Scholar Sidekick
Checks whether citations are real or retracted and formats them in thousands of citation styles.
What Scholar Sidekick can do in ChatGPT
Catch fake citations and format references by asking.
Verify Citations
Checks that the title and authors match the record behind the DOI.
Audit Reference Lists
Checks up to 25 references at once and gives each a verdict.
Retraction Check
Shows if a paper was retracted, corrected or flagged with concerns.
Format References
Outputs citations in APA, Vancouver, IEEE or thousands of other styles.
Resolve Identifiers
Turns a DOI, PMID, ISBN or arXiv ID into a full citation.
You stay in control
You approve access, and you can disconnect Scholar Sidekick at any time.
Apps 1
What Scholar Sidekick does in ChatGPT
The Scholar Sidekick plugin checks academic references inside ChatGPT. Give it a citation with a DOI or other identifier and it tells you whether the paper is real, whether the title and authors match the actual record, and whether it has been retracted, corrected or flagged with an expression of concern.
It can audit a whole reference list at once, up to 25 entries, and returns a table with a verdict for each one. This catches a common problem with AI-written text: a real DOI attached to a made-up or wrong title. It also turns a DOI, PMID, PMCID, ISBN, arXiv ID, ISSN or ADS bibcode into a clean citation.
Formatting covers Vancouver, APA, AMA, IEEE, CSE and more than 10,000 other CSL styles. Each answer comes back as a card that shows whether the source checks out, the reference written in your style and its ID. The listing says it costs nothing and needs no account or API key, and it also works in Codex for checking a manuscript or .bib file.
Who it is for
- Students checking a reference list before handing in
- Researchers and editors reviewing manuscripts
- Anyone checking citations written by AI
How to add Scholar Sidekick to ChatGPT
- Open the Scholar Sidekick listing in ChatGPT ↗.
- Click Install plugin.
- Sign in to your Scholar Sidekick account when asked and approve the access it requests.
- Start a chat and ask for what you need, mentioning Scholar Sidekick if ChatGPT does not pick it up.
- To stop, disconnect Scholar Sidekick under apps in your ChatGPT settings.
Questions about Scholar Sidekick
What is the Scholar Sidekick ChatGPT plugin?
The Scholar Sidekick plugin checks academic references inside ChatGPT. Give it a citation with a DOI or other identifier and it tells you whether the paper is real, whether the title and authors match the actual record, and whether it has been retracted, corrected or flagged with an expression of concern. It is listed in ChatGPT's plugin marketplace under Education & Research.
What can I ask Scholar Sidekick to do in ChatGPT?
For example: "Is doi:10.1126/science.1225829 a real paper with this title?", "Check these 20 references for fake or retracted papers", "Has this paper been retracted or corrected?".
Who makes the Scholar Sidekick plugin for ChatGPT?
The ChatGPT listing names Mark Lavercombe as the developer. The version listed on 8 October 2026 was 2.0.1.
How do I add Scholar Sidekick to ChatGPT?
Open the Scholar Sidekick listing in ChatGPT, click Install plugin, sign in to your Scholar Sidekick account and approve the access it asks for. Then ask for what you need in a chat, mentioning Scholar Sidekick if ChatGPT does not pick it up.
Can Scholar Sidekick change things in my account, or only read?
It reads the citations and identifiers you paste and checks them against the record behind each identifier. No account or API key is needed.
Who is the Scholar Sidekick plugin for?
Students checking a reference list before handing in, researchers and editors reviewing manuscripts and anyone checking citations written by AI.
Does Scholar Sidekick cost anything?
The listing says it is $0, with no account and no API key required.
How many references can it check at once?
Up to 25 entries in one request, each with its own verdict in a table.
Does Scholar Sidekick see my ChatGPT chats?
When Scholar Sidekick is connected, ChatGPT may share the parts of your chats and memories that matter for a request with Scholar Sidekick. What Scholar Sidekick does with that data falls under its own terms and privacy policy. ChatGPT keeps your training-data settings, and you can disconnect at any time.
How do I disconnect Scholar Sidekick from ChatGPT?
Open your ChatGPT settings, go to apps, and disconnect Scholar Sidekick. You can reconnect later from the listing.
What are alternatives to Scholar Sidekick in ChatGPT?
Similar plugins in the ChatGPT marketplace include CiteCheck, CourtListener and Scite. Each has its own page in this directory.
Privacy and your data
When Scholar Sidekick is connected, ChatGPT may share the parts of your chats and memories that matter for a request with Scholar Sidekick. What Scholar Sidekick then does with that data falls under its own terms and privacy policy, not only OpenAI's. ChatGPT keeps your training-data settings for data that comes from connected apps, and you can disconnect at any time.
Scholar Sidekick privacy policy ↗Scholar Sidekick terms ↗OpenAI: apps in ChatGPT ↗