diff --git a/apps/panmirror/src/index.ts b/apps/panmirror/src/index.ts
index 3bcf3d3c..d0fcc074 100644
--- a/apps/panmirror/src/index.ts
+++ b/apps/panmirror/src/index.ts
@@ -5,5 +5,5 @@
  */
 
 
-import { Editor, UITools } from 'editor';
-export default { Editor, UITools };
+import { Editor, UITools, InsertCitationDialog } from 'editor';
+export default { Editor, UITools, InsertCitationDialog };
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography-provider_local.ts b/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography-provider_local.ts
index 40a8295d..9084d4d9 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography-provider_local.ts
+++ b/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography-provider_local.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  *
  * Copyright (C) 2022-2026 by Posit Software, PBC
  */
-import { Node as ProsemirrorNode, Schema } from 'prosemirror-model';
+import { Schema } from 'prosemirror-model';
 import { Transaction } from 'prosemirror-state';
 
 import { PandocServer } from '../pandoc';
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ import {
   BibliographyCollection,
   BibliographySourceWithCollections,
 } from './bibliography';
-import { ParsedYaml, parseYamlNodes, valueFromYamlText } from '../yaml';
+import { ParsedYaml, YamlBlock, parseYamlNodes, valueFromYamlText } from '../yaml';
 import { toBibTeX } from './bibDB';
 import { CSL } from '../csl';
 import { Bibliography } from 'editor-types';
@@ -47,9 +47,9 @@ export class BibliographyDataProviderLocal implements BibliographyDataProvider {
     return Promise.resolve();
   }
 
-  public async load(ui: EditorUI, docPath: string | null, resourcePath: string, yamlBlocks: ParsedYaml[]): Promise<boolean> {
+  public async load(ui: EditorUI, docPath: string | null, resourcePath: string, yamlBlocks: YamlBlock[]): Promise<boolean> {
     // Gather the biblography files from the document
-    const bibliographiesRelative = bibliographyFilesFromDoc(yamlBlocks);
+    const bibliographiesRelative = bibliographyFilesFromYaml(yamlBlocks);
     const bibliographiesAbsolute = bibliographiesRelative?.map(path => {
       if (isAbsolute(path, ui.context.isWindowsDesktop())) {
         return path;
@@ -133,7 +133,7 @@ export class BibliographyDataProviderLocal implements BibliographyDataProvider {
     return undefined;
   }
 
-  public bibliographyPaths(doc: ProsemirrorNode, ui: EditorUI): BibliographyFile[] {
+  public bibliographyPaths(yamlBlocks: YamlBlock[], ui: EditorUI): BibliographyFile[] {
     const kPermissableFileExtensions = ['bibtex', 'bib', 'yaml', 'yml', 'json'];
     if (this.bibliography?.project_biblios && this.bibliography.project_biblios.length > 0) {
       return this.bibliography?.project_biblios.map(projectBiblio => {
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@ export class BibliographyDataProviderLocal implements BibliographyDataProvider {
       });
     }
     return (
-      bibliographyFilesFromDocument(doc)?.map(path => {
+      bibliographyFilesFromYaml(yamlBlocks)?.map(path => {
         return {
           displayPath: path,
           fullPath: isAbsolute(path, ui.context.isWindowsDesktop()) ? path : joinPaths(ui.context.getDefaultResourceDir(), path),
@@ -158,17 +158,13 @@ export class BibliographyDataProviderLocal implements BibliographyDataProvider {
   }
 }
 
-function bibliographyFilesFromDocument(doc: ProsemirrorNode): string[] | undefined {
-  // Gather the files from the document
-  return bibliographyFilesFromDoc(parseYamlNodes(doc));
-}
-
-function bibliographyFilesFromDoc(parsedYamls: ParsedYaml[]): string[] | undefined {
+// The bibliography files declared in the yaml blocks (undefined if there are none)
+export function bibliographyFilesFromYaml(yamlBlocks: YamlBlock[]): string[] | undefined {
   // Read the values of any yaml blocks that include bibliography headers
   // filter out blocks that don't include such headers
-  const bibliographyValues = parsedYamls
-    .map(parsedYaml => {
-      return valueFromYamlText('bibliography', parsedYaml.yamlCode);
+  const bibliographyValues = yamlBlocks
+    .map(yamlBlock => {
+      return valueFromYamlText('bibliography', yamlBlock.yamlCode);
     })
     .filter(val => val !== null);
 
