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BibDesk vs Citations: catalog facts
BibDesk	Citations
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source under the GPL-3.0 or later.
macOS	Linux
Links references to their PDFs and web pages One-click import from Google Scholar, arXiv and PubMed	Works directly with plain BibTeX files Native GNOME interface
macOS only Built around BibTeX, less suited to Word-based workflows	Linux only Limited to the BibTeX format
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL-3.0-or-later
No account needed	No account needed
Works offline	Works offline
Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Checked October 1, 2026

Catalog facts only. Anything “not stated” is unconfirmed. Check full listings for details.