Windows 11:

• 7.0.2

Mac (arm64; x86_64):

• 7.0.2

Linux (Ubuntu 22.04):

• 7.0.1

Here is a curated reading list from the official CiteSpace blog to help you get started as a beginner or catch up on the latest advanced features as an experienced user:

For Beginners: Getting Started

"What Do CiteSpace Visualizations Mean?" (August 2026)

This is the ultimate foundational guide to understanding the software's unique "visual language". It breaks down how to interpret visual patterns like nodes, structural clusters, and citation bursts to make sense of your data maps.

"Broad Overviews" (2024–2025)

Perfect for your first project. It details how to quickly generate high-level, circular, and landscape visualizations to map out the scope of subject categories within any brand-new dataset.

For Experienced Users: Refreshing What is New

"CiteSpace 7.0 Overview" (January–August 2026)

Essential for updating your toolkit. This tracks major 2026 releases (v7.0.0 and v7.0.1), highlighting newly introduced UMAP and Circular-Spiral layouts, Scopus conversion fixes, and the restoration of structural variation analysis (SVA).

"Context-Aware and High-Quality Cluster Summarization" (March 2025)

To learn how to leverage large language models (LLMs) like GPT-4o and DeepSeek directly within CiteSpace. It explains how the built-in system now uses AI to generate highly precise thematic syntheses and keyword suggestions for your clusters.

"What's New in Advanced Features: Geocoding Updates"

Crucial if you use geographic mapping features. It covers critical technical changes to the Google Earth KML mapping feature, specifically how to set up your own API key environment variable.

When analyzing a network visualization generated by CiteSpace, there are several key visual patterns and elements to pay special attention to:

1. Clusters: Clusters are groups of closely related nodes. They often represent a specific theme or topic within the broader research area. Larger clusters typically indicate more research activity or interest in that particular area.

2. Node Size: The size of a node usually indicates its importance or prominence in the network. Larger nodes might represent highly cited papers, influential researchers, or key concepts.

3. Node Color and Tree Rings: The color of nodes and the presence of tree rings (especially red rings) can be significant. The color often represents the time frame of the publication or the emergence of a concept. Red tree rings indicate citation bursts, suggesting that the work has received increasing attention over a specific period.

4. Links Between Nodes: The connections or links between nodes show relationships, such as co-authorship, co-citation, or thematic similarity. The strength and number of these links can indicate the degree of association.

5. Time Axis or Temporal Distribution: Many CiteSpace visualizations have a time component, showing the evolution of the field over time. This can help identify trends, emerging areas, or shifts in research focus.

6. Structural Holes: Places in the network where there are gaps between clusters can indicate areas of potential innovation or interdisciplinary opportunities, as they may represent underexplored connections between different fields or concepts.

7. Modularity and Silhouette Values: These metrics, if provided, can give insights into the network's structure. High modularity indicates well-defined clusters, while silhouette values can suggest the coherence or reliability of the clustering.

8. Labels and Annotations: Descriptive labels on nodes or clusters provide contextual information, helping to quickly understand what each element represents.

Understanding these elements in the context of your specific research or area of interest can yield valuable insights into the structure and dynamics of the scientific landscape you are exploring.

当分析由CiteSpace生成的网络可视化时，有几个关键的可视化形式和特征需要特别注意：

1. 聚类（Clusters）：聚类是一组紧密相关的节点。它们通常代表在更广泛的研究领域内的特定主题或话题。较大的聚类通常表示在该特定领域的研究活动或兴趣更为集中。

2. 节点大小（Node Size）：节点的大小通常表示其在网络中的重要性或突出性。较大的节点可能代表高引用论文、有影响力的研究人员或关键概念。

3. 节点颜色和树环（Node Color and Tree Rings）：节点的颜色和树环的存在（特别是红色环）可能很重要。颜色通常代表出版物的时间框架或概念的出现。红色树环表示引文突增，表明该工作在特定时期内获得了越来越多的关注。

4. 节点间的链接（Links Between Nodes）：节点间的连接或链接显示了关系，如合著、共引或主题相似性。这些链接的强度和数量可以表示关联程度。

5. 时间轴或时间分布（Time Axis or Temporal Distribution）：许多CiteSpace可视化具有时间组件，显示了该领域随时间的演变。这可以帮助识别趋势、新兴领域或研究重点的转变。

