Zotero MCP Guide

Overview

Zotero MCP is an emerging tool with over 2,000 GitHub stars that implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to connect your Zotero reference library with AI assistants such as Claude. By exposing your Zotero library as a structured data source through MCP, it allows AI models to search, retrieve, and reason about your collected academic papers, annotations, and notes during conversations.

The Model Context Protocol provides a standardized way for AI applications to access external data sources. Zotero MCP leverages this protocol to give AI assistants direct, read-only access to your research library. Instead of manually copying and pasting paper details into a chat, you can ask an AI assistant to look up papers in your Zotero library, summarize your annotations on a specific topic, find related references, or help draft text based on your collected sources.

This integration is particularly valuable for researchers who maintain comprehensive Zotero libraries and want to leverage AI assistance for literature reviews, writing, and knowledge synthesis. The AI can work with the full context of your library rather than being limited to whatever you paste into the conversation, making interactions more productive and contextually grounded.

Installation and Setup

Zotero MCP requires both a running Zotero instance and an MCP-compatible AI client.

Prerequisites:

• Zotero 6 or 7 installed and running
• Node.js 18 or later
• An MCP-compatible AI client (Claude Desktop, or another MCP host)