This article covers which file formats Rayyan accepts for importing references. If you are ready to upload and want step-by-step instructions, see How to Upload References into Rayyan.
Supported reference formats
Rayyan accepts references exported in the following formats. Where available, download the example file to test an upload, compare with your own file, or verify field mapping before importing a full dataset.
| Format | Extension | Abstracts included? | Example file |
|---|---|---|---|
| EndNote Export | .enw | Yes | Download .enw |
| RefMan / RIS | .ris | Yes — with full record export | Download .ris |
| BibTeX | .bib | Depends on source — see note below | Download .bib |
| CSV | .csv | Yes — if abstract column is included | Download .csv |
| PubMed / NBIB | .nbib | Yes | Download .nbib |
| PubMed XML | .xml | Yes | Download .xml |
| Web of Science / CIW | .ciw | Yes — with full record export | Download .ciw |
| Yes — Rayyan extracts available metadata automatically | See How to Add and Manage Full-Text PDFs in Rayyan |
Common issue Always select “full record” or “include abstract” when exporting from your database — missing abstracts reduce the accuracy of Rayyan’s AI features including Relevance Ranking and PICO extraction. If abstracts are missing after import, the issue is almost always in how the file was exported, not in Rayyan.
Note BibTeX exports from some sources — including Google Scholar — do not include abstracts. If you are exporting from EndNote, use the EndNote Export (.enw) or RefMan RIS (.ris) format instead of BibTeX to ensure abstracts are included.
Supported file containers
In addition to standard reference files, Rayyan can process supported reference content packaged inside the following containers. Download an example to see how the structure should look.
| Container | Extension | Example file |
|---|---|---|
| Text file | .txt | Download .txt |
| Microsoft Word | .docx | Download .docx |
| GZ compressed file | .ris.gz | Download .ris.gz |
| ZIP archive | .zip | Download .zip |
Note ZIP and GZ archives must be uploaded via My Library — direct device upload is not supported for compressed files. Rayyan extracts the reference files from the archive automatically once uploaded.
How Rayyan handles formatting after import
- Formatting may not be preserved exactly — Rayyan processes and stores records in its own internal structure. Minor formatting details from the original file may not carry over precisely
- Accession numbers are replaced — Rayyan replaces the original accession number from the source file with a Rayyan-assigned ID. This is expected behavior
- Date formats — Rayyan supports a wide range of date structures including full dates, partial dates, month-year, and seasonal formats. Most standard exports parse correctly without manual adjustment
Note If you notice differences between imported records and the original source file, this is usually due to formatting normalization during import — not data loss. Core citation fields (title, authors, abstract, DOI, year) are preserved.
If your source does not export in a standard format
- Use a reference manager as a converter — open the file in Zotero or EndNote and re-export in RIS or BibTeX format before uploading to Rayyan
- Adapt a CSV export — if the source can export to CSV, restructure the columns to match the expected format before uploading. Use the CSV example file as a reference for the expected structure
Continue to: How to Import References from Major Databases