Zotero MCP is a Zotero plugin with a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets AI assistants search, read, and edit a local Zotero reference library. The server runs inside Zotero itself and talks to clients over Streamable HTTP, so no separate server process is needed. Supported clients include Claude Desktop, Cherry Studio, Cursor, Gemini CLI, and custom Streamable HTTP implementations, and the plugin generates the client configuration from its preferences pane.
The server exposes 29 tools in five groups: search and query, collection management, semantic search, a cached full-text database, and write operations. Assistants can use them for literature reviews, citation management, content and annotation analysis, and knowledge-base upkeep. Semantic search and write operations can each be switched off in preferences, and the plugin operates locally only.
Semantic search builds an embedding index stored with SQLite-vec, using either OpenAI or Ollama embedding APIs, and can match related literature across languages. Index status appears as a column in the library view, with context-menu actions to manage the index per collection or item.
Features
- Library search: search by title, creator, year, tags, item type, and full text, with boolean operators and relevance scoring
- Content extraction: PDF full text, notes, abstracts, and webpage snapshots in four detail modes from minimal to complete
- Annotation search: find PDF highlights, annotations, and notes by color, tag, or keyword
- Collections: browse collection hierarchies, subcollections, and the items they contain
- Semantic search: embedding-based concept search and similar-item lookup, with OpenAI or Ollama embeddings
- Full-text database: list, search, and read cached PDF full text, with statistics
- Write operations: create and update notes with Markdown conversion, manage tags, edit metadata, create items, and reparent or import attachments
- Import by identifier: add items by DOI, arXiv ID, ISBN, PMID, or ADS bibcode through Zotero's native resolvers, including attachment fetching
- Recoverable deletion: items move to the Zotero Trash, and permanent deletion is refused
- Client configuration generator: produces ready-to-paste connection settings for supported AI clients
