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MCP Zotero

MCP Zotero

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github.com/kaliaboiScience & Education163Updated 90w ago
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About MCP Zotero

MCP Zotero is a Model Context Protocol server that connects Claude Desktop to a Zotero library through the Zotero Cloud API. It lets users browse collections, look up items and search their library from a chat. It is aimed at researchers who keep references in Zotero.

Key features

  1. 01Lists collections in the library
  2. 02Shows items within a collection
  3. 03Returns detailed information for a paper
  4. 04Searches the entire library
  5. 05Lists recently added papers

Use cases

  1. 01Finding saved references from Claude Desktop
  2. 02Browsing papers in a specific collection
  3. 03Checking recently added items in a library

MCP support

This is an MCP server that exposes five tools for reading collections, items and search results from a Zotero library to clients such as Claude Desktop.

Configuration

Local server config is the same for every client. Copy it into your client’s MCP config file.

mcp.json · Universal config
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-zotero"
      ]
    }
  }
}
Run commandnpx -y mcp-zotero

Local servers need a runtime on your machine (e.g. Node.js 18+). Config file locations differ by client; see your client’s docs.

Packages
npmmcp-zotero

Tools

No tool list yet

Local servers expose tools only once running on your machine, and the maintainer has not provided a tool list.

Details

From the project README

MCP Zotero

NPM Version smithery badge

A Model Context Protocol server for Zotero integration that allows Claude to interact with your Zotero library.

Zotero MCP server

Setup

  1. Get your Zotero credentials:

    # First, create an API key at https://www.zotero.org/settings/keys
# Then use it to get your user ID:
curl -H "Zotero-API-Key: YOUR_API_KEY" https://api.zotero.org/keys/current

    The response will look like:

    {
  "userID": 123456,
  "username": "your_username",
  "access": {
    "user": {
      "library": true,
      "files": true,
      "notes": true,
      "write": true
    }
  }
}

    The userID value is what you need.

  2. Set environment variables:

    export ZOTERO_API_KEY="your-api-key"
export ZOTERO_USER_ID="user-id-from-curl"

  3. Verify your credentials:

    # Test that your credentials work:
curl -H "Zotero-API-Key: $ZOTERO_API_KEY" \
     "https://api.zotero.org/users/$ZOTERO_USER_ID/collections"

    You should see your collections list in the response.

  4. Install and run:

    # Install globally (recommended)
npm install -g mcp-zotero
mcp-zotero

# Or run directly with npx
npx mcp-zotero

Integration with Claude Desktop

To use this server with Claude Desktop, add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero": {
      "command": "mcp-zotero",
      "env": {
        "ZOTERO_API_KEY": YOUR_API_KEY,
        "ZOTERO_USER_ID": YOUR_USER_ID
      }
    }
  }
}

Available Tools

  • get_collections: List all collections in your library
  • get_collection_items: Get items in a specific collection
  • get_item_details: Get detailed information about a paper
  • search_library: Search your entire library
  • get_recent: Get recently added papers

Troubleshooting

If you encounter any issues:

  1. Verify your environment variables are set:

    echo $ZOTERO_API_KEY
echo $ZOTERO_USER_ID

  2. Check the installation:

    npm list -g mcp-zotero

  3. Try reinstalling:

    npm uninstall -g mcp-zotero
npm install -g mcp-zotero

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