pyzotero
Category: literature-review · License: MIT · Version: 1.2
Tags: Zotero, reference management, citations, BibTeX, literature
When to use it
Reads and writes Zotero libraries from Python with pyzotero 1.13.0 and the Zotero Web API v3: items, collections, tags, attachments, saved searches, full-text content, and BibTeX, CSL-JSON, and bibliography export. Also covers the pyzotero CLI and MCP server for a local Zotero 7. Use when fetching or searching library items programmatically; when creating, updating, or deleting references, collections, or tags; when uploading PDF attachments or downloading files; when exporting citations as BibTeX or CSL-JSON; when building research automation around a Zotero user or group library. Not for formatting citations in a manuscript or verifying references against external databases.Example requests
Ask your agent in plain language, for example:- “How do I dump every item in my Zotero library to a BibTeX file with Python?”
- “I have a group library (the URL is zotero.org/groups/4829311/ml-benchmarks) and a folder of 40 PDFs in ./papers/ named like smith2021.pdf. I want a script that creates a top-level collection called ‘Benchmarks 2025’, adds a journalArticle item for each PDF with the title taken from the filename, and uploads each PDF as a child attachment. I keep getting a 403 when I try to write. What should I check?”
- “I keep my reading list in Zotero and want a nightly script that finds everything I tagged ‘to-read’ more than 30 days ago, moves those papers into an ‘Overdue’ collection, and then removes the tag. I’m comfortable with Python but haven’t touched the Zotero API.”
Install
/plugin marketplace add KalarisLabs/research-agent-skills and install the whole literature-review category with /plugin install literature-review@research-agent-skills.