Chicago Style Citation Generator is a free AI tool. Type author, title, and source details into this Chicago style citation generator to get a formatted reference and its matching in-text citation.
Free to try · first generation free on signup · no credit card
Configure your text generation settings
Your Generated Text Will Appear Here
Fill in the options on the left, then press the button.
Relevant internal links based on this tool
Upload your image
Drag & drop your file here or click to browse
A Chicago style citation generator formats the source details you type into a correct Chicago reference, in either the notes-bibliography or author-date system, plus the matching in-text form. Pick your source type and system, fill in the details you have, and get a citation ready to paste. It suits students and writers working in history, literature, or the arts.
Pick Notes-Bibliography or Author-Date under Citation System, then choose the matching Source Type, such as book, journal article, or website. Chicago formats each system differently, so this choice matters.
Fill in Main Title and any of Author(s) / Editor(s), Container / Series Details, Edition / Version / Date, Publisher / Organization, and DOI or URL that you have. Only entered details are formatted.
Press Generate Citation to get the reference and its in-text form, a footnote or an author-date citation depending on your system. Check the result against your style guide before submitting your work.
History, literature, and arts papers often use notes-bibliography, where a footnote appears at the bottom of the page and a matching bibliography entry appears at the end. Check with your instructor if you are unsure which system your paper expects.
Author-date is closer to other scientific citation styles, with a short parenthetical citation in the text and a full reference list at the end. Some social science and science courses prefer this system over notes-bibliography.
In notes-bibliography, a footnote sits at the bottom of the same page while an endnote is collected at the end of the chapter or document. Check which your instructor or publisher expects before you format your notes.
It formats the source details you type into a Chicago-style reference, either a notes-bibliography footnote and bibliography entry or an author-date citation, depending on which system you choose, plus the matching in-text form.
You can try it without an account, though free use has a daily limit. It works only from what you type and cannot open a link or look a source up on its own.
No, it formats only the details you provide and never invents an author, date, or page number. It lists what is missing instead, so you can track down the details before you submit your final reference list.
Notes-bibliography uses footnotes or endnotes with a separate bibliography, common in history and the humanities, while author-date uses a short parenthetical citation in the text with a full reference list, closer to a scientific style.
Chicago is common in history, literature, art, and some social science courses. Check your assignment instructions or publisher guidelines, since the expected style is usually set by your department or the journal you are submitting to.
In the notes-bibliography system, yes, a full bibliography entry is generally expected alongside the shorter footnotes so readers have one complete alphabetical list of every source cited in the paper.
Switch to IEEE format if your paper is for an engineering or computer science course instead.
Use AMA format instead for a medical or health sciences paper rather than Chicago style.
Try CSE format if your science course expects that citation system rather than Chicago.
Turabian is closely related to Chicago and may be what your instructor actually wants.
Choose between Notes-Bibliography or Author-Date.
Select the type of source you are citing.