zotero_get_item_metadata
Fetch detailed metadata (title, creators, date, DOI, etc.) for a single Zotero item using its 8-character key. Supports markdown, JSON, or BibTeX output.
Instructions
Fetch detailed metadata (title, creators, date, DOI, publisher, tags, abstract, URL, etc.) for ONE Zotero item by key. If the metadata and abstract don't contain what you need, call zotero_get_item_fulltext to read the paper — but that is resource-intensive (10K+ tokens) and should NEVER be used for searching; use zotero_search_items or zotero_semantic_search instead. item_key: the 8-character Zotero item key (NOT a DOI or title). include_abstract=True (default) includes the abstractNote in markdown output; pass False to trim tokens when you don't need it. (Ignored in bibtex/json formats.) format='markdown' (default) returns a human-readable block; format='json' returns the complete raw Zotero item record; format='bibtex' returns a BibTeX citation string suitable for .bib files. Scope: active library only (switch with zotero_switch_library). Unlike list endpoints, this returns items EVEN IF THEY ARE IN THE TRASH — a Status: In Trash line is surfaced when the item is trashed (recoverable via the Zotero UI). Collection membership is shown as keys rather than a bare count so the caller can verify entries against zotero_search_collections (the Zotero API does not cascade collection-delete to items, so dangling references can linger). Example: zotero_get_item_metadata(item_key='RTKZQI8E', format='bibtex').
Input Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| item_key | Yes | Zotero item key/ID | |
| include_abstract | No | Whether to include the abstract in the output (markdown format only) | |
| format | No | Output format - 'markdown' for a readable summary, 'json' for the complete raw Zotero item, or 'bibtex' for BibTeX citation | markdown |
Output Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| result | Yes |