Zotero MCP: Your Research Library in Claude

<p align="center"> <a href="https://www.zotero.org/"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Zotero-CC2936?style=for-the-badge&logo=zotero&logoColor=white" alt="Zotero"> </a> <a href="https://www.anthropic.com/claude"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/Claude-6849C3?style=for-the-badge&logo=anthropic&logoColor=white" alt="Claude"> </a> <a href="https://modelcontextprotocol.io/introduction"> <img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/MCP-0175C2?style=for-the-badge&logoColor=white" alt="MCP"> </a> </p>

Zotero MCP seamlessly connects your Zotero research library with Claude and other AI assistants via the Model Context Protocol. Discuss papers, get summaries, analyze citations, and more!

🚀 Quick Install

Installing via Smithery

To install Zotero MCP for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @54yyyu/zotero-mcp --client claude

Manual Installation

pip install git+https://github.com/54yyyu/zotero-mcp.git
zotero-mcp setup  # Auto-configure for Claude Desktop

✨ Features

Search Your Library

• Find papers, articles, and books by title, author, or content
• Perform complex searches with multiple criteria
• Browse collections, tags, and recent additions

Access Your Content

• Retrieve detailed metadata for any item
• Get full text content (when available)
• Access attachments, notes, and child items

🖥️ Setup & Usage

For Claude Desktop

After installation, either:

1. Auto-configure (recommended):

   zotero-mcp setup
   

2. Manual configuration: Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "zotero": {
         "command": "zotero-mcp",
         "env": {
           "ZOTERO_LOCAL": "true"
         }
       }
     }
   }
   

Requirements

• Python 3.10+
• Zotero 7+ (for local API with full-text access)
• Claude Desktop or compatible AI assistant

Using Zotero in Claude

1. Start Zotero desktop (make sure local API is enabled in preferences)
2. Launch Claude Desktop
3. Access the Zotero-MCP tool through Claude Desktop's tools interface

Example prompts:

• "Search my library for papers on machine learning"
• "Find recent articles I've added about climate change"
• "Summarize the key findings from my paper on quantum computing"

🔧 Advanced Configuration

Using Web API Instead of Local API

For accessing your Zotero library via the web API (useful for remote setups):

zotero-mcp setup --no-local --api-key YOUR_API_KEY --library-id YOUR_LIBRARY_ID

Environment Variables

• ZOTERO_LOCAL=true: Use the local Zotero API (default: false)
• ZOTERO_API_KEY: Your Zotero API key (for web API)
• ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID: Your Zotero library ID (for web API)
• ZOTERO_LIBRARY_TYPE: The type of library (user or group, default: user)

Command-Line Options

# Run the server directly
zotero-mcp serve

# Specify transport method
zotero-mcp serve --transport stdio|sse

# Get help on setup options
zotero-mcp setup --help

📚 Available Tools

Search Tools

• zotero_search_items: Search your library
• zotero_advanced_search: Perform complex searches
• zotero_get_collections: List collections
• zotero_get_collection_items: Get items in a collection
• zotero_get_tags: List all tags
• zotero_get_recent: Get recently added items

Content Tools

• zotero_get_item_metadata: Get detailed metadata
• zotero_get_item_fulltext: Get full text content
• zotero_get_item_children: Get attachments and notes

🔍 Troubleshooting

• No results found: Ensure Zotero is running and the local API is enabled
• Can't connect to library: Check your API key and library ID if using web API
• Full text not available: Make sure you're using Zotero 7+ for local full-text access

📄 License

MIT