Paste DOIs and get each paper's open-access status and free full-text URL from OpenAlex. Free, no sign-up.
What this tool does
A reference list is much more useful when readers can actually open the papers. OpenAlex records, for each work, whether an open-access copy exists and where it lives. Paste DOIs one per line and this tool reports each paper’s OA status — open or closed — plus the best open-access URL when one exists, so you can link the free version in your reading list instead of a paywalled one.
Why it matters
Good citations do quiet work. They let a reader find every source you used, they show that your argument rests on real evidence rather than memory, and they protect you: a clean reference list is much harder to challenge than a vague one. Most marks lost on referencing are not lost on difficult sources. They are lost on small, repeated slips — a missing year, a swapped initial, a title in the wrong case — that a quick tool pass catches before submission.
How to use it
- Paste DOIs, one per line.
- Click Verify open access.
- Copy the OA URLs into your reading list.
Worked example
DOI 10.1038/nphys1170 returns its OpenAlex record: OA status and the best OA location URL, or ‘Closed — no open copy found in OpenAlex’ when none exists. Either answer saves a reader a paywall surprise.
Tips for good results
Prefer the publisher’s OA version when both exist, but link the repository copy when the publisher version is paywalled.
Work from the source itself, not from another paper’s copy of it. And keep one style for the whole list: a single mixed entry undermines an otherwise perfect bibliography.
Honest limits
OA status comes from OpenAlex and can lag behind publisher changes; a paper marked closed may have a legal copy elsewhere. The tool needs OpenAlex reachable from your browser, and it checks one DOI at a time to stay within polite use.
Common mistakes to avoid
Common mistakes to avoid: copying a reference from another paper without checking it against the original, trusting a PDF filename for the title or year, and mixing two styles in one list. Each of these looks harmless alone and careless together. Run the tool, read its output once, and compare it with the source itself before you paste it into your document.
Before you submit
Run through this short check before you submit: is every author name spelled as it appears on the source, is every year present and correct, and does every in-text citation have a matching entry in your reference list? Read the list once from top to bottom rather than skimming it. Most referencing errors are found in that single slow read, and fixing them there is far cheaper than fixing them after a reviewer finds them. If one entry still looks odd after that read, check it against the original source before you change anything else.
Frequently asked questions
Is this tool really free?
Yes. It runs in your browser on this page, with no account and no payment. For live lookups, your query goes to the public API named in the tool; nothing else is sent anywhere.
Do I still need to check the result?
Yes, once. Tools apply rules; they cannot verify facts about your source. Compare the output with the source itself before submitting.
Can I use the output in my paper?
Yes. The output is a formatted reference or analysis for your own work. Keep the source’s facts accurate and the formatting consistent across your list.
What if the tool’s output differs from my style guide?
Trust the style guide. Tools encode the common rules of a style; your university or journal’s own sheet wins every disagreement. Use the tool to do the routine work, then apply the local rule where it differs.
Also available in Spanish: Verificador de Acceso Abierto de Referencias – Comprueba Acceso Abierto y Enlaces Gratis por DOI.