6. 结构洞（Structural Holes）：网络中聚类之间的间隙表明了潜在的创新或跨学科机会，因为它们可能代表了不同领域或概念之间未被充分探索的连接。

7. 模块化和轮廓值（Modularity and Silhouette Values）：如果提供了这些指标，可以对网络的结构提供洞察。高模块化表示定义良好的聚类，而轮廓值可以提供聚类的一致性或可靠性。

8. 标签和注释（Labels and Annotations）：节点或聚类上的描述性标签提供了背景信息，有助于快速理解每个元素代表的内容。

在您特定的研究或兴趣领域的背景下理解这些元素，可以为您探索的科学领域的结构和动态提供宝贵的洞察。

1. Check the FAQs

2. Ask the CiteSpace Official Support Assistant GPT

3. email info.citespace@gmail.com

Please describe issues you are encountering in detail, including error messages, screenshots, and crash reports, so that we can identify the cause of the problem. Try to send more specific messages instead of "The function X doesn't work" or "I can't install the new version". Please include the following information in your inquiry:

1. What is your operating system? Windows 11 or Mac Sequoia 15 or Ubuntu 24.04?

2. Which version of CiteSpace and the built date?

3. What are the steps to reconstruct the error you encountered

4. Any error messages in the console

5. if possible, include screenshots of the main interface and the project properties

有问题时请先查看常见问题解答(FAQ) 以及CiteSpace official Support Assistant GPT里是否已有同样问题的解决办法。
请提供尽可能详细的信息，避免像“功能 X 不起作用”或“我无法安装新版本”这样过于空泛的留言。

1. 操作系统：Windows、Mac

2. CiteSpace版本和建成日期

3. 问题出现之前的具体步骤

4. 任何提示出错的信息，详细报告

5. 相关屏幕截图或录屏

RAM: 4MB or more
CiteSpace installers assume your computer has at least 4MB RAM. If you have fewer RAM, you need to modify the configuration file (See below)

内存：4MB或以上
CiteSpace 安装程序假定您的计算机至少有 4MB RAM。如果你的RAM较少，则需要修改配置文件（见下文）

Java 21 or higher
If you don't have any version of Java installed on your computer, you don't need to do anything. CiteSpace installers will take care of it.
If you have installed Java below 17, you need to uninstall Java. Note this may impact on your other Java applications.

Java 21 或更高版本
如果您的计算机上没有安装任何版本的 Java，则无需另行安装Java。 CiteSpace 安装程序就足够了。
如果您已安装 Java 17 或更高版本，也不需要改动。
但是如果您安装了17以下的Java，则需要卸载Java。请注意，这可能会影响您的其他 Java 应用程序对Java版本的要求。

CiteSpace is available for Windows， Mac， and Linux. Login to your Podia account and choose the corresponding installer accordingly to download.

1. Login to your Podia account. Go to the Products page.

2. On the Products page, find your product. Click into it.

You will see a list of files, including installers for Windows, Mac, and Linux. Click on the specific installer file to download. Note: Do not use the Download button. The Download button will attempt to download ALL the files available to your subscription, which would be unnecessary and, more importantly, if it may lead to a timeout.

下载安装文件

如下图所示，直接点击黄色标出的文件。如果是 Windows，下载 exe 或msi 文件；如果是 Mac，下载 dmg 文件。注意：不要点击"Download"按钮，因为那会试图下载你账户下所有可供下载的文件，很容易导致超时。

网页无法访问或超时

Users from some locations may experience network throttles imposed by local Internet providers, restrictions from campus networks, or other restrictions on Internet access. You may try a different Internet connection, use the hotspot of your mobile phone, or use a VPN. You should also check your firewall settings.

有些用户有时会遇到超时或网页无法访问的问题。具体原因包括网络限流或拦截或使用代理服务器有关。建议先试试使用手机热点，变更联网方式，VPN，检查防火墙和杀毒软件是否拦截或屏蔽podia网站等方法（参考下面具体步骤），如果仍有问题, 联系info.citespace@gmail.com并提供相关信息，包括操作系统等相关信息。

Here are a few step-by-step tutorials on how to fix the problem:

1. how to

2. how to

3. how to

How to deal with Microsoft Edge's "isn't commonly downloaded" warning

https://www.ghacks.net/2022/07/02/how-to-deal-with-microsoft-edges-isnt-commonly-downloaded-warning/

How can I download files reported as unsafe by Microsoft Defender SmartScreen in Internet Explorer 10 or Microsoft Edge?

