Summary
Connects Claude to your Zotero library through both the Web API v3 and the desktop app's local API, giving you read and write access without leaving the conversation. You can search your own papers with hybrid semantic search, add items by DOI or arXiv ID, format bibliographies in any CSL style, and pull full text with page numbers. The write operations are gated and reversible by default. It auto-detects a running Zotero instance for fast local reads and falls back to cloud for sync and groups. One command install via npx, optional API key for writes. This is the one if you want to cite your own collection instead of hallucinating references or searching the open web.
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⚡ Zoteus
Your Zotero library, inside every AI conversation — with real citations, not hallucinations.
The everything Zotero MCP server. Give Claude, Cursor, and any MCP client complete, safe access to your Zotero library — search papers, add by DOI, format bibliographies in ~2,800 styles, run semantic search over your own PDFs, and ground every answer in a source you actually own. Local-first. Private. One command.
npx -y @oscardvs/zoteus
Install in 30 seconds
| Client | Command |
|---|---|
| Claude Code | claude mcp add --transport stdio zoteus -- npx -y @oscardvs/zoteus |
| Cursor / VS Code / Claude Desktop / Codex / Zed… | npx add-mcp @oscardvs/zoteus |
| Claude Desktop (one-click) | download zoteus.mcpb from the latest release → double-click |
| claude.ai (web) | Add custom connector → your hosted URL (OAuth) |
Add your cloud key for writes/sync/groups (optional — reads work key-free against the desktop app):
claude mcp add --transport stdio zoteus -e ZOTERO_API_KEY=xxxxx -- npx -y @oscardvs/zoteus
Get a key at zotero.org/settings/keys. For key-free local reads, enable Settings → Advanced → "Allow other applications on this computer to communicate with Zotero" in the desktop app.
Why Zoteus?
There are several Zotero MCP servers now. Zoteus is the one that does everything — and adds the parts everyone else skips. The difference that matters: Zoteus treats your library as the source of truth, not a search index. When you ask Claude to "draft a methods paragraph citing the five most relevant papers in my collection," it runs that against your verified, already-curated references — no invented citations, no Python stack, nothing leaves your machine.
| Zoteus | Other Zotero MCP servers | Web AI (Elicit/SciSpace) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operates on your own library | ✅ | ✅ (varies) | ❌ (web-wide) |
| Complete Web API v3 + desktop local API | ✅ | partial | n/a |
| Safe transactional writes (reversible, gated) | ✅ | rare | ❌ |
| CSL bibliographies (~2,800 styles) | ✅ | rare | ❌ |
| Local hybrid semantic search over PDFs | ✅ | some (cloud) | varies |
No Python — TypeScript, one npx | ✅ | varies | n/a |
| MCP Resources + Prompts + code-execution | ✅ | ❌ | n/a |
| Local-first / private · Open-source (MIT) | ✅ | varies | ❌ |
What you can do
- Find anything in your own work. "Find papers in my library that argue against X" — hybrid keyword + semantic search across metadata, full text, and annotations, returned with the page number.
- Cite without hallucinating. Zoteus surfaces your Zotero citation data and formats it with citeproc-js in any CSL style — it never invents a reference.
- Add a paper by identifier. Drop in a DOI/ISBN/PMID/arXiv id and Zoteus fetches the metadata and files it — no account needed for the import → format path.
- Write back, safely. Create items, edit, tag, organize — versioned with optimistic-locking retries, reversible trash by default, permanent delete opt-in and confirmation-gated.
- Ground claims in the PDF.
zotero_get_fulltextreturns the relevant passage with character offsets, nearest heading, and a page locator. - Follow the scholarship. A scholarly-context graph over OpenAlex / Crossref / Semantic Scholar.
- Built for agents. ~28 consolidated, well-described tools (not 70 thin endpoint mirrors),
zotero_*-namespaced, structured outputs, and a generated tool tree for the code-execution-with-MCP pattern.
How it works
- Install — one
npxcommand (or the one-click.mcpb). - Connect — paste your Zotero API key (or just run the desktop app for key-free local reads).
- Ask — your AI can now search, cite, add, and organize your library.
Zoteus auto-detects your running Zotero desktop app and uses its fast, key-free local API for reads (full PDFs, real saved-search results), falling back to the cloud Web API v3 for writes, sync, and group libraries.
Configuration
| Variable | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
ZOTERO_API_KEY | — | Cloud auth (writes/sync/groups; optional for local-only reads) |
ZOTEUS_LOCAL | auto | auto|on|off — use the Zotero desktop local API |
ZOTEUS_EMBEDDINGS | local | local|openai|gemini|off for semantic search |
ZOTEUS_ALLOW_DELETE | false | Must be true to expose permanent deletion |
Full table in docs/configuration.md. Running a shared/remote instance? See docs/remote-oauth.md (self-host the OAuth remote on loopback or behind your own proxy).
Documentation
📚 zoteus.com/docs · Architecture · Safe writes · Citations · Semantic search · Scholarly context · Code execution
Contributing
Contributions welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md. MIT licensed.
Acknowledgements
Built on the Model Context Protocol, the Zotero Web API, citeproc-js, and the Citation Style Language. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Corporation for Digital Scholarship / Zotero.
Featured
Keep your Mac awake while Claude Code and 40+ AI agents run. Sleeps when they're idle.
One time payment $9 →Integrate web data into your AI product. One API to scrape website & brand data.
Get API Key Now →Agent, run crypto. Access onchain data & trade routes via 1inch.
Install now →On Capafy, your Skill runs online 24/7 as an agent product, and you get paid every time someone uses it.
Start earning →Configuration
ZOTERO_API_KEYsecretZotero API key (writes/sync/groups; optional for local-only reads).
ZOTEUS_LOCALUse the Zotero desktop local API: auto | on | off.
ZOTEUS_ALLOW_DELETESet to true to enable permanent deletion (off by default).
Registryactive
Package@oscardvs/zoteus
TransportSTDIO, HTTP
AuthRequired
UpdatedMay 31, 2026
