LLM-for-Zotero brings Large Language Models into the Zotero reader, so you can ask questions, summarize papers, inspect figures, compare sources, and save notes without leaving your library. It works with standard API providers, local OpenAI-compatible models, WebChat, Codex App-Server, and Claude Code.
Documentation:
How to do a library chat literature review with llm-for-zotero agent
library_chat_2_5x_small.mp4
- At a Glance
- Quick Start
- What's New
- Configuration
- Demos
- File-Based Notes
- Agent Mode
- Skills
- General Web Search
- WebChat Setup
- Codex Setup
- Claude Code Setup
- MinerU PDF Parsing
- Privacy and Data Flow
- Roadmap
- FAQ
- Contributing
- Chat with the current PDF, selected text, figures, screenshots, and uploaded documents directly inside Zotero.
- Get grounded answers with citations that jump back to the source passage.
- Compare multiple open papers or add external files as extra context.
- Save answers, full conversations, and research notes to Zotero notes or local Markdown folders such as Obsidian and Logseq.
- Enable Agent Mode for library-wide read, search, tagging, metadata, import, note-editing, and organization workflows.
- Search the current public web and read relevant pages with Tavily, with source links attached to the answer.
- Use your preferred backend: API keys, local models, ChatGPT WebChat, Codex App Server, or Claude Code.
- Codex App Server is the recommended Codex path for ChatGPT Plus users.
It runs through the local
codex app-serverruntime and is configured from the Agent tab. - Claude Code Mode runs Claude Code as a separate conversation system inside Zotero, using your own Claude Code login. The plugin starts and stops the small bridge it needs for you. It can use the plugin's Zotero tools to read your library and, with your approval, edit notes, tags, metadata, and imports.
- One history lists Agent, Codex and Claude chats together. Click the runtime badge in the message box to switch runtimes, and attach an earlier conversation from the slash menu or by asking for it in plain words.
- Side panel in the standalone window opens read-only past chats or a temporary side chat next to the main chat.
Earlier updates
- Skills let you customize how Agent Mode handles research workflows. The plugin ships with 8 built-in skills and a portal for creating your own.
- General Web Search lets the in-plugin Agent search the current public web with Tavily, read relevant pages, and attach source links to its answers.
- Standalone Window Mode opens the assistant in a dedicated window with paper chat, library chat, and conversation history.
- File-Based Notes save Markdown notes to local folders, including Obsidian, Logseq, or any plain Markdown directory.
- Cache-aware Agent Mode preserves stable paper context, prior read evidence, and coverage state across longer research turns, then compacts old transcript history automatically when the context window gets crowded.
- Citation navigation now keeps citation labels conservative until page locations are verified, while quote-based citations can jump back to the matching Zotero passage.
- MinerU PDF parsing provides higher-fidelity extraction for tables,
equations, figures, and local
mineru-apiservers, with a richer file manager for bulk parsing, cache repair, sync packages, tags, and parsing filters.
Thanks to @jianghao-zhang and @boltma for major contributions to the Codex App Server, Claude Code, and file upload workflows.
- Download the latest
.xpifile from the Releases page. - In Zotero, open
Tools->Add-ons-> gear icon -> Install Add-on From File, then select the.xpi. - Restart Zotero.
- Open
Preferences->llm-for-zotero, choose a provider, enter the base URL, key, and model, then click Test Connection. - Open a PDF in Zotero and click the LLM Assistant icon in the right-hand toolbar.
If you do not want to use a provider API key, start with WebChat or Codex App Server.
Open Preferences -> llm-for-zotero.
- Select your Provider.
- Paste your API Base URL, secret key, and model name.
- Click Test Connection.
Setup animation, protocols, and multiple models
The plugin supports multiple provider protocols, including responses_api,
openai_chat_compat, anthropic_messages, and gemini_native.
You can configure multiple providers and models for different tasks, such as a
multimodal model for figures and a text model for summaries. The conversation
panel also supports model-specific reasoning levels and hyperparameters such as
temperature and max_tokens_output.
On the first message, the model loads the current paper as context. Follow-up questions use focused retrieval from the same paper, keeping conversations fast and grounded. Click any generated citation to jump straight to the source passage in Zotero.
Show demo
Summarize a full paper, focus on methodology or results, or select any paragraph and ask the model to explain it. The selected-text pop-up can add highlighted text to chat with one click. It can also be disabled in settings.
Show demos
Take screenshots of figures, attach up to 10 screenshots, or upload local files as additional context. Supported uploads include PDF, DOCX, PPTX, TXT, and Markdown.
Show demos
Open multiple papers in Zotero tabs and type / to cite another paper as
additional context.
Show demo
Save answers or selected text to Zotero notes, export full conversations in Markdown, and customize quick-action presets for repeated research tasks.
Show demos
Beyond Zotero's built-in notes, the agent can save Markdown research notes to
any local directory you choose. Point it at an
Obsidian vault, a Logseq graph,
or a plain folder of .md files.
