Add Markdown and JSON export buttons to AI Summary and Chat tabs by CXZHANG0508 · Pull Request #14486 · JabRef/jabref

CXZHANG0508 · 2025-12-01T14:53:12Z

Implemented the export functionality for AI Summary and AI Chat as requested. Users can now save the content to Markdown (human-readable) or JSON (machine-readable, OpenAI format). Added an export menu button to the UI and handled the file saving logic.

Steps to test

Open an entry that has a citation key and a linked PDF. I tested the UI logic in a simulated local environment (since I don't have an AI API key)
Go to the AI Summary or AI Chat tab.

3. Even without an API key (interface might show an error), you should see the new **Export** button (floppy disk icon) in the toolbar. In the AI Summary tab, the Export button is only visible after a summary has been successfully generated.

Click the button and select Export to Markdown or Export to JSON.

5. Save the file and verify the content: - **Markdown:** Should contain the BibTeX source and the text. - **JSON:** Should contain metadata and a `conversation` list compatible with OpenAI format. - I confirmed that clicking the Export button correctly triggers the 'Save As' file dialog and generates the file with the expected structure.

Mandatory checks

I own the copyright of the code submitted and I license it under the MIT license
I manually tested my changes in running JabRef (always required)
I added JUnit tests for changes (if applicable)
I added screenshots in the PR description (if change is visible to the user)
I described the change in CHANGELOG.md in a way that is understandable for the average user (if change is visible to the user)
I checked the user documentation: Is the information available and up to date? If not, I created an issue at https://github.com/JabRef/user-documentation/issues or, even better, I submitted a pull request updating file(s) in https://github.com/JabRef/user-documentation/tree/main/en.

koppor · 2025-12-01T14:57:57Z

@CXZHANG0508 Please do not close PRs and open new ones. Just push changes to your branch.

CXZHANG0508 · 2025-12-01T15:01:03Z

Understood, thanks!

calixtus · 2025-12-02T13:04:36Z

Hi, thanks for your contribution.

Please use a proper PR title. "Feat ai export" is not enough to quickly understand from the table what this PR is about. Remember that in open source you occansionally happen to work with other people together and as long as we dont have the technology for mind sharing and telepathy, we need to keep communicating in a mutual understandable way.

CXZHANG0508 · 2025-12-02T14:11:48Z

Thank you for your feedback! I apologize for the previous simple title. I have updated the PR title to be more descriptive.I hope that is clearer.

InAnYan

Cool!

koppor · 2025-12-04T11:19:39Z

+        StringBuilder bibtex = new StringBuilder();
+        bibtex.append("@").append(entry.getType().getName()).append("{").append(entry.getCitationKey().orElse("")).append(",\n");
+        for (Field field : entry.getFields()) {
+            bibtex.append("  ").append(field.getName()).append(" = {").append(entry.getField(field).orElse("")).append("},\n");
+        }
+        bibtex.append("}");
+        root.put("entry_bibtex", bibtex.toString());


No - please use getStringRepresentation will be available with #14504

koppor · 2025-12-04T11:20:43Z

+    private final Runnable exportMarkdownCallback;
+    private final Runnable exportJsonCallback;


Annotate with @Nullable.

I wonder when this can be null? Maybe, it is always non-null? Please double check the call of SummaryShowingComponent and the ifs later at onExportMarkdown.

I think, it needs to be annotated with @NonNull? (because of your change in line 33)

koppor · 2025-12-04T11:21:09Z

+        sb.append("## Bibtex\n\n```bibtex\n");
+        sb.append("@").append(entry.getType().getName()).append("{").append(entry.getCitationKey().orElse("")).append(",\n");
+        for (Field field : entry.getFields()) {
+            String value = entry.getField(field).orElse("");
+            sb.append("  ").append(field.getName()).append(" = {").append(value).append("},\n");
+        }
+        sb.append("}\n```\n\n");
+        sb.append("## ").append(contentTitle).append("\n\n");
+        sb.append(contentBody);


For BibEntry export use getStringRepresentation will be available with #14504

I will wait for it to be merged and then update this PR to use the new method immediately.

koppor · 2025-12-04T14:09:46Z

See #13868 (comment) why there are two PRs.

