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Migrate from Citavi

By · Updated Jul 29, 2026

Import your existing Citavi 5, Citavi 6, or Citavi 7 library directly into Paperpile by following these steps:

  1. Locate the Citavi project file on your computer. It has the file extension .ctv5 or .ctv6.
  2. In Paperpile, open the Add menu and choose Import from other programs > Citavi.
    The Add menu open with “Import from other programs… — Migrate from EndNote, Mendeley, Zotero…” highlighted, below Upload files, Create new, Search online and Paste, and above Create shared library.
  3. When prompted, select your Citavi library file and, if available, the attachments folder, then add them to the upload dialog.
    The “Import from Citavi” dialog explaining where to find the Citavi projects folder, showing the example path C:\Users\[your username]\Documents\Citavi 6\Projects above a “Choose CTV6 file…” drop zone.
  4. Click Start upload to begin the import.
    The “Import from Citavi” dialog with “my_project.ctv6 · 119.8 MB” and a Citavi Attachments folder queued, noting all data will be uploaded automatically, above Back, Cancel and “Start import” buttons.

Note: You don't need to create a backup, rename the file as a ZIP, or manually extract any files. Paperpile can read the Citavi project database (SQLite) directly from the .ctv5 or .ctv6 file.