@@ -189,8 +185,8 @@ function bibliographyFilesFromDoc(parsedYamls: ParsedYaml[]): string[] | undefin
   return undefined;
 }
 
-function referenceBlockFromYaml(parsedYamls: ParsedYaml[]): string {
-  const refBlockParsedYamls = parsedYamls.filter(
+function referenceBlockFromYaml(yamlBlocks: YamlBlock[]): string {
+  const refBlockParsedYamls = yamlBlocks.filter(
     parsedYaml => parsedYaml.yaml !== null && typeof parsedYaml.yaml === 'object' && parsedYaml.yaml.references,
   );
 
@@ -221,7 +217,7 @@ export function ensureBibliographyFileForDoc(tr: Transaction, bibliographyFile:
   const parsedYamlNodes = parseYamlNodes(tr.doc);
 
   // Gather the biblography files from the document
-  const bibliographiesRelative = bibliographyFilesFromDoc(parsedYamlNodes);
+  const bibliographiesRelative = bibliographyFilesFromYaml(parsedYamlNodes);
   if (bibliographiesRelative && bibliographiesRelative.length > 0) {
     // The user selected bibliography is already in the document OR
     // There is a bibliography entry, but it doesn't include the user
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography-provider_zotero.ts b/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography-provider_zotero.ts
index 3166fc69..d8399814 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography-provider_zotero.ts
+++ b/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography-provider_zotero.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@
  */
 
 
-import { ParsedYaml, valueFromYamlText } from '../yaml';
+import { YamlBlock, valueFromYamlText } from '../yaml';
 import { suggestCiteId } from '../cite';
 
 import {
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ export class BibliographyDataProviderZotero implements BibliographyDataProvider
     _ui: EditorUI,
     docPath: string,
     _resourcePath: string,
-    yamlBlocks: ParsedYaml[],
+    yamlBlocks: YamlBlock[],
     refreshCollectionData: boolean,
   ): Promise<boolean> {
     let hasUpdates = false;
@@ -195,12 +195,12 @@ export class BibliographyDataProviderZotero implements BibliographyDataProvider
 //
 // By default, zotero integration is enabled. Add this header to disable integration
 //
-function zoteroConfig(parsedYamls: ParsedYaml[]): boolean | string[] {
+function zoteroConfig(yamlBlocks: YamlBlock[]): boolean | string[] {
   // Read the values of any yaml blocks that include bibliography headers
   // filter out blocks that don't include such headers
-  const zoteroValues = parsedYamls
-    .map(parsedYaml => {
-      return valueFromYamlText('zotero', parsedYaml.yamlCode);
+  const zoteroValues = yamlBlocks
+    .map(yamlBlock => {
+      return valueFromYamlText('zotero', yamlBlock.yamlCode);
     })
     .filter(val => val !== null);
 
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography.ts b/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography.ts
index a286ee82..f1682d39 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography.ts
+++ b/packages/editor/src/api/bibliography/bibliography.ts
@@ -4,13 +4,11 @@
  * Copyright (C) 2022-2026 by Posit Software, PBC
  */
 
-import { Node as ProsemirrorNode } from 'prosemirror-model';
-
 import Fuse from 'fuse.js';
 import { PandocServer } from '../pandoc';
 
 import { EditorUI } from '../ui-types';
-import { ParsedYaml, parseYamlNodes } from '../yaml';
+import { YamlBlock, YamlBlockSource, yamlBlocksFromSource } from '../yaml';
 import { CSL } from '../csl';
 import { BibliographyDataProviderLocal, kLocalBibliographyProviderKey } from './bibliography-provider_local';
 import { BibliographyDataProviderZotero } from './bibliography-provider_zotero';
@@ -72,13 +70,13 @@ export interface BibliographyDataProvider {
     ui: EditorUI,
     docPath: string | null,
     resourcePath: string,
-    yamlBlocks: ParsedYaml[],
+    yamlBlocks: YamlBlock[],
     refreshCollectionData?: boolean,
   ): Promise<boolean>;
   collections(): BibliographyCollection[];
   items(): BibliographySourceWithCollections[];
   itemsForCollection(collectionKey: string): BibliographySourceWithCollections[];
-  bibliographyPaths(doc: ProsemirrorNode, ui: EditorUI): BibliographyFile[];
+  bibliographyPaths(yamlBlocks: YamlBlock[], ui: EditorUI): BibliographyFile[];
   generateBibTeX(ui: EditorUI, id: string, csl: CSL): Promise<string | undefined>;
   warningMessage(): string | undefined;
 }
@@ -135,18 +133,18 @@ export class BibliographyManager {
     }
   }
 