koppor · 2025-12-04T14:10:27Z

-    @FXML private Text summaryInfoText;
-    @FXML private CheckBox markdownCheckbox;
+    @FXML
+    private Text summaryInfoText;
+    @FXML
+    private CheckBox markdownCheckbox;


This is some other code style. But I think, its OK to keep the reformatting.

koppor · 2025-12-04T14:10:41Z

-    @FXML private Loadable uiLoadableChatHistory;
-    @FXML private ChatHistoryComponent uiChatHistory;
-    @FXML private Button notificationsButton;
-    @FXML private ChatPromptComponent chatPrompt;
-    @FXML private Label noticeText;
-    @FXML private Hyperlink exQuestion1;
-    @FXML private Hyperlink exQuestion2;
-    @FXML private Hyperlink exQuestion3;
-    @FXML private HBox exQuestionBox;
-    @FXML private HBox followUpQuestionsBox;
+    @FXML
+    private Loadable uiLoadableChatHistory;
+    @FXML
+    private ChatHistoryComponent uiChatHistory;
+    @FXML
+    private Button notificationsButton;
+    @FXML
+    private ChatPromptComponent chatPrompt;
+    @FXML
+    private Label noticeText;
+    @FXML
+    private Hyperlink exQuestion1;
+    @FXML
+    private Hyperlink exQuestion2;
+    @FXML
+    private Hyperlink exQuestion3;
+    @FXML
+    private HBox exQuestionBox;
+    @FXML
+    private HBox followUpQuestionsBox;


Can you revert this reformatting?

Thanks, I will fix this shortly.

koppor · 2025-12-05T21:50:42Z

+        this.entryTypesManager = entryTypesManager;
+        this.fieldPreferences = fieldPreferences;


Please - group arguments semantically together.

aiPreferences

(new) fieldPreferences

(new) entryTypesManager

dialogService

Reason: we opted for dependency injection via constructor - and Java method parameters are a mess somehow... By grouping together preferences, we try to reduce the mess.

This was somehow achieved, but not fully.

OK for now.

koppor · 2025-12-05T21:53:41Z

+                             Files.writeString(path, content, StandardOpenOption.CREATE, StandardOpenOption.TRUNCATE_EXISTING);
+                             dialogService.notify(Localization.lang("Export successful"));
+                         } catch (IOException e) {
+                             LOGGER.error(Localization.lang("Problem occurred while writing the export file"), e);


No Localization in logging. Maybe, a hint should be added to https://devdocs.jabref.org/code-howtos/logging.html.

koppor · 2025-12-05T21:54:34Z

+                             dialogService.notify(Localization.lang("Export successful"));
+                         } catch (IOException e) {
+                             LOGGER.error(Localization.lang("Problem occurred while writing the export file"), e);
+                             dialogService.showErrorDialogAndWait(Localization.lang("Save failed"), e);


Why unspecific here? - I think "Problem occurred while writing the export file" is the better text.

However, please check JabRef_en.properties for other error messages. Maybe you find some with %0 included, where ex.getLocaliizedMessage() is passed to.

koppor · 2025-12-05T21:54:52Z

+                             LOGGER.error(Localization.lang("Problem occurred while writing the export file"), e);
+                             dialogService.showErrorDialogAndWait(Localization.lang("Save failed"), e);


koppor · 2025-12-05T21:55:01Z

-                                  TaskExecutor taskExecutor
+                                  TaskExecutor taskExecutor,
+                                  BibEntryTypesManager entryTypesManager,
+                                  FieldPreferences fieldPreferences


koppor · 2025-12-05T22:30:53Z

+            </graphic>
+            <items>
+                <MenuItem text="%Export in human-readable format (Markdown)" onAction="#exportMarkdown"/>
+                <MenuItem text="%Export in machine-readable format (JSON)" onAction="#exportJson"/>


Suggested change

<MenuItem text="%Export in machine-readable format (JSON)" onAction="#exportJson"/>

<MenuItem text="%Export to JSON" onAction="#exportJson"/>

Reason: JSON is also considered human readable - in comparison to a binary format

koppor · 2025-12-05T22:31:57Z

+                role = "assistant";
+                content = aiMessage.text();
+            } else {
+                continue;


Please add a comment why the other messages are ignored

@InAnYan @ThiloteE We should include ErrorMessage, shouldn't we?

