Zotero MCP Server
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZOTERO_LOCAL | No | Use the local Zotero API (default: false). Set to 'true' to use the local API. | false |
| ZOTERO_API_KEY | No | Your Zotero API key (not required for the local API). | |
| ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID | No | Your Zotero library ID (your user ID for user libraries, not required for the local API). | |
| ZOTERO_LIBRARY_TYPE | No | The type of library (user or group, default: user). | user |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Server capabilities have not been inspected yet.
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| zotero_item_metadataB | Get metadata information about a specific Zotero item, given the item key. |
| zotero_item_fulltextB | Get the full text content of a Zotero item, given the item key of a parent item or specific attachment. |
| zotero_search_itemsA | Search for items in your Zotero library, given a query string, query mode (titleCreatorYear or everything), and optional tag search (supports boolean searches). Returned results can be looked up with zotero_item_fulltext or zotero_item_metadata. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 3 tools
Each tool has a clearly distinct purpose: zotero_search_items finds items, zotero_item_metadata retrieves metadata for a specific item, and zotero_item_fulltext gets full text content. There is no overlap or ambiguity between these functions.
All tools follow a consistent 'zotero_item_*' pattern with snake_case, using descriptive suffixes (fulltext, metadata, search_items) that clearly indicate their specific actions. The naming is uniform and predictable.
With only 3 tools, the server feels thin for a Zotero library management domain. While the tools cover basic search and retrieval, typical library operations like creating, updating, or deleting items are missing, suggesting an incomplete surface.
The tool set is severely incomplete for Zotero library management. It only supports search and read operations (search, get metadata, get fulltext), with no ability to create, update, delete, or manage items, collections, or tags, which are core to the domain.