by 54yyyu
Zotero MCP: Connects your Zotero research library with Claude and other AI assistants via the Model Context Protocol to discuss papers, get summaries, analyze citations, and more.
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# Add to your Claude Code skills
git clone https://github.com/54yyyu/zotero-mcpGuides for using ai agents skills like zotero-mcp.
Last scanned: 10/7/2026
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"issues": [],
"status": "PASSED",
"scannedAt": "2026-10-07T10:51:33.714Z",
"npmAuditRan": true,
"pipAuditRan": true,
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}See how zotero-mcp compares with popular alternatives.
Zotero MCP connects your Zotero research library with ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI assistants (e.g., Cherry Studio, Chorus, Cursor) via the Model Context Protocol. Search your library, read and annotate papers, add and organize items, and find research by meaning.
AI agents: read docs/for-agents.md first. It covers which route to use, setup, and the commands in one place.
zotero.sqlite; writes go to the running Zotero 10+ or through the web APIzotero-cli plus an agent skill for coding agents1. Install (Python 3.10+):
uv tool install zotero-mcp-server # or: pip install zotero-mcp-server
New to the command line? Try the community-built Zotero MCP Setup: a macOS GUI installer, one-click scripts for Mac and Windows, and a step-by-step guide.
2. Enable Zotero's local API: in Zotero 7+, open Settings → Advanced and tick Allow other applications on this computer to communicate with Zotero.
3. Connect your assistant:
zotero-mcp setup # auto-configures Claude Desktop
or add the server by hand (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Claude Code: ~/.claude.json):
{
"mcpServers": {
"zotero": {
"command": "zotero-mcp",
"env": { "ZOTERO_LOCAL": "true" }
}
}
}
4. Writes (optional): on Zotero 10+, run zotero-mcp authorize-local once and choose Always Allow. On older Zotero, add ZOTERO_API_KEY and ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID to write through the web API.
Then ask things like "Find papers in my library on attention mechanisms", "Summarize the key findings of this paper", or "Highlight the main claims of this PDF".
ChatGPT, Cherry Studio, Chorus, Autohand, and other clients: see Getting started.
The base install covers search, reading, annotations, and writes. Heavier features are extras:
| Extra | What it adds | Install command |
|---|---|---|
semantic |
Semantic search via ChromaDB, sentence-transformers, OpenAI/Gemini embeddings | pip install "zotero-mcp-server[semantic]" |
pdf |
PDF outlines, page layout and page images (PyMuPDF), EPUB annotations | pip install "zotero-mcp-server[pdf]" |
scite |
Scite citation tallies and retraction alerts (no account needed) | pip install "zotero-mcp-server[scite]" |
all |
Everything above | pip install "zotero-mcp-server[all]" |
Update any time with zotero-mcp update.
If your agent has a shell (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Windsurf, Gemini CLI, Amp, OpenCode …), one command teaches it to drive zotero-cli:
zotero-mcp install-skill
An MCP server sends every tool's schema on every request, before you type anything. The skill costs 98 tokens until the agent decides it is relevant:
| Route | In context | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| MCP server, default profile (38 tools) | 13,448 | every request |
| Agent skill, frontmatter only | 98 | always |
| Agent skill, body loaded | 1,368 | when it fires |
Use the MCP server when your client speaks MCP but has no shell (Claude Desktop, ChatGPT); use the skill when it has a shell. Both share one config. Details: CLI and agent skill.
| Guide | What's in it |
|---|---|
| Getting started | Connecting Claude Desktop and Claude Code, ChatGPT, Cherry Studio, Chorus, Autohand, and other MCP clients |
| Configuration | Environment variables, local writes, web and hybrid modes, the SQLite read backend, global search, text extraction, command-line options |
| Semantic search | Embedding models, building and updating the index |
| Tools | Every MCP tool, tool groups (ZOTERO_MCP_TOOLSETS), related items, PDF annotation extraction |
| CLI and agent skill | zotero-cli command reference, --json output, install-skill |
| Docker | Container images and runtime modes |
| Troubleshooting | Common problems and fixes |
| For AI agents | One guide for an agent setting up or using Zotero MCP |
Website: stevenyuyy.com/zotero-mcp · Changelog
Issues and pull requests are welcome. Run the tests with uv run pytest tests/. A live integration test plan, meant to be run by Claude against a real library, is in docs/integration-test-plan.md.
Zotero MCP is free and MIT-licensed.
If it saves you or your lab time, sponsoring helps cover the unglamorous parts: Windows and WSL2 edge cases, Zotero schema changes, group-library support, and the embedding/search infrastructure.
Labs and institutions: the $50 and $200 tiers are meant to be expensable, and include priority triage on the issues affecting your workflow.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed code, fixes, and ideas to Zotero MCP.
zotero-mcp is an open-source ai agents skill for AI coding assistants such as Claude Code, Codex CLI, and ChatGPT, built by 54yyyu. Zotero MCP: Connects your Zotero research library with Claude and other AI assistants via the Model Context Protocol to discuss papers, get summaries, analyze citations, and more. It has 5,266 GitHub stars.
Yes. zotero-mcp passed SkillsLLM's automated security scan — a dependency vulnerability audit plus prompt-injection heuristics — with no high-severity issues. You can read the full report in the Security Report section on this page.
Clone the repository with "git clone https://github.com/54yyyu/zotero-mcp" and add it to your Claude Code skills directory (see the Installation section above).
zotero-mcp is primarily written in Python. It is open-source under 54yyyu on GitHub, so you can review or fork the full source.
Yes. SkillsLLM lists many other AI Agents skills you can browse and compare side by side. Open the AI Agents category from the badge at the top of this page, or use the Related Skills and comparison links further down to weigh zotero-mcp against similar tools.
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