Zotero MCP MCP — Anwendungsfälle, Installieren & Live-Demo

Warum nutzen

Hauptfunktionen

Search by author, title, tag, collection, full-text
Pull BibTeX/CSL-JSON for any item
Extract highlights and annotations from PDF attachments
Works with Zotero 7 local API and Zotero Web API
Read-only by default — safe to attach to your research library

Live-Demo

In der Praxis

zotero-mcp.replay ▶ bereit

0/0

Installieren

Wählen Sie Ihren Client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Öffne Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Nach dem Speichern neu starten.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cursor nutzt das gleiche mcpServers-Schema wie Claude Desktop. Projektkonfiguration schlägt die globale.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Klicken Sie auf das MCP-Servers-Symbol in der Cline-Seitenleiste, dann "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Gleiche Struktur wie Claude Desktop. Windsurf neu starten zum Übernehmen.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "zotero-mcp",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue nutzt ein Array von Serverobjekten statt einer Map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "zotero-mcp": {
      "command": {
        "path": "uvx",
        "args": [
          "zotero-mcp"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

In context_servers hinzufügen. Zed lädt beim Speichern neu.

claude mcp add zotero-mcp -- uvx zotero-mcp

Einzeiler. Prüfen mit claude mcp list. Entfernen mit claude mcp remove.

Anwendungsfälle

Praxisnahe Nutzung: Zotero MCP

Synthesize a literature review from tagged papers

👤 Grad students, researchers ⏱ ~60 min intermediate

Wann einsetzen: You've tagged 30 papers with #thesis-ch3 and need to write section 3.2.

Voraussetzungen

Zotero running (local API enabled) — Zotero 7: Settings → Advanced → enable local API
API key if using web — zotero.org/settings/keys

Ablauf

Pull the set

List every item tagged thesis-ch3 in my Zotero. Just titles + years + first author.✓ Kopiert

→ Clean inventory, ~30 items
Cluster

Group those by methodological approach. Cite each item by zotero key.✓ Kopiert

→ 3–5 clusters with per-cluster citations
Extract + write

For cluster "quantitative RCTs", pull my highlights from each item and draft a synthesis paragraph with in-line citations.✓ Kopiert

→ Paragraph with (Author, Year) citations backed by actual highlights

Ergebnis: A drafted section 3.2 you can edit instead of starting from blank.

Fallstricke

PDF has no highlights, just scans — Run OCR in Zotero first (right-click → OCR PDF), then re-pull

Kombinieren mit: filesystem

Generate the bibliography for a paper you're writing

👤 Anyone writing with LaTeX ⏱ ~15 min beginner

Wann einsetzen: You've cited 40 items across a draft and need a single references.bib.

Ablauf

Scan for cites

In /paper/main.tex, list every \cite{} key.✓ Kopiert

→ All cite keys enumerated
Resolve

For each, pull BibTeX from Zotero and write the result to /paper/references.bib. Flag any key with no match.✓ Kopiert

→ bib file written; unresolved cites listed

Ergebnis: A clean references.bib tied to your Zotero — no manual copy-paste.

Fallstricke

Cite key mismatch (Better BibTeX vs default) — Install the Better BibTeX extension in Zotero for stable pinned keys

Kombinieren mit: filesystem

Kombinationen

Mit anderen MCPs für 10-fache Wirkung

zotero-mcp + filesystem

Write the extracted synthesis to your paper draft

Write the synthesis from Zotero into /paper/section-3-2.md.✓ Kopiert

zotero-mcp + memory

Remember per-paper key arguments across sessions

Store the 1-sentence thesis of each item from cluster A in memory.✓ Kopiert

Werkzeuge

Was dieses MCP bereitstellt

Werkzeug	Eingaben	Wann aufrufen	Kosten
search_items	query: str, tag?: str, collection?: str	Find items in library	free
get_item	key: str	Inspect one item in depth	free
get_annotations	key: str	Pull your highlights/notes on a PDF	free
get_bibtex	keys: str[]	Build bibliography for a draft	free
list_collections	none	Navigate your organization	free

Kosten & Limits

Was der Betrieb kostet

API-Kontingent: Local API: unlimited. Web API: rate-limited by Zotero.
Tokens pro Aufruf: Item metadata ~200 tokens; annotations can run large
Kosten in €: Free
Tipp: Prefer search_items with tag filters over listing all items

Sicherheit

Rechte, Secrets, Reichweite

Minimale Scopes: library:read

Credential-Speicherung: API key in env var (web mode only)

Datenabfluss: api.zotero.org (web mode) or localhost (local mode)

Niemals gewähren: library:write unless truly needed

Fehlerbehebung

Häufige Fehler und Lösungen

ECONNREFUSED localhost:23119

Zotero isn't running, or local API is disabled. Open Zotero; Settings → Advanced → enable local API.

Prüfen: `curl http://localhost:23119/api/users/0/items`

Web API 403

API key missing the library read scope. Regenerate at zotero.org/settings/keys.

BibTeX keys are auto-generated nonsense

Install Better BibTeX add-on and set a stable citekey format

Alternativen

Zotero MCP vs. andere

Alternative	Wann stattdessen	Kompromiss
Obsidian MCP	Your notes live in Obsidian, not Zotero	Different data model — not paper-centric
Direct Zotero CSL export	One-time export, no LLM involvement	No querying, no synthesis

Mehr

Ressourcen

📖 Offizielle README auf GitHub lesen

🐙 Offene Issues ansehen

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