CiteChain is a comprehensive web application for automated citation searching, designed to support systematic literature reviews by identifying backward citations (references) and forward citations (citing papers) from seed articles. The application integrates multiple academic databases (OpenAlex and Semantic Scholar) to provide comprehensive citation coverage with advanced deduplication and enrichment capabilities.
- OpenAlex Integration
- Semantic Scholar Integration
- Smart Fallback System: Automatic fallback between APIs for maximum coverage
- File Upload Support: RIS, NBIB (PubMed), and EndNote XML formats
- Identifier Entry: DOI, PMID, and PMCID support
- Batch Processing: Handle up to 100 seed references simultaneously
- Real-time Validation: Immediate feedback on reference quality and coverage
- Backward Citations: Find references cited by your seed references
- Forward Citations: Discover papers that cite your seed references
- Combined Results: Unified view with intelligent deduplication
- Smart Deduplication: Remove duplicates using hierarchical identifier matching (DOI → PMID → PMCID → OpenAlex → MAG → Title)
- Abstract Enrichment: Automatically enrich OpenAlex citations with abstracts from Semantic Scholar
- Batch Optimization: Efficient API usage with configurable batch sizes
- Rate Limiting: Built-in rate limiting to respect API constraints
- Detailed Statistics: Deduplication metrics, and source breakdowns
- Interactive Tables: Citation tables with rich metadata
- Export Capabilities: Download results in RIS format for reference managers
- Real-time Progress: Live updates during processing with detailed server logging
- IndexedDB Storage: Client-side persistence using IndexedDB for large datasets
- Session Recovery: Resume work after browser restarts
- Data Integrity: Robust error handling and data validation
- Node.js 18+
- pnpm 9.15.0+ (recommended package manager)
-
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/AliAzlanDev/citechain-new.git cd citechain-new -
Install dependencies
pnpm install
-
Start the development server
pnpm dev
-
Open in browser
Navigate to http://localhost:3000 to start using CiteChain.
# Build for production
pnpm build
# Start production server
pnpm startChoose one or more methods to provide seed references:
- Drag and drop or select files in supported formats:
- RIS files (.ris) - Most reference managers
- NBIB files (.nbib) - PubMed format
- EndNote XML (.xml) - EndNote exports
- Enter identifiers directly:
- DOI:
10.1234/example.doi - PMID:
12345678 - PMCID:
PMC1234567
- DOI:
The system automatically validates and resolves metadata for each reference.
- OpenAlex: Has over 250 million scholarly works
- Semantic Scholar: Has over 200 million papers with rich metadata
- Both: Both providers followed by deduplication
- Backward: Find references cited by your seed references
- Forward: Find papers that cite your seed references
- Both: Complete bidirectional search
- View Results: Interactive tables
- Download Citations: Export in RIS format for reference managers
- Analyze Statistics: Deduplication metrics
citechain-new/
├── app/ # Next.js app directory
│ ├── api/ # API routes
│ │ ├── search-citations/ # Citation search endpoint
│ │ └── validate-seed-references/ # Reference validation endpoint
│ ├── globals.css # Global styles
│ ├── layout.tsx # Root layout component
│ └── page.tsx # Main application page
├── components/ # React components
│ ├── step-1/ # Seed reference import components
│ ├── step-2/ # Citation search configuration
│ ├── step-3/ # Results display and download
│ └── ui/ # Reusable UI components
├── lib/ # Core libraries and utilities
│ ├── citations/ # Citation search module
│ │ ├── index.ts # Main citation search API
│ │ ├── processors.ts # Processing logic
│ │ ├── services.ts # API service functions
│ │ ├── types.ts # Type definitions
│ │ └── README.md # Module documentation
│ ├── validation/ # Reference validation module
│ │ ├── index.ts # Main validation API
│ │ ├── processors.ts # Validation logic
│ │ ├── services.ts # API service functions
│ │ ├── types.ts # Type definitions
│ │ └── README.md # Module documentation
│ ├── error.ts # Error handling utilities
│ ├── generate-ris.ts # RIS format generation
│ ├── openalex.ts # OpenAlex API integration
│ ├── parse.ts # File parsing utilities
│ ├── s2.ts # Semantic Scholar API integration
│ ├── store.ts # Zustand state management
│ ├── types.ts # Global type definitions
│ ├── use-citation-search.ts # Citation search hook
│ └── utils.ts # Utility functions
├── package.json # Dependencies and scripts
├── next.config.ts # Next.js configuration
├── tsconfig.json # TypeScript configuration
└── README.md # This file
- Next.js 15.3.4: React framework with App Router
- React 19: Latest React with concurrent features
- TypeScript 5: Full type safety
- Tailwind CSS 4: Utility-first CSS framework
- Radix UI: Accessible component primitives
- Motion: Smooth animations and transitions
- Zustand: Lightweight state management
- IndexedDB: Client-side persistent storage via
idb-keyval
- Zod: Runtime type validation
- BibLib: Bibliography file parsing
- Nanoid: Unique ID generation
- Bottleneck: Rate limiting for API calls
- Built-in Fetch: HTTP client with timeout handling
- ESLint: Code linting
- PostCSS: CSS processing
- pnpm: Fast, disk space efficient package manager
Handles the core citation searching functionality with support for:
- Multiple API providers (OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar)
- Bidirectional searching (backward/forward citations)
- Advanced deduplication strategies
- Abstract enrichment from multiple sources
- Comprehensive error handling and logging
Manages seed reference validation and metadata resolution:
- Multi-identifier support (DOI, PMID, PMCID, OpenAlex, MAG)
- Smart fallback strategies between APIs
- Title-based search as last resort
- Duplicate detection and statistics
- Optimized batch processing
POST /api/search-citations
Search for backward and forward citations using validated seed references.
