The BibTeX file format is a widely used standard with broad support by reference management software.

The processor program works with several specific files to produce the reference list and format the citations.

[2] BibTeX uses a style-independent text-based file format, a kind of flat-file database, to store bibliography items, such as articles, books, and theses.

It also includes a list of fields, like author and title: If a document references this handbook, the bibliographic information can be formatted in different ways depending on the chosen citation style (e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago).

When viewing the formatted LaTeX document, the result might look like this: Depending on the style file, BibTeX may rearrange authors' last names, change the case of titles, omit fields present in the .bib file, format text in italics, add punctuation, etc.

Since the same style file is used for an entire list of references, these are all formatted consistently with minimal effort required from authors or editors.

BibTeX style files commonly use the file extension .bst and are written in a simple, stack-based programming language (dubbed "BibTeX Anonymous Forth-Like Language", or "BAFLL", by Drew McDermott[8]) that describes how bibliography items should be formatted.