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Pyzotero Library Automation

Lets Claude read, create, and update Zotero libraries and export citations through the pyzotero Python client.

Dev & CodingIntermediate★ 33,030⑂ 3,248AI score 9/10Last updated: Aug 9, 2026

What it does

  • Teaches Claude the correct way to drive the Zotero Web API v3 through the pyzotero Python client.
  • Covers CRUD for items, collections, tags and saved searches, plus PDF attachment upload/download and full-text search.
  • Includes BibTeX / CSL-JSON / bibliography export, pagination helpers (everything(), follow()), and error-handling patterns in dedicated reference files.
  • Supports local mode, a CLI, and an MCP server for a running Zotero 7 desktop app without an API key.

Who it's for

  • Researchers and grad students who manage papers in Zotero and want to automate repetitive tasks.
  • Developers wrangling bibliographic metadata in code or auto-inserting citations into reports.
  • Anyone building literature-review pipelines or metadata collection workflows.

Example uses

  1. "Find 20 items matching 'machine learning' in my Zotero library and list titles with authors."
  2. "Export the top 50 items as BibTeX and save them to references.bib."
  3. "Create a new journalArticle from a template and upload a PDF as its child attachment."

· · · Install guide · · ·

Try it now, no install

Paste this into Claude to use the skill without installing anything.

Read the instructions in this file and follow them to help me:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills/HEAD/skills/pyzotero/SKILL.md

What I want: (describe your task here)

If Claude can't open the link, open it yourself and paste the contents instead.

↓ If it works for you, download the ZIP below and install it. Then it runs on its own — no pasting each time.

Install in the Claude app (no terminal)
  1. Download the ZIP with the button below.
  2. In Claude, open Settings → Capabilities and turn on 'Code execution and file creation'. (one time)
  3. Go to Customize → Skills → + → 'Upload a skill' and upload the ZIP.
↓ Download ZIP
Install in Claude Code

Let Claude do it — paste this into Claude Code

Install the skill I found on Claude Skill Mart.
Copy the skills/pyzotero folder from the GitHub repo K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills into my ~/.claude/skills/pyzotero/.
When it's done, tell me in one line what this skill can do.

Install with a command instead

git clone https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills.git && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r scientific-agent-skills/skills/pyzotero ~/.claude/skills/

⚠ This is a third-party skill. Check the source repository before installing.

  1. Open a terminal and clone the repo: git clone https://github.com/K-Dense-AI/scientific-agent-skills.git
  2. Create the skills directory: mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills
  3. Copy just this skill: cp -r scientific-agent-skills/skills/pyzotero ~/.claude/skills/
  4. Install the library in a Python 3.10+ environment: uv add pyzotero (add uv add "pyzotero[cli]" for local CLI).
  5. Get your userID and create an API key at https://www.zotero.org/settings/keys
  6. Set ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID, ZOTERO_API_KEY, and ZOTERO_LIBRARY_TYPE (user or group) as environment variables or in a .env file.
  7. Restart Claude Code and test with a prompt like "show me 10 items from my Zotero library."
View source on GitHub ↗License: MIT