-  public async prime(ui: EditorUI, doc: ProsemirrorNode) {
+  public async prime(ui: EditorUI, source: YamlBlockSource) {
     // Load the bibliography
-    await this.load(ui, doc, true);
+    await this.load(ui, source, true);
   }
 
-  public async loadLocal(ui: EditorUI, doc: ProsemirrorNode) {
-    await this.load(ui, doc, false, true);
+  public async loadLocal(ui: EditorUI, source: YamlBlockSource) {
+    await this.load(ui, source, false, true);
   }
 
-  public async load(ui: EditorUI, doc: ProsemirrorNode, refreshCollectionData?: boolean, localOnly?: boolean): Promise<void> {
-    // read the Yaml blocks from the document
-    const parsedYamlNodes = parseYamlNodes(doc);
+  public async load(ui: EditorUI, source: YamlBlockSource, refreshCollectionData?: boolean, localOnly?: boolean): Promise<void> {
+    // read the Yaml blocks from the document (or use the blocks provided by the host)
+    const yamlBlocks = yamlBlocksFromSource(source);
 
     // Currently edited doc
     const docPath = ui.context.getDocumentPath();
@@ -155,7 +153,7 @@ export class BibliographyManager {
     const providers = localOnly ? this.providers.filter(provider => provider.requiresWritable === false) : this.providers;
     const providersNeedUpdate = await Promise.all(
       providers.map(provider =>
-        provider.load(ui, docPath, ui.context.getDefaultResourceDir(), parsedYamlNodes, refreshCollectionData),
+        provider.load(ui, docPath, ui.context.getDefaultResourceDir(), yamlBlocks, refreshCollectionData),
       ),
     );
 
@@ -177,7 +175,7 @@ export class BibliographyManager {
     }
 
     // Is this a writable bibliography
-    this.writable = this.isWritable(doc, ui);
+    this.writable = this.isWritable(yamlBlocks, ui);
   }
 
   public hasSources() {
@@ -209,8 +207,8 @@ export class BibliographyManager {
     return this.writable || false;
   }
 
-  private isWritable(doc: ProsemirrorNode, ui: EditorUI): boolean {
-    const bibliographyFiles = this.bibliographyFiles(doc, ui);
+  private isWritable(yamlBlocks: YamlBlock[], ui: EditorUI): boolean {
+    const bibliographyFiles = this.bibliographyFiles(yamlBlocks, ui);
     if (bibliographyFiles.length === 0) {
       // Since there are no bibliographies, we can permit writing a fresh one
       return true;
@@ -218,12 +216,13 @@ export class BibliographyManager {
     return bibliographyFiles.filter(bibFile => bibFile.writable).length > 0;
   }
 
-  public writableBibliographyFiles(doc: ProsemirrorNode, ui: EditorUI) {
-    return this.bibliographyFiles(doc, ui).filter(bibFile => bibFile.writable);
+  public writableBibliographyFiles(source: YamlBlockSource, ui: EditorUI) {
+    return this.bibliographyFiles(source, ui).filter(bibFile => bibFile.writable);
   }
 
-  public bibliographyFiles(doc: ProsemirrorNode, ui: EditorUI): BibliographyFile[] {
-    const bibliographyPaths = this.providers.map(provider => provider.bibliographyPaths(doc, ui));
+  public bibliographyFiles(source: YamlBlockSource, ui: EditorUI): BibliographyFile[] {
+    const yamlBlocks = yamlBlocksFromSource(source);
+    const bibliographyPaths = this.providers.map(provider => provider.bibliographyPaths(yamlBlocks, ui));
     return ([] as BibliographyFile[]).concat(...bibliographyPaths);
   }
 
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/api/yaml.ts b/packages/editor/src/api/yaml.ts
index 521b174a..a8445304 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/api/yaml.ts
+++ b/packages/editor/src/api/yaml.ts
@@ -138,13 +138,33 @@ export function stripYamlDelimeters(yamlCode: string) {
   return yamlCode.replace(/^[ \t-]+\n/, '').replace(/\n[ \t-.]+$/, '');
 }
 
