pyzotero

Apps & Automation

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 this skill 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.

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How to use this skill

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Source SKILL.md: https://github.com/mkurman/zorai/blob/HEAD/skills/scientific-skills/pyzotero/SKILL.md

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Copying this prompt does not install or run the skill. Review third-party files before use. Codex skill guide

name: 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 this skill 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. allowed-tools: Read Write Edit Bash license: MIT License tags: [scientific-skills, pyzotero, python, api, workflow, citation-management] metadata: skill-author: K-Dense Inc. ---|----------| | 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 | Command-line interface usage | | references/error-handling.md | Errors and exception handling |

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()