Extract text from PubMed citation files (NBIB)
To convert NBIB citations to another format, you need JabRef or other Data software.
To convert other file formats to the "Citation Data File" file type, you need software like JabRef or a similar tool.
The .NBIB file extension is a plain text bibliographic data format created by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). It is primarily used to export citation records from PubMed, the ERIC database, and other U.S. National Library of Medicine systems. Researchers use this format to download medical and scientific literature references and import them into citation managers like JabRef or Zotero.
The main disadvantage of the .NBIB format is its specialized, niche nature. While it is standard for PubMed, many popular or legacy reference managers struggle to parse its specific two-letter tagging system (e.g., 'FAU' for Full Author). Furthermore, sharing an .NBIB file with colleagues who do not use citation software is highly impractical; opening the file in a standard text editor reveals a rigid, hard-to-read list of data fields rather than a cleanly formatted bibliography.
To overcome these software limits, conversion is the most practical solution. For universal compatibility with older reference managers like EndNote, convert to RIS. If you are writing in LaTeX via Overleaf, convert to BIB (BibTeX). For manual review and filtering, convert to CSV to open the citations cleanly in spreadsheet software.
Convert.Guru analyzes your NBIB file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted RIS, TXT, BIB, CSV, BIBTEX, NIB, PDF, NLM, NBI, ACSM, ZIP, TSX and ERIC files.
If you want to convert NBIB file to RIS, BIBTEX, CSV, PDF, XML, JSON, YAML, YML, TOML, INI, CFG or CONF, you can use JabRef or similar software from the "Bibliographic Citation Data Transfer" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert DBF, XML, SQLITE, XLSX, SQL, TSV, ACCDB, YAML, MDB, CSV, ODS or JSON files to NBIB, try JabRef or another comparable tool in the "Bibliographic Citation Data Transfer" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our NBIB converter.