-export interface ParsedYaml {
+// A yaml metadata block (e.g. front matter provided by a host w/o an editor instance)
+export interface YamlBlock {
   yamlCode: string;
   // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
   yaml: any;
+}
+
+// A yaml metadata block read from a document node
+export interface ParsedYaml extends YamlBlock {
   node: NodeWithPos;
 }
 
+// Yaml blocks can be read from a document or provided directly by the host
+export type YamlBlockSource = ProsemirrorNode | YamlBlock[];
+
+export function yamlBlocksFromSource(source: YamlBlockSource): YamlBlock[] {
+  return Array.isArray(source) ? source : parseYamlNodes(source);
+}
+
+// parse yaml blocks from their code (with or w/o enclosing ---)
+export function parseYamlBlocks(yamlBlocks: string[]): YamlBlock[] {
+  return yamlBlocks.map(yamlText => {
+    const yamlCode = stripYamlDelimeters(yamlText);
+    return { yamlCode, yaml: parseYaml(yamlCode) };
+  });
+}
+
 export function parseYamlNodes(doc: ProsemirrorNode): ParsedYaml[] {
   const yamlNodes = yamlMetadataNodes(doc);
 
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/behaviors/insert_citation/insert_citation.tsx b/packages/editor/src/behaviors/insert_citation/insert_citation.tsx
index 465126c4..088653f9 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/behaviors/insert_citation/insert_citation.tsx
+++ b/packages/editor/src/behaviors/insert_citation/insert_citation.tsx
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@
 import React from 'react';
 import { createRoot } from 'react-dom/client';
 
-import { Node as ProsemirrorNode } from 'prosemirror-model';
-
 import {
   BibliographyFile,
   BibliographyManager,
@@ -17,6 +15,7 @@ import {
   BibliographySource,
 } from '../../api/bibliography/bibliography';
 import { kInvalidCiteKeyChars } from '../../api/cite';
+import { YamlBlockSource } from '../../api/yaml';
 import { changeExtension } from '../../api/path';
 import { EditorUI } from '../../api/ui-types';
 import { WidgetProps } from '../../api/widgets/react';
@@ -56,10 +55,11 @@ export interface InsertCitationDialogResult {
 
 // Show the insert citation dialog and returns the
 // items that should be inserted, the bibliography in which to write them
-// and the last selected position in the tree
+// and the last selected position in the tree. The yaml source is the document
+// (or its yaml blocks, for hosts w/o an editor instance)
 export async function showInsertCitationDialog(
   ui: EditorUI,
-  doc: ProsemirrorNode,
+  yamlSource: YamlBlockSource,
   bibliographyManager: BibliographyManager,
   server: EditorServer,
   performInsertCitations: (result: InsertCitationDialogResult) => Promise<void>,
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ export async function showInsertCitationDialog(
       const providersForBibliography = (writable: boolean) => {
         if (writable) {
           const providers =  [
-            bibliographySourcePanel(doc, ui, bibliographyManager),
+            bibliographySourcePanel(ui, bibliographyManager),
             doiSourcePanel(ui, server.doi, bibliographyManager),
             crossrefSourcePanel(ui, server.crossref, server.doi, bibliographyManager),
             dataciteSourcePanel(ui, server.datacite, server.doi, bibliographyManager),
@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ export async function showInsertCitationDialog(
           }
           return providers;
         } else {
-          return [bibliographySourcePanel(doc, ui, bibliographyManager)];
+          return [bibliographySourcePanel(ui, bibliographyManager)];
         }
       };
       
@@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ export async function showInsertCitationDialog(
       const configurationStream: InsertCitationPanelConfigurationStream = {
         current: {
           providers: providersForBibliography(bibliographyManager.allowsWrites()),
-          bibliographyFiles: bibliographyManager.bibliographyFiles(doc, ui),
+          bibliographyFiles: bibliographyManager.bibliographyFiles(yamlSource, ui),
           existingIds: bibliographyManager.localSources().map(source => source.id),
         },
         stream: () => {
@@ -136,10 +136,10 @@ export async function showInsertCitationDialog(
       };
 
