alterlab-pyzotero
Installation
SKILL.md
Pyzotero
Pyzotero is a Python wrapper for the Zotero API v3 (current release 1.15.x as of 2026-09). Use it to programmatically manage Zotero libraries: read items and collections, create and update references, upload attachments, manage tags, and export citations. It also ships an optional CLI and MCP server for a local Zotero library.
When to Use This Skill
- Reading, searching, or bulk-editing items, collections, and tags in a Zotero library from code
- Creating items from templates, attaching PDFs, or exporting BibTeX / CSL-JSON / formatted bibliographies
- Automating research workflows that sync with Zotero (web library or the local desktop app)
- Scripting the local Zotero library from the terminal (
pyzoteroCLI) or exposing it to an AI client (MCP server)
Does NOT Trigger
| Scenario | Use Instead |
|---|---|
| Discovering new papers in scholarly databases | alterlab-research-lookup or alterlab-openalex |
| Converting DOIs to BibTeX or searching Google Scholar/PubMed without a Zotero library | alterlab-citation-mgmt |
| Checking that every bibliography entry exists / spotting hallucinated references | alterlab-citation-verifier |
| Building an evidence table from a folder of PDFs | alterlab-pdf-extract |