cookjohn/zotero-mcp

Zotero MCP - Model Context Protocol Integration for Zotero

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: | :gb: English.

📚 Project Overview

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.

🚀 Project Structure

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.

🚀 Quick Start Guide

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.

1. Installation (For General Users)

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:

1. 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 via Tools -> Add-ons.
   • Restart Zotero.

2. 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

2. Connect to AI Clients

Important: The Zotero plugin now includes an integrated MCP server that uses the Streamable HTTP protocol. No separate server installation is needed.

Streamable HTTP Connection

The plugin uses Streamable HTTP, which enables real-time bidirectional communication with AI clients:

1. Enable Server in the Zotero plugin preferences
2. Generate Client Configuration by clicking the button in plugin preferences
3. Copy the generated configuration to your AI client

Supported AI Clients

• 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 .

👨‍💻 Developer Guide

Prerequisites

• Zotero 7.0 or higher
• Node.js 18.0 or higher
• npm or yarn
• Git

Step 1: Install and Configure the Zotero Plugin

1. Download the latest zotero-mcp-plugin.xpi from the Releases Page.
2. Install it in Zotero via Tools -> Add-ons.
3. Enable the server in Preferences -> Zotero MCP Plugin.

Step 2: Development Setup

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/cookjohn/zotero-mcp.git
   cd zotero-mcp
   

2. Set up the plugin development environment:

   cd zotero-mcp-plugin
   npm install
   npm run build
   

3. Load the plugin in Zotero:

   # For development with auto-reload
   npm run start
   
   # Or install the built .xpi file manually
   npm run build
   

Step 3: Connect AI Clients (Development)

The plugin includes an integrated MCP server that uses Streamable HTTP:

1. Enable the server in Zotero plugin preferences
2. Generate client configuration using the plugin's built-in generator
3. Configure your AI client with the generated Streamable HTTP configuration

Example configuration for Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero": {
      "transport": "streamable_http",
      "url": "http://localhost:23120/mcp"
    }
  }
}

🧩 Features

zotero-mcp-plugin Features

• 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

📸 Screenshots

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)

🔧 API Reference

The integrated MCP server provides the following tools:

search_library

Searches the Zotero library. Supports parameters like q, title, creator, year, tag, itemType, limit, sort, etc.

get_item_details

Retrieves full information for a single item.

• itemKey (string, required): The unique key of the item.

find_item_by_identifier

Finds an item by DOI or ISBN.

• doi (string, optional)
• isbn (string, optional)

At least one identifier is required.

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit pull requests, report issues, or suggest enhancements.

1. Fork the repository.
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/AmazingFeature).
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some AmazingFeature').
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/AmazingFeature).
5. Open a Pull Request.

📄 License

This project is licensed under the .

🙏 Acknowledgements

• Zotero - An excellent open-source reference management tool.
• Model Context Protocol - The protocol for AI tool integration.
•