       // Load the bibliography and then update the configuration
-      bibliographyManager.load(ui, doc, true).then(() => {
+      bibliographyManager.load(ui, yamlSource, true).then(() => {
         updatedConfiguration = {
           providers: providersForBibliography(bibliographyManager.allowsWrites()),
-          bibliographyFiles: bibliographyManager.bibliographyFiles(doc, ui),
+          bibliographyFiles: bibliographyManager.bibliographyFiles(yamlSource, ui),
           existingIds: bibliographyManager.localSources().map(source => source.id),
         };
       });
@@ -212,7 +212,6 @@ export async function showInsertCitationDialog(
           initiallySelectedNodeKey={initiallySelectedNodeKey}
           onOk={onOk}
           onCancel={onCancel}
-          doc={doc}
           ui={ui}
         />
       );
@@ -251,7 +250,6 @@ interface InsertCitationPanelConfigurationStream {
 // to be added to a document.
 interface InsertCitationPanelProps extends WidgetProps {
   ui: EditorUI;
-  doc: ProsemirrorNode;
   height: number;
   width: number;
   themed: boolean;
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/behaviors/insert_citation/source_panels/insert_citation-source-panel-bibliography.tsx b/packages/editor/src/behaviors/insert_citation/source_panels/insert_citation-source-panel-bibliography.tsx
index 51654fba..0b9d11c9 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/behaviors/insert_citation/source_panels/insert_citation-source-panel-bibliography.tsx
+++ b/packages/editor/src/behaviors/insert_citation/source_panels/insert_citation-source-panel-bibliography.tsx
@@ -7,8 +7,6 @@
 import React from 'react';
 import uniqby from 'lodash.uniqby';
 
-import { Node as ProsemirrorNode } from 'prosemirror-model';
-
 import { EditorUI } from '../../../api/ui-types';
 import { NavigationTreeNode } from '../../../api/widgets/navigation-tree';
 import {
@@ -34,7 +32,6 @@ import './insert_citation-source-panel-bibliography.css';
 const kAllLocalSourcesRootNodeType = 'All Local Sources';
 
