Which integrations are available for this server?

Provides tools to search, retrieve details, read PDFs, and add items by DOI from a Zotero library via its local API.

How do I use zotero-mcp?

1. Click on "Install Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@zotero-mcp search my library for papers about machine learning" That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

Zotero MCP Server

PyPI - Downloads

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that integrates with Zotero's local API to search, retrieve, read PDFs, and add items by DOI from your Zotero library.

Prerequisites

Zotero application with local API enabled
uv (recommended) or Python 3.12+

Enable Zotero Local API

In Zotero's settings (Preferences → Advanced → General), enable:

☑️ Allow other applications on this computer to communicate with Zotero

Configuration

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file (e.g., mcp.json for Claude Desktop or Cursor):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["masaki39-zotero-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

Tool	Parameters	Description
`zotero_search_items`	`q` (optional)	Search items in your Zotero library by author name or title. Returns up to 30 matching items (excluding attachments).
`zotero_get_item`	`itemKey` (required)	Retrieve detailed information about a specific item including title, authors, publication info, abstract, tags, etc.
`zotero_read_pdf`	`itemKey` (required), `page_number` (optional), `attachment_index` (optional, default=1)	Extract text from a PDF attachment. Specify a page number to read a single page, or omit to read all pages. Use `attachment_index` to select among multiple PDFs.
`confirm_doi`	`doi` (required)	Fetch metadata for a DOI from CrossRef. Use this to validate a DOI before adding it to Zotero.
`add_item_by_doi`	`doi` (required)	Add an item to Zotero by DOI. Validates via CrossRef and checks for duplicates before adding.

Example Usage

Once configured, you can use these tools through your MCP client:

"Search my Zotero library for papers about spinal deformity"
"Get details for item ABCD1234"
"Read page 3 of the PDF attached to item ABCD1234"
"Look up DOI 10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2 and add it to my Zotero library"

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome at https://github.com/masaki39/zotero-mcp

Install Server

A

license - permissive license

A

quality

C

maintenance

How are these scores calculated?

Resources

GitHub Repository

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