Sync references from Mendeley

Bring the references you collect in Mendeley into your LaTeX project. Link your library, a group or a single folder to a .bib file in the project, sync it on demand, and cite from the editor’s References panel.

Plan

Reference manager sync is part of Luzbase Pro. On a plan without it, the Connect and Link a library buttons open the upgrade dialog instead. See Plans and limits.

How the sync works

• One way, from Mendeley to Luzbase. Luzbase only reads your library. Nothing is ever written back to Mendeley.
• Manual. A sync runs only when someone presses Sync. Nothing syncs in the background, and there is no schedule.
• Into one .bib file on one branch. Each linked library or folder has its own .bib file. A sync rewrites that file on the branch you have open in the editor.
• The whole file is rewritten every time. The file starts with a comment saying it is managed by Luzbase. Don’t edit it by hand, because the next sync replaces your edits. Change the reference in Mendeley instead.
• Citation keys stay the same between syncs. You can keep citing the same keys after every sync.

Each Mendeley sync reads the whole library or folder again. Luzbase then updates only the entries that changed.

Connect your Mendeley account

1. Open your avatar menu and click Profile, then click Reference managers in the account settings menu. You can also go straight to luzbase.com/account/integrations.
2. Next to Mendeley, click Connect.
3. Mendeley opens and asks you to sign in and allow access. Approve it.
4. You come back to Luzbase and see “Mendeley is now connected.” The row now shows a Connected badge.

Finish the round trip within 10 minutes. If it takes longer, or you cancel at Mendeley, Luzbase shows Could not connect Mendeley. Click Back to reference managers and start again.

Tip

You can also connect from inside a project. In the Link a library dialog described below, click Connect Mendeley, and you return to the same page afterwards.

Link a library to your project

You need to be an editor or the owner of the project.

1. Open the project in the editor.
2. Click References in the editor header. On narrow screens the button shows only a book icon.
3. Click Link a library, or + Link if the project already has a linked library.
4. Fill in the dialog:
   • Reference manager: choose Mendeley. This field appears only when you have connected both Zotero and Mendeley.
   • Library: My Library is your personal library. Mendeley groups you belong to appear as “name (group)”.
   • Collection: Whole library, or one folder. Subfolders are listed indented under their parent.
   • File in the project: the .bib path to write. The default is references.bib. If another linked library already uses that name, Luzbase suggests one based on the folder name.
5. Click Link and sync. Luzbase links the library and runs the first sync straight away.

You can also link from the project page: open Settings, then References, and click Link a library. The button there reads Link, and it doesn’t sync. Open the editor’s References panel and press Sync to fill the file.

Pick a new file name

If a text file already exists at the path you choose, the first sync replaces its contents with your Mendeley references. To keep a .bib you wrote by hand, give the synced file a different name, for example mendeley.bib. You can use more than one .bib file in the same document.

Sync to get the latest references

1. In the editor, click References.
2. Under Linked libraries, click Sync next to the library.
3. When it finishes, a message tells you what changed, for example “references.bib: 3 added, 1 removed.” or “references.bib: already up to date.”

The sync writes into the branch you’re on. The panel says which one: “Syncing writes into the main branch.” Each linked library shows when it was last synced, or the error from the last attempt.

The synced file lands in the branch’s live copy, the same as an edit you type. Everyone on that branch sees it at once. It becomes part of your history the next time you save a version.

What a sync brings in:

• New documents are added.
• Changed documents are updated.
• Documents that are no longer in the library, or no longer in the linked folder, are removed.

Use the file in your document

Point your document at the synced file the way you would with any .bib file. With biblatex:

\usepackage[style=numeric]{biblatex}
\addbibresource{references.bib}

% ... in the text
This was measured before \cite{curie1898}.

\printbibliography

With BibTeX, leave out the .bib extension:

\bibliographystyle{plain}
\bibliography{references}

For more on styles and commands, see Bibliographies.

Cite from the References panel

Once a library has synced, the References panel lists its entries.

1. Click References in the editor header.
2. Type in Search by key, title or author to find an entry.
3. Click the entry. Luzbase inserts \cite{key} at your cursor.

If the open file can’t take text, for example when an image is open, clicking an entry copies its key instead. The list shows the first 100 matches, so search to narrow it down.

Citation keys

If a document has a citation key set in Mendeley, Luzbase uses it. Otherwise Luzbase generates a key for the document.

An entry keeps its key from one sync to the next unless you set a different key in Mendeley. A key once used for one document is never given to another document, even after the first one is deleted.

Working with collaborators

• Any editor or owner of the project can press Sync on a linked library. Viewers can browse and search the references but can’t sync or link.
• The sync reads Mendeley through the account of the member who linked the library. That member’s plan must include reference manager sync. If it doesn’t, the sync fails with “The plan of the member who linked this source does not include reference manager sync.”
• If the member who linked the library leaves the project or becomes a viewer, the sync stops working. Unlink the library and link it again from your own account.
• On a protected branch, only the owner can sync. Everyone else should switch to their own branch first. See Branches.
• Archived projects can’t be synced.

Unlink a library from a project

Unlinking stops the sync but keeps the file.

1. On the project page, open Settings, then References.
2. Click Unlink next to the library. You see this button if you linked the library or if you own the project.
3. Confirm with Unlink.

The .bib file stays in the project as an ordinary file, and you can edit it freely. You can link the library again at any time.

Disconnect Mendeley

1. Go to Account settings → Reference managers.
2. Click Disconnect next to Mendeley.
3. Confirm with Disconnect.

Every library you linked through your Mendeley account is unlinked from every project. The .bib files already in your projects stay as they are. Luzbase deletes the access it stored for your Mendeley account. You can disconnect at any time, even if your plan no longer includes sync.

If a row shows Reconnect needed, Mendeley no longer accepts Luzbase’s access. Click Reconnect to fix it.

Limits

Limit	Value
Size of one synced .bib file	1 MB. A bigger library fails with “this library is too large for one .bib file; link a collection of it instead”. Link a folder instead of the whole library.
Syncs per person	60 per hour
Syncs at once	One per linked library. A second one gets “this source is already syncing”.
Entries shown in the panel	The first 100. Search to find others.

If a sync fails

Message	What to do
“the Mendeley connection was revoked; reconnect it under Account › Reference managers”	Go to Reference managers and click Reconnect.
“the linked collection no longer exists in Mendeley; unlink this source and link another”	The folder was deleted in Mendeley. Unlink it and link another folder.
“Mendeley asked us to slow down; try again in a little while”	Wait a few minutes, then sync again.
“Mendeley took too long to answer; try again” or “Mendeley could not be reached; try again”	Try again later.
“path exists on this branch and is not a text file”	Choose a different file name when you link the library.

A large sync can take longer than the page waits for. When that happens, Luzbase keeps checking for up to two minutes and then shows “path is up to date.” or the error.

Related

• Sync references from Zotero
• Bibliographies
• Save a version
• Plans and limits