Manual entry
In short: In the Library tab, click Add Publications → Manual Entry. Paste a DOI and click Fetch details to fill the form from OpenAlex or Crossref, or type the details yourself. Only a title is required. Choose My references + corpus or Corpus only, then click Add publication. The form clears so you can add the next one.
Steps
- Open the project and click the Library tab.
- Click Add Publications → Manual Entry. The page is headed "Add a publication by hand".
- Paste the DOI into the DOI field, for example
10.1038/s41586-023-00000-0. A full doi.org link works too. - Click Fetch details (or press
Enter). When it works, you see "Filled from OpenAlex" or "Filled from Crossref", followed by "check the fields, edit anything, then add." - Check the Publication type, Title, Authors, Year and venue. Edit anything that's wrong.
- Optional: click More details to add more fields.
- Under Add to, choose My references + corpus or Corpus only.
- Click Add publication. "Publication added. The form is cleared for the next one." confirms it.
No DOI? Skip steps 3–4 and fill in the fields yourself.
Fields
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| DOI | The most reliable identifier. It lets SciNodes remove duplicates and link citations across your corpus. |
| Publication type | Journal Article, Conference Paper, Preprint, Thesis, Book Chapter or Review |
| Title | Required |
| Authors | One per row. Click Add author for more. |
| Year | |
| Venue | The label changes with the type: Journal, Conference / Proceedings, Repository, Institution or Book title |
Under More details (optional):
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Volume, Issue, Pages, Edition | |
| Publisher, Language | |
| Editors | Separate names with semicolons |
| URL | Shown as "Open at publisher" in the details panel |
| PMID, arXiv ID, ISBN, ISSN | Other identifiers |
| Keywords | Type a keyword and press Enter to add it |
| Abstract | Paste it if you have it |
Where it goes
| Option | Result |
|---|---|
| My references + corpus | "File it in your library and add it to the project corpus" |
| Corpus only | "Add it to the project corpus without filing it" |
See Folders for what My references is.
Tips
- Fetch details only fills fields it found. Anything you already typed in other fields stays.
- "N added this session" next to the buttons counts how many you've added since opening the page.
- Clear empties the form without adding anything.
- To add a PDF, open the new publication in the list and click Upload PDF. See Fetching and uploading PDFs.
Troubleshooting
| Message | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "This DOI wasn't found in OpenAlex or Crossref — you can fill the fields in manually." | Neither catalog knows this DOI | Check it, or type the details yourself |
| "That doesn't look like a DOI — check it, or fill the fields in manually." | The text isn't a DOI | DOIs start with 10. |
| "The lookup service is unavailable — try again, or fill the fields in manually." | The lookup didn't answer | Try again later, or type the details |
| "Add a title first." (on the button) | The title is empty | Type a title |
| "Already in this corpus — nothing new was added. The form is cleared for the next one." | The publication was already in the corpus | Nothing to do |
| "Added to the corpus, but "My references" wasn't ready yet — you can file it from the corpus list." | It's in the corpus but not filed | File it into My references from the list |
| "Could not save the publication — try again." | Saving failed | Try again |
FAQ
Do I need a DOI?
No. Only a title is required. A DOI makes the entry more accurate and helps with duplicates and citation links.
Can I add many publications this way?
Manual entry adds one at a time. For many, export them as RIS or BibTeX and use Upload Anything. See Uploading files.
Can I edit a publication after adding it?
You can give it an alias, file it in folders and attach a PDF, but the bibliographic fields are read-only once added. See Publication details.
Where does Fetch details get its data?
From OpenAlex or Crossref. The message tells you which one filled the form.