# Zotero MCP (MCP server)

> Zotero MCP is an MCP server that adds tools to AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor. Search your Zotero library, retrieve item metadata, and read full text from AI assistants. It has 161 GitHub stars, is released under the MIT license and runs locally with uvx zotero-mcp.

This project is a python server that implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for Zotero, giving you access to your Zotero library within AI assistants. It is intended to implement a small but maximally useful set of interactions with Zotero for use with MCP clients.

## Key facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Repository | https://github.com/kujenga/zotero-mcp |
| GitHub stars | 161 |
| License | MIT |
| Language | Python |
| Transport | stdio |
| Packages | pypi: zotero-mcp |
| Remote URL | none |
| Needs API key | yes |
| Official | no |
| Works with | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code |
| Category | Other |
| Latest release | 0.3.1 (Aug 7, 2026) |
| Last commit | Aug 7, 2026 |
| MCP registry name | io.github.kujenga/zotero-mcp |

## Install

### Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero-mcp-kujenga": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ZOTERO_API_KEY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Settings > Developer > Edit Config. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/, Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\. Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

### Claude Code

```sh
claude mcp add --env ZOTERO_API_KEY=your-value --transport stdio zotero-mcp-kujenga -- uvx zotero-mcp
```

### Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json)

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zotero-mcp-kujenga": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ZOTERO_API_KEY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Project file; use ~/.cursor/mcp.json to enable it in every project.

### VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json)

```json
{
  "inputs": [
    {
      "type": "promptString",
      "id": "zotero_api_key",
      "description": "ZOTERO_API_KEY",
      "password": true
    }
  ],
  "servers": {
    "zotero-mcp-kujenga": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ZOTERO_API_KEY": "${input:zotero_api_key}"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Config formats checked against the official docs on 2026-10-07.

## Environment variables

- `ZOTERO_LOCAL`: Use the local API from the Zotero desktop app instead of the Web API. Requires Zotero to be running with 'Allow other applications on this computer to…
- `ZOTERO_API_KEY` (secret): Zotero Web API key from https://www.zotero.org/settings/keys. Not required when ZOTERO_LOCAL is true.
- `ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID`: Zotero library ID (your user ID for user libraries). Not required when ZOTERO_LOCAL is true.
- `ZOTERO_LIBRARY_TYPE`: Whether ZOTEROLIBRARYID refers to a user or group library.

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