@CXZHANG0508 Please remove "ErrorMessage" - you have it written twice in the comment

koppor · 2025-12-05T22:32:22Z

+            Map<String, String> msgMap = new HashMap<>();
+            msgMap.put("role", role);
+            msgMap.put("content", content);


You can shorten this with Map.of(...)

Sid track: However, shouldn't this be a record with String role, String content? - But I think, this is OK, because it might be over-engineered that way

koppor · 2025-12-05T22:35:21Z

 Back=Back
 Forward=Forward
+
+Export\ successful=Export successful


Please re-use

export operation finished successfully.

Maybe, you can remove "operation" in the translation string (and change the other parts of JabRef)

Reason: We want to use the same user-facing strings for the same thing - and not have a huge set of similar strings.

koppor · 2025-12-05T22:36:05Z

+Export\ chat\ history=Export chat history
+No\ summary\ available\ to\ export=No summary available to export
+No\ chat\ history\ to\ export=No chat history to export
+Problem\ occurred\ while\ writing\ the\ export\ file=Problem occurred while writing the export file


Maaybe re-use

Failed to export file.

Fixed the missing localization key issue.

What I meant: Please re-use existing translations. But OK for me to keep two strings. "Someone" will unify later.

koppor

Checked, works OKish.

Since we run out of capacity for more rounds of this, I merge.

We will create follow-up issues for improvement.

Thank you for the work so for!

koppor · 2025-12-17T18:57:19Z

+        this.entryTypesManager = entryTypesManager;
+        this.fieldPreferences = fieldPreferences;


This was somehow achieved, but not fully.

OK for now.

koppor · 2025-12-17T18:57:28Z

-        this.entries = entries;
+        this.entries = stateManager.getSelectedEntries();


Why this change - need to be fixed in a follow-up.

koppor · 2025-12-17T23:00:03Z

@CXZHANG0508 I think, I now collected all follow-ups. The most buggy behavior is described in #14647. Maybe, you have an idea. Then you can assign yourself and solve the issue.

…Ref#14486) * Add export buttons for AI summary and chat Why: Quite often, JabRef users would like to share a conversation with AI, or store it in some text file that would be read later without opening JabRef. However, currently we don't have an option of saving the conversation or summary to some external file. How: - Add `MenuButton` with export options to `SummaryShowingComponent.fxml` and `AiChatComponent.fxml`. - Implement `exportMarkdown` method to construct Markdown content including the BibTeX source code. - Implement `exportJson` method using Jackson to generate JSON output that adheres to the OpenAI conversation format. - Add necessary localization keys to `JabRef_en.properties`. - Update `CHANGELOG.md` to reflect the new feature. Tags: ai, export, json, markdown Fixes JabRef#13868 * refactor(ai): move export logic to AiExporter to fix architecture violation * refactor(ai): fix architecture violations and checkstyle issues * feat(ai): Add Markdown and JSON export for AI Summary and AI Chat * style: reformat code to match guidelines * feat(ai): Add Markdown and JSON export for AI Summary and AI Chat * feat(ai): Add Markdown and JSON export for AI Summary and AI Chat * feat(ai): fix some format problem * feat(ai): fix some format problem * feat(ai): fix some format problem * fixed the formatting issue,but not the getStringRepresentation method * feat(ai): fix some format problem * Fix AiExporter to use BibEntry.getStringRepresentation * feat(ai): fix the unit tests problem * I have reordered the constructor parameters in relevant functions to group them semantically as suggested * I have reordered the constructor parameters in relevant functions to group them semantically as suggested * Add comment explaining why specific chat messages are ignored in export * fix some format problem * fix some format problem * Refactor constructor parameter order for semantic grouping * fix some formatting issues * Refactor AiExporter to strictly use StringJoiner, add the errorMessage * fix some formatting issues * rename variable sj to stringJoiner and use explicit empty lines * retry * retry * retry * fix the match issue * support group export and enforce markdown linting * fix the formatting issue * fix the formatting issue * reTry * Retry * Retry * Retry

