Troubleshooting

Common issues and how to resolve them.

Auto-cite returns nothing

• Check the identifier is correct and complete (a full DOI, a numeric PMID, a valid ISBN).
• Not every work has a DOI - try a PubMed ID or ISBN instead, or enter the reference by hand.
• Auto-cite calls external services from your server. If your host blocks outbound HTTP requests, lookups fail. Ask your host to allow outbound HTTPS.

A citation style will not load

• Twelve popular styles are bundled; any other style is fetched from the official CSL styles repository the first time it is used. That fetch needs outbound HTTP access.
• If a remote style will not load, choose a bundled style, or upload the CSL file directly under References > Settings > Citation Style.

Citations or the bibliography do not appear

1. Confirm the post type is enabled in References > Settings > General (Enabled Post Types). Blocks only load where the post type is enabled.
2. Make sure you added a Bibliography block (or [abt_bibliography]) - inline citations render from the Citation block, but the list needs the bibliography.
3. Clear the plugin cache: use the cache control in References > Settings > Advanced. Formatted output is cached, so recent changes may be stale.

Stale output after editing a reference

Output is cached for the duration set in Settings > Advanced (1 day by default). Clear the cache, or lower the cache duration while you work.

REST API returns 401 Unauthorized

Write requests need authentication. Use a WordPress Application Password with HTTP Basic auth - not your normal login password. See the REST API.

Front-end submission is not available

• Enable front-end submission under References > Settings > Permissions.
• Check the user’s role is allowed to submit or publish under the same tab.
• The submission page needs the [abt_submit_reference] or [abt_dashboard] shortcode.

The “Pending References” menu is missing

It appears under References only when there are submissions waiting for review, and only for users who can moderate (the edit_others_abt_references capability). If nothing is pending, the menu is hidden.

Turn on debug logging

Enable Debug mode in References > Settings > Advanced to log extra detail, then check your site’s debug log while reproducing the problem.

Load demo data (WP-CLI)

To try the plugin with sample references:

wp abt demo generate   # create demo references
wp abt demo status     # show what demo data exists
wp abt demo clean      # remove demo data