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Zotero MCP Server

by swairshah
GitHub
Python
Apache 2.0
1
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hybrid server

The server is able to function both locally and remotely, depending on the configuration or use case.

Integrations

  • Provides programmatic access to a Zotero library, allowing users to search papers, manage notes, and access repository content through the MCP server

Zotero MCP Server

A MCP (Model Context Protocol) server to let your MCP clients (e.g. Anthropic Claude App, Goose, possibly vscode Cline too) interact with your local Zotero repository. This server enables programmatic access to your Zotero library, allowing you to search papers, manage notes, and more.

Setup

  1. Install dependencies:
pip install -e .
  1. Create a .env file in the root directory with your Zotero credentials:
ZOTERO_API_KEY=your_api_key_here ZOTERO_USER_ID=your_user_id_here

You can get your Zotero API key and user ID from Zotero's settings page.

Integration with Anthropic Desktop App

To integrate with the Anthropic Desktop app, add the following configuration to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{ "mcpServers": { "zotero-mcp-server": { "command": "uv", "args": [ "--directory", "/Users/swairshah/work/research/zotero-mcp", "run", "python", "-m", "zotero_mcp.server" ] } } }

If this gives an error like

{"method":"initialize","params":{"protocolVersion":"2024-11-05","capabilities":{},"clientInfo":{"name":"claude-ai","version":"0.1.0"}},"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":0} error: unexpected argument '--directory' found

Then use the following config, make sure to do uv venv; source .venv/bin/activate; uv pip install ".[dev]" to make sure the server can be run with all dependencies.

{ "mcpServers": { "zotero-mcp-server": { "command": "bash", "args": [ "-c", "cd /Users/shahswai/personal/zotero-mcp-server && source .venv/bin/activate && python -m zotero_mcp.server" ] } } }

Example Usage

The server allows you to:

  • Search papers by tags
  • Get paper details and attached notes
  • Add notes to papers
  • Request paper summaries

This server cannot be installed

-
security - not tested
A
license - permissive license
-
quality - not tested

A server that enables MCP clients like Anthropic Claude App to interact with local Zotero libraries, allowing users to search papers, manage notes, and access research materials through natural language.

  1. Setup
    1. Integration with Anthropic Desktop App
      1. Example Usage

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