BibTeXbiber

BibTeXbiber is a term used to describe the set of tools, workflows, and guidance that facilitate interoperability between BibTeX bibliographies and the BibLaTeX/Biber workflow. It encompasses scripts, converters, and best practices aimed at migrating a bibliography database from traditional BibTeX usage to the BibLaTeX and Biber backend. The name reflects the TeX community’s shift from BibTeX to BibLaTeX, while recognizing that many users start with BibTeX-style databases.

Migration generally involves updating the LaTeX setup to use BibLaTeX with backend=biber and converting field names and entry types to biblatex equivalents. BibTeXbiber-focused tooling maps common fields such as author, title, year, journal, volume, number, pages, doi, and url to their biblatex counterparts (for example, journaltitle and date). It also helps with reconciling entry types (article, inproceedings, book, etc.) and addressing nonstandard fields, capitalization, and Unicode handling to preserve data integrity during the transition.

Usage patterns include command-line converters that read a BibTeX file and emit a biblatex-compatible .bib file, often with validation flags or preflight checks. These tools are sometimes integrated into editor workflows or version-control pipelines to streamline migration. Limitations exist: automatic conversions may not capture every customization from user-defined BibTeX styles, and some BibTeX fields have no direct biblatex equivalent. In such cases, manual review and testing with Biber remain advisable.

Overall, BibTeXbiber represents ongoing community efforts to ease the migration to BibLaTeX and Biber, providing practical tooling and guidance while acknowledging potential complexities in complex bibliographies.