zotero -lite

Zotero MCP Lite is a Python-based MCP server that runs locally against Zotero Desktop via the Zotero Local API. It exposes a set of 9 atomic MCP tools for searching, reading, and writing items and annotations in your local Zotero library, orchestrated by an MCP client. You can connect to it with MCP clients like Claude, Claude Desktop, or other MCP-enabled assistants by configuring a server entry in your MCP config and invoking the serve command. The server communicates with Zotero through the Local API and the sqlite database, providing fast, offline access without cloud keys. To operate, start the server using the uvx command provided in the installation notes and then point your MCP clients to the corresponding server name and command arguments that you configured (for example, zotero-mcp-lite serve). Once running, you can issue prompts that leverage the 9 atomic tools (e.g., zotero_search_items, zotero_get_item_metadata, zotero_create_note) and the pre-defined MCP skills (knowledge_discovery, literature_review, comparative_review, bibliography_export) to perform complex scholarly workflows locally.

Prerequisites:\n- Python 3.10+\n- Zotero 6 or 7 installed on your machine with the Local API enabled (see Zotero Settings → Advanced → Miscellaneous: 'Allow other applications on this computer to communicate with Zotero')\n- A supported MCP client environment (uv/uvx) installed on your system\n\nStep 1: Install the Zotero MCP Lite package\n- With uv tool (recommended):\nbash\nuv tool install zotero-mcp-lite\n``\n- With Python/pip:\nbash\npip install zotero-mcp-lite\n\n- Optional: install from source or GitHub if you want bleeding-edge changes:\n```bash\n# From GitHub (latest development version)\nuv tool install "git+https://github.com/xmruuu/zotero-mcp-lite.git"\n# From source (for development)\ngit clone https://github.com/xmruuu/zotero-mcp-lite.git\ncd zotero-mcp-lite && uv sync\nuv run zotero-mcp setup\n# Direct run without install\nuvx zotero-mcp-lite serve\n```\n\nStep 2: Run the server\n```bash\nuvx zotero-mcp-lite serve\n\nNotes:\n- If you used pip, you would start with the uvx route for serving, matching the installation method chosen.\n- Ensure Zotero Local API is enabled and reachable at http://localhost:23119/api/ as described in the Quick Start.\n\nStep 3: Connect your MCP client\n- For Claude or other clients, add a server entry pointing to the Zotero MCP Lite server, for example:\njson\n{\n "mcpServers": {\n "zotero-mcp-lite": {\n "command": "zotero-mcp-lite",\n "args": ["serve"]\n }\n }\n}\n

Tips and common issues:\n- Ensure the Zotero Local API is enabled before starting the MCP server; otherwise the server cannot reach Zotero.\n- The server runs entirely locally; no API keys are required. This makes it suitable for secure, offline workflows.\n- If you encounter port conflicts or the Local API refuses connections, verify that Zotero is running and that the Local API URL is accessible from the host running the MCP server.\n- The 9 atomic tools expose core Zotero interactions (search, metadata, attachments, full text) and are designed to compose into larger workflows via the MCP prompts. You can customize prompts by editing the user prompts under ~/.zotero-mcp/prompts/.\n- For debugging, MCP Inspector tooling is compatible (e.g., npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector zotero-mcp-lite serve).