Installation¶

bibsync is distributed as a Rust command-line tool, a Python package with bindings to the Rust implementation, and pre-built release binaries.

Cargo¶

Use Cargo when you already have a Rust toolchain and want the native CLI:

cargo install bibsync

This installs the bibsync command from crates.io.

PyPI¶

Use pip when you want Python bindings or prefer Python packaging:

pip install bibsync

The PyPI package requires Python 3.12 or newer. It provides:

• import bibsync for Python workflows.
• The bibsync console command, backed by the same Rust implementation used by the native CLI.

Example Python usage:

import bibsync

report = bibsync.sync_files(
    ["main.tex"],
    output="references.bib",
    provider="inspire",
    check=True,
)

Pre-built Binaries¶

Pre-built binaries are attached to each GitHub release.

Download the archive matching your platform:

Then extract the archive and put the executable on your PATH.

On Linux or macOS:

tar -xzf bibsync-vX.Y.Z-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
sudo install -m 0755 bibsync /usr/local/bin/bibsync

On Windows, extract the .zip archive and place bibsync.exe in a directory listed in PATH.

Compile From Source¶

Build from source when you want the current development version or need a platform without a pre-built binary:

git clone https://github.com/isaac-cf-wong/bibsync.git
cd bibsync
cargo build --release

The compiled binary is written to:

• target/release/bibsync on Linux and macOS.
• target\release\bibsync.exe on Windows.

To install that binary manually, copy it to a directory on your PATH.

Development Install¶

For local development of the Python package:

git clone https://github.com/isaac-cf-wong/bibsync.git
cd bibsync
uv sync --group dev
uv run pytest

This builds the PyO3 extension in the local uv environment and runs the Python binding tests.