JabRef
v6
v6
  • JabRef Bibliography Management
  • Installation
  • Getting started
  • Collect
    • Add entry manually
    • Add entry using an ID
    • Add entry using reference text
    • Searching externally using Online Services
    • Add entry using PDFs
    • Add PDFs to an entry
    • Browser Extension
    • Import
      • Custom import filters
      • Import inspection window
  • Organize
    • Edit an entry
    • Groups
    • Keywords
    • Mark and grade
    • Comment on an entry
    • Searching within the library
    • Complete information using online databases
    • Manage associated files
    • Manage field names and their content
    • Best practices
    • Check consistency
    • Cleanup entries
    • Check integrity
    • Find duplicates
    • Merge entries
    • Save actions
  • Cite
    • BibTeX and biblatex
    • Pushing to external editor application
    • Export to Microsoft Word
    • OpenOffice/LibreOffice integration
  • Share
    • Sharing a Bib(la)TeX Library
    • Shared SQL Database
      • Migration of pre-3.6 SQL databases into a shared SQL database
    • Export
      • Custom export filters
    • Send as email
  • AI functionality
    • AI providers and API keys
    • AI preferences
    • AI troubleshooting
    • Running a local LLM model
  • Configuration
    • Customize the citation key generator
    • Customize entry types
    • Customize general fields
    • Customize key bindings
    • Library properties
    • Entry preview setup
    • Manage external file types
    • Manage protected terms
    • The string editor
  • Advanced information
    • Main Window
    • Entry Editor
      • Links to other entries
      • The Bibtex / Biblatex source tab
      • The 'owner' field
      • Time stamp field
      • LaTeX Citations Tab
    • About BibTeX and its fields
    • Strings
    • Field content selector
    • URL and DOI links in JabRef
    • Command line use and options
    • Automatic Backup (.sav and .bak) and Autosave
    • XMP metadata support in JabRef
    • Remote operation
    • Custom themes
    • Journal abbreviations
    • New subdatabase based on AUX file
    • How to expand first names of an entry
    • Debugging your library file
    • Resources
    • License
    • Knowledge
      • MS Office Bibliography XML format
      • Comparison of the Medline (txt), Medline (xml), and RIS format
      • EndNote Export Filter
  • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Linux
    • Mac OS X
    • Windows
  • JabKit
  • Discussion Forum
  • Contribute to JabRef
    • How to Improve the Help Page
    • How to translate the JabRef User Interface
Powered by GitBook
On this page
  • Is there any way to include JabRef in the start menu of Ubuntu?
  • JabRef does not start under Linux! What can I do?
  • JabRef 5.x
  • JabRef 4.x
  • I am on Debian/Ubuntu and clicking on the JabRef icon works, but I cannot start JabRef from the command line. What is wrong?
  • Everything looks too big or too small. How can I change it to to a more reasonable size?
  • Where can I find JabRef's log files?

Was this helpful?

Edit on GitHub
Export as PDF
  1. Frequently Asked Questions

Linux

PreviousFrequently Asked QuestionsNextMac OS X

Last updated 11 months ago

Was this helpful?

Is there any way to include JabRef in the start menu of Ubuntu?

Yes, there is. See for details.

JabRef does not start under Linux! What can I do?

JabRef 5.x

JabRef comes with a bundled JRE. There is no need to install Java separately. Thus, there should be no issues at start up.

JabRef 4.x

JabRef requires Java 8

Please follow the steps provided on our . JabRef 4.x does not run under Java 9 or newer. See

You might see the error message Error: Could not find or load main class org.jabref.JabRefMain. This means, you do not have support activated in your Java runtime environment. This typically happens if you use , where one needs to setup separately.

I am on Debian/Ubuntu and clicking on the JabRef icon works, but I cannot start JabRef from the command line. What is wrong?

You have several Java Virtual Machines installed, and under the command line the wrong one is chosen. Have a look at the previous question that tells you how to change the virtual machine used.

For Ubuntu you may also have a look at the .

Everything looks too big or too small. How can I change it to to a more reasonable size?

Where can I find JabRef's log files?

A: On Linux, the path to the log files is ~/.local/share/jabref/logs/$version/

In the background, JabRef uses . Applications using JavaFX can be scaled via java -Dglass.gtk.uiScale=1.5 -jar <application>.jar. If you have installed JabRef via a package manager, you probably don't have a .jar file but a binary file. In this case, you need to find your JabRef.cfg in your installation folder (possibly located at /opt/JabRef/lib/app/JabRef.cfg) and add in the section [JavaOptions] the line -Dglass.gtk.uiScale=1.5. Then, restart JabRef. Try finding a value that is suitable for you. On high resolution displays, values around 1.5 seem to be reasonable.

http://askubuntu.com/a/721387/196423
installation page
https://github.com/JabRef/jabref/issues/2594
JavaFX
OpenJDK
OpenJFX
Ubuntu page on Java
JavaFX