A Model Context Protocol server for Zotero integration that allows Claude to interact with your Zotero library.
A Model Context Protocol server for Zotero integration that allows Claude to interact with your Zotero library. The mcp zotero mcp server wraps that behind the Model Context Protocol, so an assistant can use it through 5 defined tools rather than through you.
Everything the assistant can do here goes through one of these:
get_collections — List all collections in your libraryget_collection_items — Get items in a specific collectionget_item_details — Get detailed information about a papersearch_library — Search your entire libraryget_recent — Get recently added papersnpx on npm is all you need. Most clients run it directly, so configuration is a few lines and a restart.
You will need 4 environment variables: ZOTERO_API_KEY, ZOTERO_USER_ID, YOUR_API_KEY, YOUR_USER_ID. The server will not start without them, which is usually why the tools fail to appear on a first run. Keep credentials in your client's env block or a secrets manager rather than in a file you might commit.
This sits in the developer tooling group, where several servers overlap in what they claim to do but differ sharply once you actually set them up. MCP Zotero's toolset — get_collections, get_collection_items, get_item_details and 2 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by kaliaboi; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.
We check each listing at SyncDev against the project's documentation before it goes live — if something here drifts out of date, it is a bug worth reporting.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| get_collections | List all collections in your library |
| get_collection_items | Get items in a specific collection |
| get_item_details | Get detailed information about a paper |
| search_library | Search your entire library |
| get_recent | Get recently added papers |
{
"mcpServers": {
"zotero": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "npx"],
"env": {
"ZOTERO_API_KEY": "your-value",
"ZOTERO_USER_ID": "your-value",
"YOUR_API_KEY": "your-value",
"YOUR_USER_ID": "your-value"
}
}
}
}Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.
| Variable | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| ZOTERO_API_KEY | Credential the server authenticates with. | Yes |
| ZOTERO_USER_ID | Configuration value read at startup. | Optional |
| YOUR_API_KEY | Credential the server authenticates with. | Yes |
| YOUR_USER_ID | Configuration value read at startup. | Optional |
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