Downloads reported as unsafe by Microsoft Defender SmartScreen can be downloaded by using the following steps:

1. Copy the web address (URL) of the download or the page that hosts the download link.

2. Open Internet Explorer 10 or Microsoft Edge on the desktop.

3. Paste the URL into the address bar and hit enter. If the URL was to the page hosting the download, click on the desired download link on that web page.

4. When the Microsoft Defender SmartScreen block is shown, click View Downloads.

5. In the IE10 or Microsoft Edge Download Manager, right-click on the download and choose Download unsafe file.

6. When the file download is complete, it can be launched by right-clicking on the item again and choosing Run anyway.

When you try to install or uninstall an application such as CiteSpace on Windows, your installation or uninstallation may fail and you will see error messages similar to the following:

The issue is most commonly due to a failure of the Windows Installer service on your computer. The following link is a good source of steps to fix this problem:

Solutions

Here is a video.

安装或卸载时如果遇到上图所示问题，很可能是你的电脑上Windows Installer service 没有正常工作。请按照上面链接里的步骤检查修复。

CiteSpace 7.0.1 is available for two types of chips on Mac: arm64 (Apple chips M1-M4) and x86-64.

First, verify whether your Mac is supported.

1. Open a Terminal window (Command + space, type Terminal, press Enter)

2. Type the command below, then press the Enter key:

   uname -m

If you see arm64 of x86-64, then it is supported. Make sure you download the correct version. For arm64, for example, you should download citespace-macos-arm64.dmg.

Other Possible Issues

If your Mac prompts you with a message similar to this:
“CiteSpace" is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the Trash.
You can solve the problem as follows.
1) Press the "Cancel" button.
2) Open a Terminal window and enter the following two commands one by one:
cd /Applications
sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine CiteSpace.app
Then you should be able to open the CiteSpace.app.
Further readings

If you get the error like the following,
xattr: [Errno 1] Operation not permitted
you may follow the steps here.

If you still cannot run CiteSpace, go to settings > Privacy and Security > Security. You should allow CiteSpace there.

Mac 安装详细步骤

先确认你的 Mac 是否支持

CiteSpace 当前的 mac 版本 支持 Apple 芯片（M1 / M2 / M3 / M4，arm64） 和 x86-64。

1. 打开 终端（Terminal）

   • Finder → 应用程序 → 实用工具 → 终端

   • 或者按 Command + 空格，输入「终端」，回车

2. 在终端中 复制并粘贴下面这行，然后按回车：uname -m

如果显示：arm64 → 下载arm64版
如果显示：x86_64 → 下载x86-64版

正式打开程序

不要双击

正确方式：

1. 在 Finder 中找到 citespace

2. 右键点击

3. 选择 “打开（Open）”

4. 弹出安全提示时，再次选择 “打开”

这是 macOS 对“非 App Store 程序”的正常安全机制

如果执行上述步骤中仍有问题，可以把终端窗口的截图发给我们，我们可以直接帮你判断问题出在哪里。  
相关阅读

视频

No.

This question is concerned with the Advanced version only. You can still use CiteSpace without MySQL。
这个问题仅涉及高级版。而且没有 MySQL 也可以使用 CiteSpace。

Which version of MySQL is supported?
CiteSpace currently works with MySQL Server 8.0.

'MySQL server is running with the --secure-file-priv option.'
First, find the my.ini file used by your MySQL. Start a MySQL command line client and use the following query:

SHOW VARIABLES LIKE 'pid_file';

You may see something similar to:

C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.1\Data\...pid

You should edit the my.ini file under C:\ProgramData\MySQL\MySQL Server 8.1

Make the following changes in the my.ini file and restart MySQL server.

        secure-file-priv=""

“MySQL 服务器正在以 --secure-file-priv 选项运行。”
在 MySQL 的 my.ini 文件中进行以下更改并重新启动 MySQL 服务器。
        secure-file-priv=""

”OS errno 13 - Permission denied“
Windows: services > MySQL service
Right-click on your MySQL service

