Pyzotero

Pyzotero is a Python wrapper for the Zotero API v3. Use it to programmatically manage Zotero libraries: read items and collections, create and update references, upload attachments, manage tags, and export citations.

Reviewed target: pyzotero 1.15.2 on 2026-09-30. Checked official SDK documentation, release source, and Web API contracts. Examples requiring a private library or running Zotero are illustrative; read-only public probes and isolated SDK contract checks do not establish authenticated write success.

Authentication Setup

For remote private reads and writes, get credentials from https://www.zotero.org/settings/keys:

• User ID: shown as "Your userID for use in API calls"
• API Key: create at https://www.zotero.org/settings/keys/new
• Library ID: for group libraries, the integer after /groups/ in the group URL

Store credentials in environment variables or a .env file:

ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID=your_user_id
ZOTERO_API_KEY=your_api_key
ZOTERO_LIBRARY_TYPE=user  # or "group"