 export function bibliographySourcePanel(
-  _doc: ProsemirrorNode,
   ui: EditorUI,
   bibliographyManager: BibliographyManager,
 ): CitationSourcePanelProvider {
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/editor/editor-citation.ts b/packages/editor/src/editor/editor-citation.ts
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7e798611
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/editor/src/editor/editor-citation.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,107 @@
+/*
+ * editor-citation.ts
+ *
+ * Copyright (C) 2026 by Posit Software, PBC
+ */
+
+import { EditorServer } from 'editor-types';
+
+import { BibliographyManager, BibliographySource } from '../api/bibliography/bibliography';
+import { bibliographyFilesFromYaml } from '../api/bibliography/bibliography-provider_local';
+import { EditorUI } from '../api/ui-types';
+import { parseYamlBlocks } from '../api/yaml';
+import { InsertCitationDialogResult, showInsertCitationDialog } from '../behaviors/insert_citation/insert_citation';
+import { writeSourcesToBibliography } from '../marks/cite/cite';
+
+import { editorUIWithDefaultImages } from './editor-images';
+import { EditorTheme, ensureTheme } from './editor-theme';
+
+export interface InsertCitationOptions {
+  // yaml front matter block(s) of the document (with or w/o enclosing ---)
+  yaml: string[];
+  // theme to apply (if not specified the default theme is applied if no theme is active)
+  theme?: EditorTheme;
+  // key of the source tree node to select initially (typically the selectionKey
+  // returned from the previous invocation)
+  selectionKey?: string;
+}
+
+export interface InsertCitationResult {
+  // ids of the citations to insert (any new sources have already been written
+  // to the bibliography)
+  citationIds: string[];
+  // whether the user requested an in-text citation (e.g. @smith) rather than
+  // a bracketed citation (e.g. [@smith])
+  intextCitationStyle: boolean;
+  // bibliography file which the host should declare in the document's yaml
+  // front matter (undefined if the document already declares a bibliography
+  // or the file is a project-level bibliography)
+  bibliographyFile?: string;
+  // key of the source tree node that was selected when the dialog was dismissed
+  selectionKey?: string;
+}
+
+// Hosts the insert citation dialog w/o an editor instance (e.g. for a plain text
+// markdown editor). Only ui.dialogs, ui.context, ui.prefs and ui.images are used
+// (images fall back to the defaults). Bibliography data is cached across invocations.
+export class InsertCitationDialog {
+  private readonly ui: EditorUI;
+  private readonly server: EditorServer;
+  private readonly bibliographyManager: BibliographyManager;
+
+  constructor(ui: EditorUI, server: EditorServer) {
+    this.ui = editorUIWithDefaultImages(ui);
+    this.server = server;
+    this.bibliographyManager = new BibliographyManager(server.pandoc, server.zotero);
+  }
+
+  // Load bibliography data ahead of showing the dialog (otherwise it is loaded on show)
+  public prime(yaml: string[]): Promise<void> {
+    return this.bibliographyManager.prime(this.ui, parseYamlBlocks(yaml));
+  }
+
+  // Show the dialog, returning null if it was cancelled
+  public async show(options: InsertCitationOptions): Promise<InsertCitationResult | null> {
+    ensureTheme(options.theme);
+
+    const yamlBlocks = parseYamlBlocks(options.yaml);
+    let result: InsertCitationResult | null = null;
+    await showInsertCitationDialog(
+      this.ui,
+      yamlBlocks,
+      this.bibliographyManager,
+      this.server,
+      async (dialogResult: InsertCitationDialogResult) => {
+        // Remember whether the citation is intext for the future
+        this.ui.prefs.setCitationDefaultInText(dialogResult.intextCitationStyle);
+
+        // Write any new sources to the bibliography (the user may decline)
+        const bibliography = dialogResult.bibliography;
+        const written = await writeSourcesToBibliography(
+          dialogResult.bibliographySources,
+          bibliography,
+          this.bibliographyManager,
+          yamlBlocks,
+          this.ui,
+          this.server.pandoc,
+        );
+        if (!written) {
+          return;
+        }
+
+        // The host needs to declare the bibliography unless the document already
+        // declares one (or the bibliography is project-level)
+        const declared = bibliographyFilesFromYaml(yamlBlocks) || [];
+        const declareBibliography = !bibliography.isProject && declared.length === 0;
+        result = {
+          citationIds: dialogResult.bibliographySources.map((source: BibliographySource) => source.id),
+          intextCitationStyle: dialogResult.intextCitationStyle,
+          bibliographyFile: declareBibliography ? bibliography.displayPath : undefined,
+          selectionKey: dialogResult.selectionKey,
+        };
+      },
+      options.selectionKey,
+    );
+    return result;
+  }
+}
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/editor/editor-images.ts b/packages/editor/src/editor/editor-images.ts
index 6709404b..3e6415de 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/editor/editor-images.ts
+++ b/packages/editor/src/editor/editor-images.ts
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
  */
 
 import { EditorUIImages } from '../api/ui-images';
+import { EditorUI } from '../api/ui-types';
 
 import copyImage from './images/copy.png';
 import propertiesImage from './images/properties.png';
@@ -310,3 +311,23 @@ export function defaultEditorUIImages(): EditorUIImages {
     },
   };
 }
+
+// Merge the default images into the images provided by the host
+export function editorUIWithDefaultImages(ui: EditorUI): EditorUI {
+  const defaultImages = defaultEditorUIImages();
+  return {
+    ...ui,
+    images: {
+      ...defaultImages,
+      ...ui.images,
+      omni_insert: {
+        ...defaultImages.omni_insert,
+        ...ui.images?.omni_insert,
+      },
+      citations: {
+        ...defaultImages.citations,
+        ...ui.images?.citations,
+      },
+    },
+  };
+}
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/editor/editor-theme.ts b/packages/editor/src/editor/editor-theme.ts
index 008b14ae..771e49c6 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/editor/editor-theme.ts
+++ b/packages/editor/src/editor/editor-theme.ts
@@ -168,6 +168,18 @@ export function defaultTheme(): EditorTheme {
   };
 }
 
+const kThemeStylesId = 'pm-editor-theme-styles-id';
+
+// Apply the theme if one is provided, otherwise ensure that at least the
+// default theme has been applied (e.g. for dialogs shown w/o an editor instance)
+export function ensureTheme(theme?: EditorTheme) {
+  if (theme) {
+    applyTheme(theme);
+  } else if (!window.document.getElementById(kThemeStylesId)) {
+    applyTheme(defaultTheme());
+  }
+}
+
 export function applyTheme(theme: EditorTheme) {
   // merge w/ defaults
   const defaults = defaultTheme();
@@ -418,7 +430,7 @@ export function applyTheme(theme: EditorTheme) {
   `;
 
