"Check consistency" option not visible in Jabref 5.15

Help
1

Hello everybody,

I use JabRef ver. 5.15 and I would like to found out whether my *.bib file is valid or not together with details where the problems are. Option “Check consistency” should exist in the Quality menu (under the option “Check integrity” (perhaps)), but I cannot see this option for checking consistency at all, see figure below. Is it possible to find this option somewhere else or validate my file in another way together with reparations of possible errors in the bib file?

Thank you very much for your feedback in advance :slight_smile:

Best regards,

Martina

obrazek
obrazek442×253 37.8 KB

2

Hi,

The consistency check is only available in 6.0.alpha2 and newer (latest dev version)

You can always read about it in the changelog.

However, we are planning a new 6.0 alpha release very soon which will include the fix.

In the meantime I recommend using the latest dev version https://builds.jabref.org/main/

3

If you don’t want to upgrade JabRef right now, another way to validate bib files is with a text editor and language server. The TexLab extension for VSCode is one example. There are also some online validators, such as Online BibTeX Tidy - Clean up BibTeX files and https://biblatex-linter.onrender.com/. I can’t comment on the quality or features of the online validators.

4

If you don’t want to upgrade JabRef you could simply use the cli tool JabKit, you can find an up to date portable version here: https://builds.jabref.org/main/ just download the portable compressed file for your operating system and than you can use the command line to start it.

Here is an quick Tutorial on how to do so:

  1. Unpack the previously downloaded file
  2. Navigate to the folder you unpacked containing the jabkit executable
    1. For Windows navigate inside: jabkit
    2. For MacOs navigate inside: jabkit.app\Contents\MacOS
    3. For Linux navigate inside: jabkit\bin
  3. Copy your .bib file to this folder.
  4. Than you can execute this command (just replace Chocolate.bib with your .bib file)
    1. Windows using Powershell:
      .\jabkit.exe check-consistency --output-format=txt --input=Chocolate.bib
    2. Linux or MacOs:
      1. chmod +x ./jabkit
      2. ./jabkit check-consistency --output-format=txt --input=Chocolate.bib

Now you should see an matrix output with the consistency check.

I hope this helps. Otherwise, please let us know where you’re encountering difficulties.

1 Like
5

That’s a great idea. I’ve been meaning to learn how to use jabkit. Thanks.