Properties > Log On > Log on as: Local System account

“OS errno 13 - 权限被拒绝”
Windows：services > MySQL80
右键单击 MySQL80
Properties > Log On > Log on as: Local System account

Here are two videos (in Chinese) on relevant topics:
这里有两个相关视频（中文）：
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1qA4y1976H?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=22bbb347bb8d67ef942ba5a57f76efb1
https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1BT4y1r783?share_source=copy_web&vd_source=22bbb347bb8d67ef942ba5a57f76efb1

1. Author
2. Year of Publication
3. Title (Optional)
4. Source
5. Volume
6. Page
7. DOI

1. DOI X: Pettersen EF, 2004, J COMPUT CHEM, V25, P1605, DOI 10.1002/jcc.20084
2. DOI DOI X: Taylor, 2005, LMS J COMPUT MATH, V8, P145, DOI DOI 10.1112/S1461157000000942
3. DOI [DOI X, X]: Wainer H., 1980, APPL PSYCHOL MEAS, V4, P331, DOI [DOI 10.1177/014662168000400305, 10.1177/014662168000400305]
4. DOI [DOI X, x]: McManus P. M., 1989, CURATOR, V32, P174, DOI [DOI 10.1111/J.2151-6952.1989.TB00718.X, 10.1111/j.2151-6952.1989.tb00718.x]
5. DOI [DOI X, Y]: Agarwal A, 2011, P LSM PORTL OR, P30, DOI [DOI 10.3115/990820.990886, 10.5555/2021109.2021114]
6. DOI [DOI X, y, Y]: Preece J., Schneiderman B., 2009, AIS T HUMAN COMPUTER, V1, P13, DOI [DOI 10.17705/1THCI.00005, 10.5121/ijfcst.2014.4403, DOI 10.5121/IJFCST.2014.4403]
7. DOI [DOI X, DOI Y]: Babcock B., 2002, PODS 02, P1, DOI [DOI 10.1145/543613, DOI 10.1145/543613.543615]
8. DOI [DOI X, Y, DOI Y]: Bell S., Morse S., 2001, LOCAL ENVIRON, V6, P291, DOI [DOI 10.1080/13549830120073284, 10.1080/1354983012007328, DOI 10.1080/1354983012007328] (the last digit 4 is missing)

CiteSpace shows the layout process as the network is getting settled to an optimal configuration. During the process, the background color is black. Once it is done, the background color becomes white. You can stop the process as soon as the main structure becomes relatively stable.

Use the All-in-One button to show clusters with summarization labels. In addition, the function optimizes the layout.

Alternatively, you may take a step-by-step approach:

1. Clusters > Find Clusters

2. Clusters > Show Clusters' k-cores

3. Clusters > Optimize Layout

Labeling

Cluster labels are automatically generated by CiteSpace based on the most representative articles that cite members of a given cluster.
If your data contains titles of cited references, such as in Scopus and Dimensions, cluster labels can be extracted from titles of cited articles in a cluster.
聚类标签由 CiteSpace 根据对应该聚类的最具代表性的施引文献自动生成。
如果数据中包括被引文献标题，如 Scopus 或者 Dimensions 数据，CiteSpace 也可以从被引文献的标题中提取聚类标签。

User Defined Cluster Labels

Users may change the label of a cluster by editing a tab-delimited file under the project folder: cluster_labels.tsv. The file should contain two columns: the cluster ID and the new label of your choice, separated by a tab.
用户定义的聚类标签
用户可以编辑项目文件夹下的制表符分隔文件来自行定义聚类标签：cluster_labels.tsv。该文件的格式每个聚类的标签定义为一行，两部分以制表符分开:  Cluster ID 和自行定义的新标签。

