cli-anything-zotero

Let AI manage your Zotero library.

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MCP legacy notice: v0.9.5 is the final release with the zotero-mcp command and cli-anything-zotero[mcp] extra. New releases are CLI/SDK-first. Existing MCP users should pin pip install "cli-anything-zotero[mcp]==0.9.5" or use the legacy/mcp branch.

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For Non-Programmers

This tool is designed to be used by AI, not memorized by you. After a simple install (~3 minutes), just talk to your AI assistant in plain language:

"Find papers about diabetes and kidney disease in my Zotero library"

"Import this DOI into my CKM collection: 10.1038/s41586-024-07871-6"

"Export all papers in my thesis collection as BibTeX"

"Find PDFs for items in my review collection that are missing them"

All you need to do:

1. Follow the Installation steps below
2. Tell your AI assistant (Claude Code, Cursor, etc.) what you need
3. That's it

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What It Does

Built on CLI-Anything by HKUDS, this tool gives AI agents full access to your local Zotero library through a JS Bridge — a lightweight Zotero plugin that exposes a privileged JavaScript endpoint.

Prerequisite: the Zotero desktop app must be running. This is intentional — we automate the local client (Connector, Local API, CLI Bridge), not a cloud-only API substitute.

Key capabilities:

• Search & browse — keyword search, full-text PDF search, collection tree, tags
• Import — from DOI, PMID, RIS/BibTeX files, or JSON
• Export — BibTeX, CSL-JSON, RIS, CSV, formatted citations
• PDF management — attach files, auto-find PDFs online, search annotations
• Write operations — update metadata, manage tags, add notes, trigger sync
• DOCX citations — turn {{zotero:ITEMKEY}} placeholders into static text or refreshable Zotero fields (see below)
• Advanced — execute arbitrary Zotero JS, semantic search with local embeddings, AI analysis

All write operations run locally through the JS Bridge — no API key or internet connection required.

DOCX citations: static vs dynamic

AI-authored drafts should use placeholders such as {{zotero:ITEMKEY}} or {{zotero:KEY1,KEY2}}, then convert them with the docx commands.

Mode	Command	Output	Extra software
Static (default for simple finals)	docx render-citations or docx cite --mode static	Plain-text citations + static bibliography	No. Only pip install + JS Bridge + running Zotero (Local API).
Dynamic (refreshable fields)	docx insert-citations or docx cite --mode dynamic	Real Zotero fields in Word/LibreOffice + refreshable bibliography	Yes — extra stack required (see table below).
Auto	docx cite --mode auto	Picks dynamic if the stack is ready, else static	Same as dynamic when available

Dynamic mode is optional and is not installed by pip alone. You also need: