twineconvert

free · in-browser · no upload

RIS to RefWorks
Converter

Drop your RIS file. We'll convert it to REFWORKS right here in your browser, your file never leaves your device.

or drop your file

Select your file here to get started

or drop your file here.

Accepts .ris

nothing uploaded no file size cap no signup

How it works

Three steps. No upload, no signup.

  1. 1

    Drop your file

    Click the dropzone above or drag a RIS from your desktop. Files of any size, there's no upload, so there's no upload limit.

  2. 2

    Convert in your browser

    The conversion runs entirely in this tab using JavaScript and WebAssembly. Your file never touches our servers, we don't have any.

  3. 3

    Download

    Get your REFWORKS the moment the conversion finishes. Convert another, or close the tab.

Files stay on your device

Your file is never uploaded. The entire conversion runs in your browser using WebAssembly. We can't see what you convert because we have no server to see it.

No file size limit

Server converters cap free users at 1-2 GB and gate larger files behind a paid plan. Since nothing uploads, our limit is whatever your browser can handle.

Free, no signup, no ads on conversions

No account required. No watermark on the output. No queue. Drop a file, get a converted file.

Why convert RIS → RefWorks

What this conversion is actually for

RIS is EndNote, Mendeley, or Zotero data; this rewrites it as a RefWorks tagged file you can import into RefWorks. Goes through the unified Citation model so title, authors, year, journal, pages, and DOI carry across.

A real example

You have RIS references and your institution uses RefWorks. Convert here and import the tagged file into RefWorks.

Troubleshooting

RefWorks will not import the file.

In RefWorks choose Import then the RefWorks Tagged Format filter. Each record this produces starts with an RT line and ends before the next blank line.

Formats involved

About RIS and REFWORKS

RIS, Research Information Systems

RIS is a tagged citation format from Research Information Systems (the Reference Manager company), now an industry-standard interchange. Two-letter tags (TY=type, AU=author, TI=title, JO=journal, etc.), one per line, records terminated by ER. Most academic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, JSTOR, Scopus) export to RIS. Reference managers all import and export it.

How to open

Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, Papers, RefWorks, Citavi, every modern reference manager. Plain text in any editor.

Full RIS format guide →
REFWORKS, REFWORKS

REFWORKS is a file format we support converting. Detailed format information is being added, for now, drop your file in the converter above and you'll get the conversion you came for.

How to open

Most operating systems open this format with a default application; if not, search for a free reader/viewer for the format.

Full REFWORKS format guide →

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FAQ

Common questions

Is this RIS → RefWorks converter really free?

Yes. No signup, no watermark, no daily file count limit. Every conversion runs in your browser, your file never touches our servers because there are no servers.

Where does my file go when I convert it?

Nowhere. The conversion runs entirely in your browser using JavaScript and WebAssembly. Your file is never uploaded to our servers. We don't have any servers handling files, there's nothing for us to log, store, or accidentally leak.

What's the maximum file size?

Whatever your browser can hold in memory. Practically, this means a few hundred MB on most computers, significantly larger than the 1-2 GB caps that server-upload converters charge for. Very large files (multi-GB) may require closing other browser tabs first.

Why convert RIS to REFWORKS?

Citation interchange between databases and reference managers. File interchange. The most common reason to convert is compatibility, REFWORKS works in places where RIS doesn't, or vice versa.

How do I open a RIS file in the first place?

Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote, Papers, RefWorks, Citavi, every modern reference manager. Plain text in any editor.

Does this work offline?

Once the page is loaded, the conversion itself runs entirely offline. The first time you use a tool, your browser downloads the conversion library (a one-time cache). If you reload while offline, the page won't load, but you can install the site as a Progressive Web App for full offline use.

Can I convert multiple files at once?

Single file at a time for now. Batch conversion is on the roadmap, for now, drop one file, download the result, then convert the next.