GPT-Generated Cluster Labels and Summaries

You may generate cluster labels and summaries by using OpenAI GPT API in CiteSpace. Then you may switch back and forth between the GPT-generated and the original CiteSpace-generated or user generated labels. With data from Scopus and Dimensions, you can also generate cluster labels based on titles of cited references as well as titles of citing articles. The reference-based labeling is not available for data from the Web of Science as the standard Web of Science format does not contain titles of cited references. You can switch to different GPT models and 8 different languages. Current, three GPT models are accessible via CiteSpace: gpt-4o. Earlier versions support gpt-4-turbo, and gpt-3.5-turbo. Similarly, in earlier version you may use Ollama models such as llama3 and gemma:2b, either with Ollama on your localhost or on a remote server.
For a brief demo, see a recorded video here.
GPT 定义的聚类标签和概要
您可以通过集成在CiteSpace中的OpenAI GPT API来生成聚类标签和概要。然后，您可以在GPT生成的标签和CiteSpace生成的或用户生成的原始标签之间来回切换。使用Scopus和Dimensions的数据，您还可以选择基于被引用参考文献的标题以及引用文章的标题生成聚类标签和概要。基于参考文献的选择不适用于Web of Science的数据，因为标准的Web of Science格式不包含被引用参考文献的标题。您可以切换到不同的GPT模型和8种不同的语言。目前，通过CiteSpace可以访问三种GPT模型：gpt-4o。前面几个版本支持 gpt-4-turbo、和 gpt-3.5-turbo。此外，6.4.R2 之前的版本也支持 Ollma 模型如 llama3 或 gemma:2b 等，通过 localhost 或其他地址。

有关演示，请参阅视频部分。

Set up and Cost
To use the GPT button, users need to obtain your own GPT API key and set an environment variable OPENAI_API_KEY with your key as its value. Be aware of the API usage cost, which is charged by OpenAI, not CiteSpace. The single use of this function may cost about $0.05 based on the default setting. You may select gpt-4o, gpt-4-turbo, or gpt-3.5-turbo.
设置和花费
GPT 定义聚类标签功能需要用户自己先从 OpenAI 获取 GPT API 密钥，并以密钥为值设置环境变量 OPENAI_API_KEY。请注意 API 使用费用，这是由 OpenAI 而非 CiteSpace 收取的。

API Rate Limit 速率限制

The summarization function in CiteSpace is subject to the RPM and TPM associated with your OpenAI API account. In CiteSpace, you can set RPM accordingly to match the Tier of your account with OpenAI API. See my blog for more details.

For more details on RPM and TPM, see https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/rate-limits/overview

Save Visualizations

It is strongly recommended to save the visualization as a JSON file by selecting Visualizations > Save Visualization. This allows you to reopen the saved visualization later via Visualizations > Open Saved Visualization and continue exploring it. This feature is especially useful if you want to open the visualization in a newer version of CiteSpace for further analysis or presentation.

最好通过菜单 Visualizations > Save Visualization 将可视化图谱保存为 JSON 文件。这样，以后可以通过 Visualizations > Open Saved Visualization 打开该图谱并继续进行微调。将来也可以用更新版的 CiteSpace 打开已有图谱以进行进一步分析或展示时。

Save as a Website

You can also export the visualization as a website—that is, as a folder of files that can be hosted on a web server. This allows anyone to view and interact with the visualization directly through a web browser, without needing CiteSpace. You can also open the visualization on a local machine using a lightweight web server, such as:

python3 -m http.server

您还可以将可视化图谱导出为一个网站形式的文件夹，即一组可以部署在 Web 服务器上的文件。这样，任何人都可以通过普通的网页浏览器查看和交互操作图谱，而无需安装 CiteSpace。您也可以在本地计算机上使用轻量级的 Web 服务器打开这些文件，例如：

python3 -m http.server

Landscape Visualization
The visualization shows a field of research or a topic as a whole based on your underlying dataset.
The holistic structure shows how various integral clusters evolve over time.

Each cluster is depicted with the following information: when did it start, how long did it last, and when did it end, or is it still active? The height of a peak indicates the volume of members of the cluster published in the corresponding year, which indicates the level of activeness of the cluster.
Pay attention to these visual features and focus on the following questions:
Which clusters are the pioneering ones? Those with the leftmost starting time. What are they about? See their cluster labels.
Which clusters have been the most active ever? Those with the highest peaks.
Which clusters are the most persistent? Those with the longest time span.
Which clusters are still ongoing today? Those extending to the most recent years.

Landscape View 解读要点：

1. 整个图表现的是一个领域或主题的整体结构

2. 整体结构细分为各个聚类，每个聚类开始，持续，结束的时间。山峰的高矮表示聚类的活跃程度。

3. 哪些是最早出现的聚类？哪些是历史上最活跃的聚类？哪些是持续最长的聚类？哪些是当前最活跃的聚类？