alterlab-pyzotero

name	alterlab-pyzotero
description	Interact with Zotero reference management libraries using the pyzotero Python client — retrieve, create, update, and delete items, collections, tags, and attachments via the Zotero Web API v3. Use when working with Zotero libraries programmatically, managing bibliographic references, exporting citations, searching library contents, uploading PDF attachments, or building research automation workflows that integrate with Zotero. Part of the AlterLab Academic Skills suite.
allowed-tools	Read Write Edit Bash
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires a Zotero account and ZOTERO_API_KEY (plus library ID) for the Web API; local read-only mode needs no key. Runs via `uv run python`.
metadata	{"skill-author":"AlterLab","version":"1.0.0"}

Pyzotero

Pyzotero is a Python wrapper for the Zotero API v3. Use it to programmatically manage Zotero libraries: read items and collections, create and update references, upload attachments, manage tags, and export citations.

Authentication Setup

Required credentials — get from https://www.zotero.org/settings/keys:

• User ID: shown as "Your userID for use in API calls"
• API Key: create at https://www.zotero.org/settings/keys/new
• Library ID: for group libraries, the integer after /groups/ in the group URL

Store credentials in environment variables or a .env file:

ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID=your_user_id
ZOTERO_API_KEY=your_api_key
ZOTERO_LIBRARY_TYPE=user  # or "group"

See references/authentication.md for full setup details.

Installation

uv add pyzotero
# or with CLI support:
uv add "pyzotero[cli]"

Quick Start

from pyzotero import Zotero

zot = Zotero(library_id='123456', library_type='user', api_key='ABC1234XYZ')

# Retrieve top-level items (returns 100 by default)
items = zot.top(limit=10)
for item in items:
    print(item['data']['title'], item['data']['itemType'])

# Search by keyword
results = zot.items(q='machine learning', limit=20)

# Retrieve all items (use everything() for complete results)
all_items = zot.everything(zot.items())

Core Concepts

• A Zotero instance is bound to a single library (user or group). All methods operate on that library.
• Item data lives in item['data']. Access fields like item['data']['title'], item['data']['creators'].
• Pyzotero returns 100 items by default (API default is 25). Use zot.everything(zot.items()) to get all items.
• Write methods return True on success or raise a PyZoteroError subclass (from pyzotero.errors; all class names end in Error, e.g. ResourceNotFoundError).

Reference Files

File	Contents
references/authentication.md	Credentials, library types, local mode
references/read-api.md	Retrieving items, collections, tags, groups
references/search-params.md	Filtering, sorting, search parameters
references/write-api.md	Creating, updating, deleting items
references/collections.md	Collection CRUD operations
references/tags.md	Tag retrieval and management
references/files-attachments.md	File retrieval and attachment uploads
references/exports.md	BibTeX, CSL-JSON, bibliography export
references/pagination.md	follow(), everything(), generators
references/full-text.md	Full-text content indexing and retrieval
references/saved-searches.md	Saved search management
references/cli.md

Common Patterns

Fetch and modify an item

item = zot.item('ITEMKEY')
item['data']['title'] = 'New Title'
zot.update_item(item)

Create an item from a template

template = zot.item_template('journalArticle')
template['title'] = 'My Paper'
template['creators'][0] = {'creatorType': 'author', 'firstName': 'Jane', 'lastName': 'Doe'}
zot.create_items([template])

Export as BibTeX

zot.add_parameters(format='bibtex')
bibtex = zot.top(limit=50)
# bibtex is a bibtexparser BibDatabase object
print(bibtex.entries)

Local mode (read-only, no API key needed)

zot = Zotero(library_id='123456', library_type='user', local=True)
items = zot.items()