natbib in Scissor LaTeX
The natbib package mostly works in Scissor LaTeX: \citet, \citep, \citeyear and the capitalised forms work, and \bibliographystyle{plainnat} or unsrtnat gives author-year citations; package options such as numbers or round and \setcitestyle are ignored, so the style always comes from \bibliographystyle.
What the package does
natbib adds author-year citations to BibTeX. Its two main commands are \citet{key} for a citation that is part of the sentence, "Doe and Mustermann (2024)", and \citep{key} for one in parentheses, "(Doe and Mustermann, 2024)". Package options switch between round and square brackets or to numbers, and author-year styles such as plainnat format the list of references.
You load it with \usepackage{natbib} and choose a style with \bibliographystyle{plainnat}.
What works here
| Command or option | In Scissor LaTeX | Notes |
|---|---|---|
\citet{key}, \Citet{key} | Works | "Doe and Mustermann (2024)". |
\citep{key}, \Citep{key} | Works | "(Doe and Mustermann, 2024)". |
\citep{a,b} | Works | "(Doe and Mustermann, 2024; Mustermann, 2021)". |
\citep[p.~44]{key} | Works | The note goes inside the parentheses. |
\citep[see][p.~44]{key} | Partly | "see" is printed in front of the parentheses. |
\citeyear{key} | Works | "2024". |
\citeyearpar{key} | Partly | Prints "2024" without parentheses. |
\citeauthor{key} | Partly | Prints the same as \citet, with the year. |
\citet*, \citep* | Partly | As \citet and \citep; author lists are not expanded. |
\citealt, \citealp, \citenum | Partly | Printed like \citep, with parentheses. |
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}, abbrvnat | Works | Author-year, list sorted by author. |
\bibliographystyle{unsrtnat} | Works | Author-year, list in citation order. |
Options numbers, round, square, authoryear, sort&compress | Left out | The style comes from \bibliographystyle alone. |
\setcitestyle{...} | Left out | Ignored without a message. |
\bibpunct{...}... | Not supported | In the preamble it is ignored; in the body it is skipped with a message and its arguments are printed as text. |
Without a \bibliographystyle line, citations are numbered in square brackets, even with natbib loaded. Add \bibliographystyle{plainnat} to get author-year citations.
Examples
The usual natbib commands with plainnat:
\citet, \citep and \citeyear with plainnat
\citet{doe2024} measured 44 samples. Long tables have their own
rules \citep[ch.~2]{mustermann2021}, and so do plots
\citep{mustermann2023}. The book appeared in \citeyear{mustermann2021}.
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}
\bibliography{refs}
unsrtnat lists the sources in the order you cite them instead of by author:
unsrtnat: references in citation order
Plots are discussed by \citet{mustermann2023}, and the careful
measurement behind them by \citet{doe2024}.
\bibliographystyle{unsrtnat}
\bibliography{refs}
The package option numbers has no effect. The citation style follows \bibliographystyle only, so with plainnat you still get author-year citations:
The numbers option is ignored
\documentclass{article}
\usepackage[numbers]{natbib}
\begin{document}
Measured by \citet{doe2024}, see also \citep{doe2025}.
\bibliographystyle{plainnat}
\bibliography{refs}
\end{document}
For numbered citations, use a numeric style such as plain, unsrt or ieeetr (all three give numbers in square brackets here). See the list of styles on the bibliographies page.
Compatibility
- From a TeX installation to here: documents with
\citetand\citeptypeset as they are. Expect author-year citations only when\bibliographystylenames an author-year style; package options and\setcitestyledo not change anything. - From here to a TeX installation: documents compile there unchanged. Run BibTeX there, and note that natbib's options then take effect.
The full manual is on CTAN: ctan.org/pkg/natbib. For citations in general, see Bibliographies and citations, and for the other approach, biblatex.
Questions and answers
Why do I get numbers instead of author-year citations?
There is no \bibliographystyle line, or it names a numeric style. Add \bibliographystyle{plainnat}. The natbib options authoryear and round alone do not change the style here.
What is the difference between \citet and \citep?
\citet gives "Doe and Mustermann (2024)" for use inside a sentence; \citep gives "(Doe and Mustermann, 2024)" for a citation at the end of a clause.
Do I need to run BibTeX for natbib?
No. Scissor LaTeX reads the .bib files of the project every time it typesets.
Every example on this page is typeset by Scissor LaTeX when the site is built. Last updated 2026-11-06.