A Vahtian tool · free · runs in your browser
Check every Zotero citation in your manuscript before you submit.
Citations missing from the bibliography. The same paper listed twice under different numbers. Fields that stopped being live citations after Track Changes or a Google Docs round trip. Drop your Word file below and get every one of them listed, with its location and the exact repair step. The file is read in your browser and never uploaded.
Citation Integrity Report
The report records what these checks observed in the document's Zotero field data; it does not rule out problems they cannot reach. It does not compare records against the publication record. Your file stayed on your machine.
What it checks
- Missing bibliography entry. Cited in the text, absent from the reference list.
- Duplicate publication. The same work cited through two different Zotero items, so it can appear twice in the bibliography even when Zotero's own duplicate detector finds nothing.
- Uncited reference-list entry. In the bibliography, matched by no citation in the text.
- Broken citation field. Looks like a citation, but its stored Zotero data is damaged, so refresh cannot recover it.
- Flattened citation. Plain text where a live field should be, including citations that lost their link in Google Docs export or under Track Changes.
- Numbering gaps. Citation numbers that never appear in the text of a numerically cited manuscript.
- Location map. Every finding comes with its part, paragraph, footnote and table location, so you can find the problem in a 250-page thesis.
The checker reads the document only. It changes nothing: every finding comes with the Zotero and Word steps to repair it yourself.
Common Zotero problems this finds
Zotero citations missing from the bibliography
Usually a refresh problem or a flattened field. The checker lists each cited work that has no matching reference-list entry, with its location. Fix: refresh the document from the Zotero tab in Word; if the entry stays missing, re-insert that citation from Zotero.
Duplicate references in the bibliography, wrong numbering
When the same paper exists as two Zotero items (for example one imported from PubMed and one from a PDF), each gets its own number and its own bibliography line. Zotero's library duplicate detector cannot see this from inside the document. The checker groups citations by DOI and title, and flags works cited through more than one item. Fix: merge the items in Zotero (select both, right-click, Merge Items), then refresh the document.
Citations stopped updating after Track Changes or collaboration
Accepting or rejecting tracked changes, copying between documents, or a Google Docs round trip can leave citation text without its live field. These flattened citations look normal but no longer update. The checker flags citation-shaped plain text and Google Docs citation links that lost their connection.
Old citations come back after refresh
Often a duplicate item: you deleted one citation but the same work is still cited through a second Zotero item elsewhere. The duplicate-publication check shows every location where each work is cited, so you can see which fields to remove or merge.
How do I check all citations in a thesis before submission?
Drop the .docx here. Every citation field is read, cross-checked against the reference list, and reported with its location. There is no page or citation limit, and long documents stay on your machine.
How it works
A Word document stores each Zotero citation as a field with the reference's data inside it. The checker reads those fields directly, in your browser, and cross-checks them against each other and against the reference list in the same document. It is rule-based: no AI reads your manuscript, and the document never leaves your machine.
What it cannot do from the browser: it has no live connection to your Zotero library. If you add an exported copy (CSL JSON, read locally like the manuscript), it can also check that every cited work still exists in the library. It does not compare records against Crossref or PubMed. Those checks run in FullVahti, the free Zotero plugin, which can also check your references for retractions and metadata mismatches from inside Zotero itself. Whether each cited source supports the claim it is attached to is CiteVahti's question.