bib-merge

Merge multiple bibliography files, with automatic deduplication.

Usage

npx tsx ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/merge.ts file1.bib file2.bib file3.bib --output=merged.bib

Options

• --output=<file> - Output file (prints to stdout if omitted)
• --format=<format> - Output format (default: bibtex)
• --dedupe=<key> - Deduplication key: id or doi (default: id)
• --sort - Sort merged entries by ID

Deduplication

Entries are deduplicated based on the specified key:

By ID (default):

• Entries with same id field are considered duplicates
• First occurrence is kept

By DOI:

• Entries with same DOI are considered duplicates
• Useful for merging references to the same paper from different sources

Examples

Merge two BibTeX files:

npx tsx ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/merge.ts refs1.bib refs2.bib --output=all-refs.bib

Merge and deduplicate by DOI:

npx tsx ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/merge.ts pubmed.ris scopus.bib --dedupe=doi --output=merged.bib

Merge with sorting:

npx tsx ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/merge.ts *.bib --output=sorted.bib --sort

Output

Merging 3 files...
Total entries after merge: 150
Written to: merged.bib

Mixed Format Support

The merge tool handles files in different formats:

# Merge BibTeX + RIS + EndNote XML
npx tsx ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/merge.ts refs.bib papers.ris data.xml --output=all.bib

All inputs are converted to the output format.

Notes

• File formats are auto-detected
• Original metadata is preserved where possible
• Deduplication is case-sensitive
• Merge order matters (first occurrence wins for duplicates)