Bibindex converts a .bib file to a .bix file, which is a compact binary representation of the .bib file containing hash tables for fast lookup, as well as byte offset positions into the corresponding .bib file.

biblook provides an interactive lookup facility using the .bix and .bib files. it verifies that the file version number and bibindex version number match its own values, and also compares the file time stamps so that it can detect whether the .bix file is out-of-date with respect to the .bib file. in either case, execution terminates.

this debian package features a command line history mechanism through the gnu readline library.