zotero-bridge — Claude Code MCP server: setup
Connects an AI client to a Zotero SQLite library for searching records, handling PDFs, and maintaining collections. Useful when research data should be available through MCP.
claude mcp add zotero-bridge -- npx -y zotero-bridgeWhat zotero-bridge does
zotero-bridge connects to Zotero’s zotero.sqlite database and exposes its records through MCP. An AI client can search items, inspect metadata, update collections and tags, read notes and abstracts, extract PDF text, search indexed content, and retrieve annotations.
It also looks up publications by DOI, ISBN, PMID, arXiv ID, or URL. Related-item searches can use manual links, shared tags, authors, or collections. Library tools find duplicates, check attachment files, clean orphan records, and merge items. The project contains TypeScript database and PDF modules and builds with npm run build.
The setup requires Node.js 18.0 or later and Zotero 7.0 or later. Zotero should be closed before write operations, because its database can be locked; backing up zotero.sqlite before changes is a practical safeguard.
What it helps with
- search Zotero records by title or identifier
- organize collections and item tags
- extract and search text from attached PDFs
- find duplicate records and validate attachments
- add notes or update item abstracts
Example prompts for the agent
- Search my Zotero library for records whose titles contain “deep learning”.
- Extract the full text from PDF attachment 100 and search it for “neural network”.
- Find duplicate records in my library and check whether item 1234 has a valid attachment.
How to install zotero-bridge
Platform CLI
claude mcp add zotero-bridge -- npx -y zotero-bridgePlatform CLI
codex mcp add zotero-bridge -- npx -y zotero-bridgeConfig file
{
"mcpServers": {
"zotero-bridge": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"zotero-bridge"
]
}
}
}Config file
{
"servers": {
"zotero-bridge": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"zotero-bridge"
]
}
}
}Platform CLI
gemini mcp add zotero-bridge npx -y zotero-bridgeStep by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about zotero-bridge
How do I install zotero-bridge in Claude Code?
Run claude mcp add zotero-bridge -- npx -y zotero-bridge. This adds the MCP server to Claude Code.
What does zotero-bridge do?
It gives an MCP-compatible AI client access to a Zotero SQLite library. The server covers record search, collections, tags, PDFs, annotations, and library maintenance.
What does zotero-bridge require?
Use Node.js 18.0 or later with Zotero 7.0 or later. A custom database location can be passed with --db when zotero.sqlite is outside the usual path.
