
zotero-mcp
Zotero MCP Plugin 是一个 Zotero 插件,通过 MCP协议实现 AI 助手与 Zotero深度集成。插件支持文献检索、元 数据管理、全文分析和智能问答等功能,让 Claude、ChatGPT 等 AI 工具能够直接访问和操作您的文献库。 Zotero MCP Plugin enables integration between AI assistants and Zotero through MCP.
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Zotero MCP is an open-source project that integrates AI capabilities with Zotero using the Model Context Protocol. It consists of a Zotero plugin and an MCP server, enabling AI assistants to search, retrieve, and cite references from Zotero library. The project features a unified architecture with an integrated MCP server, eliminating the need for a separate server process. It provides features like intelligent search, detailed reference information, filtering by tags and identifiers, aiding in academic tasks such as literature reviews and citation management.
README:
Zotero MCP is an open-source project designed to seamlessly integrate powerful AI capabilities with the leading reference management tool, Zotero, through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). This project consists of two core components: a Zotero plugin and an MCP server, which work together to provide AI assistants (like Claude) with the ability to interact with your local Zotero library.
This README is also available in: 🇨🇳 简体中文 | 🇬🇧 English.
The Zotero MCP server is a tool server based on the Model Context Protocol that provides seamless integration with the Zotero reference management system for AI applications like Claude Desktop. Through this server, AI assistants can:
- 🔍 Intelligently search your Zotero library
- 📖 Get detailed information about references
- 🏷️ Filter references by tags, creators, year, and more
- 🔗 Precisely locate references via identifiers like DOI and ISBN
This enables AI assistants to help you with academic tasks such as literature reviews, citation management, and research assistance.
This project now features a unified architecture with an integrated MCP server:
-
zotero-mcp-plugin/
: A Zotero plugin with integrated MCP server that communicates directly with AI clients via Streamable HTTP protocol -
IMG/
: Screenshots and documentation images -
README.md
/README-zh.md
: Documentation files
Unified Architecture:
AI Client ↔ Streamable HTTP ↔ Zotero Plugin (with integrated MCP server)
This eliminates the need for a separate MCP server process, providing a more streamlined and efficient integration.
This guide is intended to help general users quickly configure and use Zotero MCP, enabling your AI assistant to work seamlessly with your Zotero library.
What is Zotero MCP?
Simply put, Zotero MCP is a bridge connecting your AI client (like Cherry Studio, Gemini CLI, Claude Desktop, etc.) and your local Zotero reference management software. It allows your AI assistant to directly search, query, and cite references from your Zotero library, greatly enhancing academic research and writing efficiency.
Two-Step Quick Start:
-
Install the Plugin:
- Go to the project's Releases Page to download the latest
zotero-mcp-plugin-x.x.x.xpi
file. - In Zotero, install the
.xpi
file viaTools -> Add-ons
. - Restart Zotero.
- Go to the project's Releases Page to download the latest
-
Configure the Plugin:
- In Zotero's
Preferences -> Zotero MCP Plugin
tab, configure your connection settings:- Enable Server: Start the integrated MCP server
-
Port: Default is
23120
(you can change this if needed) - Generate Client Configuration: Click this button to get configuration for your AI client
- In Zotero's
Important: The Zotero plugin now includes an integrated MCP server that uses the Streamable HTTP protocol. No separate server installation is needed.
The plugin uses Streamable HTTP, which enables real-time bidirectional communication with AI clients:
- Enable Server in the Zotero plugin preferences
- Generate Client Configuration by clicking the button in plugin preferences
- Copy the generated configuration to your AI client
- Claude Desktop: Streamable HTTP MCP support
- Cherry Studio: Streamable HTTP support
- Cursor IDE: Streamable HTTP MCP support
- Custom implementations: Streamable HTTP protocol
For detailed client-specific configuration instructions, see the Chinese README.
- Zotero 7.0 or higher
- Node.js 18.0 or higher
- npm or yarn
- Git
- Download the latest
zotero-mcp-plugin.xpi
from the Releases Page. - Install it in Zotero via
Tools -> Add-ons
. - Enable the server in
Preferences -> Zotero MCP Plugin
.
-
Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/cookjohn/zotero-mcp.git cd zotero-mcp
-
Set up the plugin development environment:
cd zotero-mcp-plugin npm install npm run build
-
Load the plugin in Zotero:
# For development with auto-reload npm run start # Or install the built .xpi file manually npm run build
The plugin includes an integrated MCP server that uses Streamable HTTP:
- Enable the server in Zotero plugin preferences
- Generate client configuration using the plugin's built-in generator
- Configure your AI client with the generated Streamable HTTP configuration
Example configuration for Claude Desktop:
{
"mcpServers": {
"zotero": {
"transport": "streamable_http",
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:23120/mcp"
}
}
}
- Integrated MCP Server: Built-in MCP server using Streamable HTTP protocol
- Streamable HTTP Protocol: Real-time bidirectional communication with AI clients
- Advanced Search Engine: Full-text search with filtering by title, creator, year, tags, item type, etc.
- Collection Management: Browse, search, and retrieve items from specific collections
-
Tag Search System: Powerful tag queries (
any
,all
,none
modes) with matching options (exact
,contains
,startsWith
) - PDF Processing: Full-text extraction from PDF attachments with page-specific access
- Annotation Retrieval: Extract highlights, notes, and annotations from PDFs
- Client Configuration Generator: Automatically generates configuration for various AI clients
- Security: Local-only operation ensuring complete data privacy
- User-Friendly: Easy configuration through Zotero preferences interface
Here are some screenshots demonstrating the functionality of Zotero MCP:
Feature | Screenshot |
---|---|
Feature Demonstration | ![]() |
Literature Search | ![]() |
Viewing Metadata | ![]() |
Full-text Reading 1 | ![]() |
Full-text Reading 2 | ![]() |
Searching Attachments (Gemini CLI) | ![]() |
Reading PDF (Gemini CLI) | ![]() |
The integrated MCP server provides the following tools:
Searches the Zotero library. Supports parameters like q
, title
, creator
, year
, tag
, itemType
, limit
, sort
, etc.
Retrieves full information for a single item.
-
itemKey
(string, required): The unique key of the item.
Finds an item by DOI or ISBN.
-
doi
(string, optional) -
isbn
(string, optional)
At least one identifier is required.
Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit pull requests, report issues, or suggest enhancements.
- Fork the repository.
- Create your feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature
). - Commit your changes (
git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature'
). - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/AmazingFeature
). - Open a Pull Request.
This project is licensed under the MIT License.
- Zotero - An excellent open-source reference management tool.
- Model Context Protocol - The protocol for AI tool integration.
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