   // set style
-  setStyleElement('pm-editor-theme-styles-id', themeCss);
+  setStyleElement(kThemeStylesId, themeCss);
 }
 
 export function applyPadding(padding: string) {
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/editor/editor.ts b/packages/editor/src/editor/editor.ts
index aae80244..0ef73a9e 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/editor/editor.ts
+++ b/packages/editor/src/editor/editor.ts
@@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ import { realtimeSpellingPlugin, invalidateAllWords, invalidateWord, spellingCon
 
 import { PandocConverter, PandocLineWrapping } from '../pandoc/pandoc_converter';
 
-import { defaultEditorUIImages } from './editor-images';
+import { defaultEditorUIImages, editorUIWithDefaultImages } from './editor-images';
 import { editorMenus } from './editor-menus';
 import { editorSchema } from './editor-schema';
 
@@ -410,24 +410,9 @@ export class Editor  {
   
 
     // provide context defaults
-    const defaultImages = defaultEditorUIImages();
     context = {
       ...context,
-      ui: {
-        ...context.ui,
-        images: {
-          ...defaultImages,
-          ...context.ui.images,
-          omni_insert: {
-            ...defaultImages.omni_insert,
-            ...context.ui.images,
-          },
-          citations: {
-            ...defaultImages.citations,
-            ...context.ui.images,
-          },
-        },
-      },
+      ui: editorUIWithDefaultImages(context.ui),
     };
 
     // resolve the format
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/index.ts b/packages/editor/src/index.ts
index df292c7d..a7fd106f 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/editor/src/index.ts
@@ -29,6 +29,7 @@ export * from './api/codeview';
 
 // main editor module
 export * from './editor/editor';
+export * from './editor/editor-citation';
 
 
 
diff --git a/packages/editor/src/marks/cite/cite.ts b/packages/editor/src/marks/cite/cite.ts
index 89992d56..47ea8da7 100644
--- a/packages/editor/src/marks/cite/cite.ts
+++ b/packages/editor/src/marks/cite/cite.ts
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ import { performCompletionReplacement } from '../../api/completion';
 import { FixupContext } from '../../api/fixup';
 import { pasteTransaction } from '../../api/clipboard';
 import { ensureBibliographyFileForDoc } from '../../api/bibliography/bibliography-provider_local';
+import { YamlBlockSource } from '../../api/yaml';
 
 import { citationCompletionHandler } from './cite-completion';
 import { citeHighlightPlugin } from './cite-highlight';
@@ -754,9 +755,39 @@ export async function ensureSourcesInBibliography(
   view: EditorView,
   ui: EditorUI,
   server: PandocServer,
+): Promise<boolean> {
+  // Write the sources to the bibliography file
+  const proceedWithInsert = await writeSourcesToBibliography(
+    sources,
+    bibliographyFile,
+    bibManager,
+    view.state.doc,
+    ui,
+    server,
+  );
+
+  // Ensure the bibliography file is referenced in the document YAML
+  if (proceedWithInsert && !bibliographyFile.isProject && sources.some(source => source.id)) {
+    ensureBibliographyFileForDoc(tr, bibliographyFile.displayPath);
+  }
+
+  return proceedWithInsert;
+}
+
+// Writes the sources to the specified bibliography file (if they aren't already
+// present), confirming with the user if a provider has a warning. Returns false
+// if the user elected not to proceed. This doesn't touch the document, so it can
+// also be used by hosts that don't have an editor instance.
+export async function writeSourcesToBibliography(
+  sources: BibliographySource[],
+  bibliographyFile: BibliographyFile,
+  bibManager: BibliographyManager,
+  yamlSource: YamlBlockSource,
+  ui: EditorUI,
+  server: PandocServer,
 ): Promise<boolean> {
   // Write entry to a bibliography file if it isn't already present
-  await bibManager.loadLocal(ui, view.state.doc);
+  await bibManager.loadLocal(ui, yamlSource);
 
   // See if there is a warning for the selected provider. If there is, we may need to surface
   // that to the user. If there is no provider specified, no need to care about warnings.
@@ -816,10 +847,6 @@ export async function ensureSourcesInBibliography(
               ui.context.getDocumentPath()
             );
           }
-
-          if (!bibliographyFile.isProject) {
-            ensureBibliographyFileForDoc(tr, bibliographyFile.displayPath);
-          }
         }
       }),
     );