A
licenseA
qualityD
maintenanceIntegrates with Zotero's local API to search, retrieve, read PDFs, and add items by DOI from your Zotero library.
5
3
MIT
Zotero MCP Server
by yuogawaiic
Integrates with Zotero's local API to search library items by author or title, retrieve detailed item metadata including abstracts and tags, and extract full text from PDF attachments.
Click on "Deploy Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@Zotero MCP Server search for recent papers on quantum computing"
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
An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that integrates with Zotero's local API to search, retrieve, and extract full text from PDFs in your Zotero library.
Prerequisites
Zotero application with local API enabled
uv (recommended) or Python 3.12+ with pip
Related MCP server: Zotero MCP Server
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_config.json for Antigravity, mcp.json for Claude Desktop or Cursor):
{
"mcpServers": {
"zotero": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": ["git+https://github.com/yuogawaiic/zotero-mcp.git"]
}
}
}Available Tools
Tool | Parameters | Description |
|
| Search items in your Zotero library by author name or title. Returns up to 30 matching items (excluding attachments). |
|
| Retrieve detailed information about a specific item including title, authors, publication info, abstract, tags, etc. |
|
| Extract full text from a PDF attachment associated with a Zotero item. |
|
| Extract full text from a PDF file at a local file path. Can be used with filesystem MCP servers. |
Available Tools
4 toolsread_pdfA
Read a PDF file from the local file path and return its full text.
Inputs: local_path (required). Returns: result
zotero_get_itemB
Retrieve the details of a specified item in the Zotero library by itemKey.
Inputs: itemKey (required). Returns: result
zotero_read_pdfA
From the children of the item specified by itemKey in the Zotero library, find the first PDF attachment, read it from the local file system, and return its full text.
Inputs: itemKey (required). Returns: result
zotero_search_itemsB
Search items in the Zotero library by author and title (excluding attachments, up to 30 results).
Inputs: q. Returns: result
Tool Schema Changelog
Recent tool additions, removals, and schema changes observed during successful MCP inspections.
Loading tool schema changelog…
TDQS
B3.2/5.0
Scored across 4 tools
Disambiguation3/5
The tools have overlapping purposes that could cause confusion: 'read_pdf' and 'zotero_read_pdf' both read PDFs, with the latter being a more specific Zotero-integrated version. However, 'zotero_get_item' and 'zotero_search_items' are clearly distinct for retrieval and searching, and the descriptions help clarify the differences between the PDF tools.
Naming Consistency3/5
The naming is mixed: 'zotero_get_item', 'zotero_read_pdf', and 'zotero_search_items' follow a consistent 'zotero_verb_noun' pattern, but 'read_pdf' deviates by omitting the 'zotero_' prefix. This inconsistency is minor but noticeable, making the set less predictable.
Tool Count3/5
With 4 tools, the count is borderline for a Zotero server: it feels thin for covering a full bibliographic management domain (e.g., missing create, update, or delete operations). However, it's reasonable for a focused subset of reading and retrieval tasks, though not ideal.
Completeness2/5
There are significant gaps in the tool surface for Zotero's domain: it only supports reading PDFs and retrieving/searching items, with no tools for creating, updating, deleting, or managing collections. This incomplete coverage will likely cause agent failures when trying to perform common Zotero workflows beyond basic lookups.
Related MCP Connectors
Zotero MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT: search, citations, safe writes, PDF passages and pages.
Federated search of books and papers, BibTeX/RIS citations, open-access retrieval and reading.
Academic literature search, retrieval, and private library management on top of OpenAlex.
Search arXiv/Semantic Scholar/OpenAlex + medical evidence (PubMed/Europe PMC) + LaTeX/PDF tools.
Related MCP Servers
- FlicenseNot gradedqualityAmaintenanceEnables AI assistants to access a Zotero library, searching items by text query and retrieving complete item metadata or full text such as PDF contents. It works against either the Zotero desktop app's local API or the Zotero Web API.-
- FlicenseNot gradedqualityAmaintenanceEnables AI assistants to search a Zotero library, retrieve complete item metadata, and read the full text of attached PDFs through the Zotero desktop app's local API or the Zotero Web API.-
- FlicenseNot gradedqualityAmaintenanceEnables AI assistants to search a Zotero library, retrieve item metadata, and access full text such as PDF contents through the Zotero local or Web API.-