Zotero
An AI-powered research assistant that integrates with Zotero to read academic papers, create intelligent annotations, and generate structured notes. It enables users to highlight findings, explain formulas, and write comprehensive summaries directly
What is Zotero?
Zotero is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to ai-powered research assistant that integrates with zotero to read academic papers, create intelligent annotations, and generate structured notes. it enables users to highlight findings, explain formul...
An AI-powered research assistant that integrates with Zotero to read academic papers, create intelligent annotations, and generate structured notes. It enables users to highlight findings, explain formulas, and write comprehensive summaries directly
This server falls under the Knowledge & Memory category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- An AI-powered research assistant that integrates with Zotero
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx zotero-mcpConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Zotero
zotero-mcp-server connects your Zotero reference manager to MCP-compatible AI clients, giving them read and write access to your research library through 20+ tools. It supports keyword and semantic vector search across your entire collection, full-text extraction and PDF annotation retrieval, DOI and URL-based import, collection management, duplicate merging, and optional citation intelligence via Scite integration. Researchers and academics can ask their AI assistant to find, summarize, annotate, and organize papers directly from their Zotero library without leaving the chat interface.
Prerequisites
- Python 3.10 or later
- Zotero 7 or later installed and running locally (enables local full-text indexing)
- Local API enabled in Zotero Preferences > Advanced > Allow other applications to communicate
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop
- Optional: OPENAI_API_KEY or GEMINI_API_KEY for premium semantic embeddings
Install zotero-mcp-server
Install the package using uv tool install (recommended for isolated environments) or pip. The base install includes keyword search and metadata access.
# Recommended:
uv tool install zotero-mcp-server
# Or with pip:
pip install zotero-mcp-server
# Full install with all optional features:
uv tool install 'zotero-mcp-server[all]'Enable the local API in Zotero
Open Zotero, go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced, and enable 'Allow other applications to communicate with Zotero via HTTP'. This is required for local desktop access without an API key.
Auto-configure for Claude Desktop
Run the setup command which detects your Claude Desktop installation and writes the MCP server configuration automatically.
zotero-mcp setupIndex full text for better search
Build the full-text index and semantic embeddings database so the semantic_search tool can find conceptually related papers.
zotero-mcp update-db --fulltextVerify the server is working
Check the database status and confirm the server can connect to your Zotero library.
zotero-mcp db-statusZotero Examples
Client configuration
Manual configuration for Claude Desktop if auto-setup was not used. For local Zotero access no API key is required; set ZOTERO_LOCAL=true.
{
"mcpServers": {
"zotero": {
"command": "zotero-mcp",
"args": ["serve"],
"env": {
"ZOTERO_LOCAL": "true"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Ask your AI assistant to search and manage your Zotero library using natural language.
- "Find papers in my Zotero library about transformer attention mechanisms"
- "Extract all PDF annotations from my machine learning collection"
- "Add the paper at https://arxiv.org/abs/2310.06825 to my library"
- "Show me BibTeX citations for all papers tagged 'to-read'"
- "Find duplicate entries in my library and show me a preview before merging"Troubleshooting Zotero
Connection refused when accessing local Zotero
Make sure Zotero is open and running. Then go to Edit > Preferences > Advanced and confirm 'Allow other applications to communicate with Zotero via HTTP' is checked. The local API runs on port 23119 by default.
Semantic search returns no results or poor results
Run zotero-mcp update-db --fulltext to build or rebuild the full-text and embedding index. Semantic search requires this index. If you want higher-quality embeddings, set OPENAI_API_KEY and re-run the update.
zotero-mcp command not found after uv tool install
Ensure the uv tool bin directory is on your PATH. Run uv tool dir to find the location and add it to your shell profile. Alternatively use pipx install zotero-mcp-server which handles PATH setup automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions about Zotero
What is Zotero?
Zotero is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that ai-powered research assistant that integrates with zotero to read academic papers, create intelligent annotations, and generate structured notes. it enables users to highlight findings, explain formulas, and write comprehensive summaries directly It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Zotero?
Follow the installation instructions on the Zotero GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Zotero?
Zotero works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Zotero free to use?
Yes, Zotero is open source and available under the MIT License license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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Set Up Zotero in Your Editor
Choose your AI client for step-by-step setup instructions.
Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
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