CXZHANG0508 closed this Dec 1, 2025

CXZHANG0508 reopened this Dec 1, 2025

github-actions Bot added status: changes-required Pull requests that are not yet complete and removed status: changes-required Pull requests that are not yet complete labels Dec 1, 2025

koppor added status: changes-required Pull requests that are not yet complete status: ready-for-review Pull Requests that are ready to be reviewed by the maintainers and removed status: changes-required Pull requests that are not yet complete labels Dec 2, 2025

koppor requested a review from InAnYan December 2, 2025 13:59

CXZHANG0508 changed the title ~~Feat ai export~~ feat(ai): Add Markdown and JSON export buttons to AI Summary and Chat tabs Dec 2, 2025

CXZHANG0508 mentioned this pull request Dec 2, 2025

Add export chat and summary feature to AI functionality #13868

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InAnYan reviewed Dec 3, 2025

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Comment thread jabgui/src/main/java/org/jabref/gui/ai/components/summary/SummaryComponent.java

InAnYan previously approved these changes Dec 3, 2025

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koppor requested changes Dec 4, 2025

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github-actions Bot added status: changes-required Pull requests that are not yet complete and removed status: ready-for-review Pull Requests that are ready to be reviewed by the maintainers labels Dec 4, 2025

koppor mentioned this pull request Dec 4, 2025

Fix #13868 — Export AI conversations & summaries to Markdown/JSON #14501

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koppor reviewed Dec 4, 2025

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CXZHANG0508 dismissed InAnYan’s stale review via d2e2f7e December 4, 2025 14:28

github-actions Bot added status: changes-required Pull requests that are not yet complete and removed status: changes-required Pull requests that are not yet complete labels Dec 4, 2025

CXZHANG0508 requested a review from koppor December 5, 2025 16:33

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CXZHANG0508 added 16 commits December 16, 2025 07:45

fix some format problem

e6d96c1

Refactor constructor parameter order for semantic grouping

5a78eff

fix some formatting issues

68326c6

Refactor AiExporter to strictly use StringJoiner, add the errorMessage

e91999e

fix some formatting issues

02a5611

rename variable sj to stringJoiner and use explicit empty lines

873a4c6

retry

0f2746a

retry

b4b2e04

retry

3b46667

fix the match issue

cb08501

support group export and enforce markdown linting

ad6bf4e

fix the formatting issue

e19b8d8

fix the formatting issue

6474732

reTry

6077f67

Retry

f5ceae4

Retry

26a6d06

CXZHANG0508 force-pushed the feat-ai-export branch from 097ae3f to 26a6d06 Compare December 15, 2025 23:49

Retry

93560b7

github-actions Bot removed the status: changes-required Pull requests that are not yet complete label Dec 15, 2025

koppor approved these changes Dec 17, 2025

View reviewed changes

koppor added this pull request to the merge queue Dec 17, 2025

This was referenced Dec 17, 2025

Fix entries variable assignment #14639

Closed

Disable Export button if no AI Chat is there #14640

Closed

Merged via the queue into JabRef:main with commit e00ad67 Dec 17, 2025
49 checks passed

This was referenced Dec 17, 2025

Change log levels for AI export #14645

Closed

Entries should not be empty when exporting group chat #14647

Closed

CXZHANG0508 deleted the feat-ai-export branch December 18, 2025 05:58

		private final Runnable exportMarkdownCallback;
		private final Runnable exportJsonCallback;

		this.entryTypesManager = entryTypesManager;
		this.fieldPreferences = fieldPreferences;

		LOGGER.error(Localization.lang("Problem occurred while writing the export file"), e);
		dialogService.showErrorDialogAndWait(Localization.lang("Save failed"), e);

	<MenuItem text="%Export in machine-readable format (JSON)" onAction="#exportJson"/>
	<MenuItem text="%Export to JSON" onAction="#exportJson"/>

		this.entries = entries;
		this.entries = stateManager.getSelectedEntries();

Uh oh!

Conversation

CXZHANG0508 commented Dec 1, 2025

Steps to test

Mandatory checks

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koppor commented Dec 1, 2025

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CXZHANG0508 commented Dec 1, 2025

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calixtus commented Dec 2, 2025

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CXZHANG0508 commented Dec 2, 2025

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koppor commented Dec 17, 2025

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koppor commented Dec 4, 2025 •

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