Zotero MCP Server
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
No arguments | |||
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_search_itemsB | Search items in the Zotero library by author and title (excluding attachments, up to 30 results). |
| zotero_get_itemB | Retrieve the details of a specified item in the Zotero library by itemKey. |
| 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. |
| read_pdfA | Read a PDF file from the local file path and return its full text. |
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 4 tools
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.
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.
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.
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.