available when the active note is a reference note (located in your configured refs folder or containing a citekey frontmatter field).

File Structure & Organization

The plugin creates and manages reference notes automatically. Here's a typical structure:

your-vault/
├── refs/                           # Your configured reference folder
│   ├── Wright2013.md              # Individual reference notes
│   ├── Carson1991.md
│   └── Keener2014.md
├── notes/
│   ├── Sermon Notes.md            # Your content notes with citations
│   └── Research Paper.md          # Citations link to refs folder
└── Daily Notes/
    └── 2025-01-30.md              # Can cite from anywhere

Reference Note Structure: Each reference note contains:

1. YAML frontmatter metadata with the full citation information (type, author, title, year, publisher, etc.)
2. A "## Citations" section listing all places where this source is referenced
3. Bidirectional links back to specific quote blocks in your notes

Example reference note:

---
type: book
citekey: Wright2013
author: Wright, N. T.
title: Paul and the Faithfulness of God
publisher: Fortress Press
year: 2013
---

## Citations
- [[Sermon Notes#^Wright2013-1]] → p. 123
- [[Research Paper#^Wright2013-2]] → pp. 145-150

Benefits of this structure:

• Metadata Integration: Works seamlessly with Obsidian's Properties panel and metadata-aware plugins
• Bases Plugin Compatible: Metadata format is fully compatible with the Bases plugin for enhanced querying
• Dataview Support: Query your references using Dataview plugin (e.g., WHERE type = "book" AND year > 2010)
• See all places you've cited a particular source
• Navigate between quotes and their sources seamlessly
• Keep your reference library organized and reusable
• Export BibTeX for use in other tools (LaTeX, Zotero, etc.)
• Backward compatible with existing notes using BibTeX code blocks

Development

Code Structure

The plugin source code is organized in a modular structure for maintainability:

src/
├── main.ts                      # Plugin entry point and command orchestration
├── settings.ts                  # Settings interface and UI
├── types.ts                     # TypeScript type definitions
├── ui/                          # User interface components
│   ├── folder-suggest.ts        # Folder autocomplete
│   └── suggest.ts               # Base suggestion classes
└── utils/                       # Utility functions
    ├── bibtex-converter.ts      # BibTeX ↔ YAML conversion
    ├── citation-formatter.ts    # Citation formatting (LaTeX, MLA, APA, Chicago)
    ├── clipboard-parser.ts      # Parse Logos clipboard data
    └── file-manager.ts          # File operations

Each module has a single responsibility, making the code easier to test and maintain. See src/README.md for detailed documentation.

Building from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/joey-kilgore/logos-refs.git
cd logos-refs

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build the plugin
npm run build

# For development with auto-rebuild
npm run dev

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Here's how you can help:

Reporting Bugs

• Check existing Issues first to avoid duplicates
• Include steps to reproduce the bug
• Describe expected vs. actual behavior
• Include your Obsidian version and plugin version
• Screenshots or screen recordings are helpful!

Requesting Features

• Search existing Issues for similar requests
• Clearly describe the feature and its use case
• Explain how it would benefit Logos users
• Join the Discussion for broader ideas

Pull Requests

• Fork the repository and create a feature branch
• Follow the existing code style
• Test your changes thoroughly
• Update documentation if needed
• Submit a PR with a clear description of your changes

This plugin is under continuous development, and your feedback helps make it better for the Logos community!

Support

If you find this plugin helpful, consider showing your support:

• ⭐ Star the project on GitHub
• ☕ Sponsor the development
• 💬 Share feedback in Issues or Discussions
• 📢 Tell others who use Logos and Obsidian

Links

• Obsidian - The knowledge base application
• Logos Bible Software - Biblical study software
• Plugin Documentation
• Report Issues
• Discussions

License

MIT License - Copyright (c) 2025 Joey Kilgore