harcx 0.2.0
Verify .bib file citations against academic databases (Semantic Scholar, DBLP, Google Scholar, Open Library)
License: MIT
Requires Python: >=3.10
Keywords: bibtex, bibliography, semantic-scholar, dblp, citations, reference-checker, latex

# HaRC - Hallucinated Reference Checker

[![PyPI version](https://badge.fury.io/py/harcx.svg)](https://badge.fury.io/py/harcx)
[![Python 3.10+](https://img.shields.io/badge/python-3.10+-blue.svg)](https://www.python.org/downloads/)
[![License: MIT](https://img.shields.io/badge/License-MIT-yellow.svg)](https://opensource.org/licenses/MIT)

**Verify BibTeX citations against academic databases.** Catches fake, misspelled, or incorrect references in your `.bib` files before submission.

## Features

| Source | Lookup Methods | Entry Types |
|--------|---------------|-------------|
| **Semantic Scholar** | DOI, arXiv ID, title search | Papers |
| **DBLP** | Title search | Papers |
| **Google Scholar** | Title search | Papers |
| **Open Library** | ISBN, title search | Books |

Additional capabilities:
- **Fuzzy author matching** - Handles name variations, initials, and spelling differences
- **URL verification** - Checks reachability and title matching for web citations
- **Smart fallback** - Tries multiple databases until a valid match is found

## Installation

```bash
# Using uv (recommended)
uv add harcx

# Using pip
pip install harcx
```

## Quick Start

```bash
# Basic usage
harcx references.bib

# Also verify URL citations
harcx references.bib --check-urls

# Quiet mode (errors only)
harcx references.bib -q
```

## CLI Reference

```
harcx [OPTIONS] BIB_FILE

Options:
  -q, --quiet              Suppress progress output
  --threshold FLOAT        Author match threshold (0.0-1.0, default: 0.6)
  --api-key KEY            Semantic Scholar API key for higher rate limits
  --check-urls             Verify URL citations for reachability
  --title-threshold FLOAT  URL title match threshold (0.0-1.0, default: 0.6)
  -h, --help               Show help message
```

## Example Output

```
Parsed 50 entries from references.bib
[1/50] Checking (article): smith2023
    Trying arXiv ID: 2301.12345
  Found (author match: 1.00)
[2/50] Checking (book): goodfellow2016deep
    Trying Open Library title search
  Found (author match: 0.75)
[3/50] Checking (article): suspicious2023
    Trying Semantic Scholar title search
    Trying DBLP title search
    Trying Google Scholar title search
  ISSUE: Not found in Semantic Scholar, DBLP, or Google Scholar

============================================================
Found 1 entries requiring attention:
============================================================

[suspicious2023]
  Title: This Paper Does Not Exist
  Bib Authors: Suspicious Author
  Year: 2023
  Issue: Not found in Semantic Scholar, DBLP, or Google Scholar
```

## Python API

```python
from reference_checker import check_citations, check_web_citations

# Check citations - returns entries that weren't verified
issues = check_citations("references.bib")

for result in issues:
    print(f"{result.entry.key}: {result.message}")

# Check URL citations
url_issues = check_web_citations("references.bib")

for result in url_issues:
    print(f"{result.entry.key}: {result.url} - {result.message}")
```

### Function Signatures

```python
def check_citations(
    bib_file: str,
    author_threshold: float = 0.6,  # Minimum author match score
    year_tolerance: int = 1,         # Allowed year difference (±)
    api_key: str | None = None,      # Semantic Scholar API key
    verbose: bool = False,           # Print progress
) -> list[CheckResult]

def check_web_citations(
    bib_file: str,
    title_threshold: float = 0.6,    # Minimum title match score
    verbose: bool = False,           # Print progress
) -> list[WebCheckResult]
```

## How It Works

```
┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────────┐     ┌─────────────┐     ┌──────────┐
│  Parse .bib │ ──▶ │    Lookup    │ ──▶ │ Fuzzy Match │ ──▶ │  Report  │
│    file     │     │  (DOI/title) │     │   Authors   │     │  Issues  │
└─────────────┘     └──────────────┘     └─────────────┘     └──────────┘
```

**Lookup Order (Papers):**
1. DOI lookup (Semantic Scholar)
2. arXiv ID lookup (Semantic Scholar)
3. Title search (Semantic Scholar → DBLP → Google Scholar)

**Lookup Order (Books):**
1. ISBN lookup (Open Library)
2. Title search (Open Library → Semantic Scholar → DBLP → Google Scholar)

A citation is **verified** when:
- Found in at least one database
- Author match score ≥ threshold (default: 60%)
- Year matches within tolerance (default: ±1 year)

## Rate Limits

- **Semantic Scholar**: ~3 req/sec (faster with API key)
- **DBLP**: ~1 req/sec
- **Google Scholar**: ~0.5 req/sec (may block excessive requests)
- **Open Library**: ~1 req/sec

Get a free Semantic Scholar API key at [semanticscholar.org/product/api](https://www.semanticscholar.org/product/api)

## Development

```bash
git clone https://github.com/gurusha01/HaRC.git
cd HaRC
uv sync --all-extras
uv run pytest tests/ -v
```

## License

MIT