// Request
{
"inputs": [
{
"id": "string",
"openalex_id": "string?",
"s2_id": "string?",
"doi": "string?",
"pmid": "string?",
"title": "string?"
}
],
"options": {
"provider": "openalex" | "semantic_scholar" | "both",
"direction": "backward" | "forward" | "both"
}
}
// Response
{
"success": true,
"data": {
"backward": Citation[],
"forward": Citation[],
"combined": Citation[],
"deduplication": {
"backwardProviderOverlap": number,
"forwardProviderOverlap": number,
"directionOverlap": number
},
"statistics": {
"totalBackward": number,
"totalForward": number,
"totalCombined": number,
"sources": {
"openalex": { "backward": number, "forward": number },
"semanticScholar": { "backward": number, "forward": number }
}
}
}
}POST /api/validate-seed-references
Validate and resolve metadata for seed references.
// Request
{
"references": [
{
"id": "string",
"title": "string?",
"doi": "string?",
"pmid": "string?",
"pmcid": "string?",
"openalex": "string?",
"mag": "string?"
}
]
}
// Response
{
"results": [
{
"id": "string",
"found": boolean,
"searched_by_title": boolean,
"data": {
"title": "string",
"doi": "string?",
"journal": "string?",
"openalex_id": "string?",
"s2_id": "string?",
"year": number
} | null
}
],
"deduplication": {
"doi": number,
"pmid": number,
// ... other identifier types
}
}- API Efficiency: Optimized batch sizes reduce API calls
- Processing Speed: Parallel processing and smart fallbacks minimize total time
- Memory Usage: Map-based processing handles references efficiently
- Seed Reference Limit: Maximum 100 seed references per session
- API Rate Limits (enough for most use cases):
- OpenAlex: 10 requests/second
- Semantic Scholar: 1 request/second
- Use DOIs when available for best success rates
- Process references in smaller batches for faster feedback
- Prefer both providers for maximum coverage
We welcome contributions! Please see our contributing guidelines:
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch:
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature - Commit changes:
git commit -m 'Add amazing feature' - Push to branch:
git push origin feature/amazing-feature - Open a Pull Request
- Follow TypeScript best practices
- Add tests for new functionality
- Update documentation for API changes
- Ensure accessibility compliance
- Test across different browsers
This project is licensed under the GNU General Public License - see the LICENSE file for details.
- Ali Azlan - Lead Developer - @AliAzlanReal
- Wajeeha Fatima Tareen - Research Contributor
- Abdul Wahab Mirza - Research Contributor
- Abraiz Ahmad - Research Contributor
- Zoha Rafaqat - Research Contributor
- Sophia Ahmed - Research Contributor
- OpenAlex for providing open access to scholarly metadata
- Semantic Scholar for enriching citations with abstracts and additional metadata
- BibLib for robust bibliography file parsing
- Next.js team for the excellent framework
- Vercel for deployment platform
For support, questions, or feature requests:
- Email: aliazlanreal@gmail.com
- Website: citechain.aliazlan.me
- Issues: GitHub Issues
CiteChain - Making systematic literature reviews more efficient
Developed with ❤️ by Ali Azlan