Notes Directory settings and note examples
Open Preferences -> llm-for-zotero and scroll to the Notes Directory
section.
| Setting | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Nickname | How you refer to this directory in chat | Obsidian, Logseq |
| Notes Directory Path | Absolute path to the root directory where notes are saved | /Users/me/MyVault |
| Default Folder | Default subfolder for new notes | Logs |
| Attachments Folder | Folder for copied figures and images, relative to the directory root | Logs/imgs |
Ask the agent to write a note using the configured nickname, for example: "Summarize this paper and save it to Obsidian." The agent gathers paper metadata, writes a Markdown note, adds YAML frontmatter, optionally copies figures from MinerU-parsed PDFs, and saves the note under the configured folder.
Or if you want to keep notes inside Zotero, the agent can also write to internal item notes with the write-note skill. Just ask it to "save a note for this paper" without mentioning an external directory.
Notes use Pandoc citation syntax
such as [@citekey], which works with Obsidian Zotero Integration, Pandoc
plugins, and many Markdown readers.
Note templates and figure-embedding rules live in the
write-noteskill. Open the Standalone Window -> Skills portal to edit them.
The agent keeps citations, PDF highlights, and images intact when it edits a Zotero note.
How note editing works
- Citations, PDF highlights, and images stay intact. The agent sees each
one as a placeholder such as
{{citation:3fa9c1 ("Smith", 2020, p. 42)}}and every edit puts the original item back, so a rewrite can move a citation but never break it. An edit that would drop one is refused unless you asked for it to be deleted. - Clickable citations. Ask for page citations and the agent writes
{{cite item=123 page=42}}, which becomes the same citation Zotero's Insert Citation makes: clicking it opens the PDF at that page. - Study-note blanks. A line of underscores inside a quote (
> ___) becomes a divider, and a checklist item made only of underscores (- [ ] ____) keeps its checkbox as a fill-in blank.
Agent Mode is disabled by default. Turn on Original Agent in Preferences
-> Agent tab. While it is on, new chats use the Agent. If you also turn on Codex or
Claude Code, click the runtime badge in the message box to switch between them.
It can read and search your library, draft notes, update metadata or tags with confirmation, and undo recent write actions from the conversation.
When enabled, the LLM can act on your Zotero library with read tools, write tools, confirmation cards, and undo.
The design philosophy is simple: read tools are unrestricted; write tools stay reviewable and undoable.
Agent tools and long runs
Long agent runs are cache-aware. The plugin keeps stable Zotero context and previously read evidence separate from the changing chat transcript, tracks which papers and passages have already been inspected, and automatically compacts old turns when the model context fills up. This lets follow-up questions reuse grounded evidence when it is still relevant, while still asking the agent to read again when the needed source or coverage layer is missing.
| Tool area | Tools | What they do |
|---|---|---|
| Library and PDF reading | library_search, library_read, library_retrieve, paper_read, read_attachment, context_read |
Search items and collections, read metadata, read papers, search paper passages, render PDF pages, inspect attachments and the chat context |
| Scholarly discovery | literature_search, literature_review |
Search OpenAlex, arXiv, and Europe PMC for papers, recommendations, references, and citations (metadata lookup via CrossRef and Semantic Scholar), then present ranked candidates |
| General web research | web_search, web_read |
Search the current public web with Tavily, read relevant pages, and show source links with the answer (only when a Tavily key is set) |
| Library writes | library_update, library_import, library_delete, annotate_pdf |
Apply tags, update metadata, move items, manage collections and attachments, merge duplicates, trash items, import identifiers or local files, highlight PDF passages |
| Citations and settings | library_cite, library_settings |
Format citations and bibliographies with Zotero's citation engine, and read or change the Zotero preferences the agent may touch |
| Notes and documents | note_write, note_write_batch, submit_document |
Create, append to, or edit Zotero notes, write one note on each of many items, and finalize longer documents |
| Filesystem and scripting | file_io, run_command, zotero_script |
Read/write local files, run analysis commands, or execute Zotero JavaScript with write confirmations |
| Skills and questions | load_skill, request_user_input, past_chat_attach |
Load a skill's instructions when the task needs them, ask you a question when a choice is ambiguous, and add an earlier conversation to the chat |
| Task tracking | task_update, workflow_script |
Split a compound request into parts the plugin tracks, and run several tool calls in one script with loops and conditions |
| Safety | undo |
Undo recorded write actions from the conversation's durable change history, one at a time or several newest-first |
Multi-step work, related papers, tags, and notes
Use /discover_related while viewing a paper to run the direct OpenAlex action.
It opens Recommendations, References, and Citations tabs with up to 20 papers per mode by default.
Use /discover_related 30 to change the initial retrieval limit, Load more to retrieve 20 more per mode while preserving your selections, and Import selected to save the papers you choose.
This shortcut does not require a model.
Ask “find relevant papers” in chat to start model-assisted discovery. The agent assesses retrieved candidates and presents a ranked card with relevance reasons. An explicit count, such as “find 15 relevant papers,” sets the batch size; otherwise it starts with five. Use Find more to add another batch of the same size while preserving your selections, then Import selected to save the papers you choose. Requests for references, citing papers, or a specific search source constrain discovery to that request. If fewer relevant matches are available, the card explains the shortfall instead of padding the list. A configured model is required for model-assisted discovery; literature search used to answer a question remains a separate flow that can finish with a cited answer without an import card.
Skills customize Agent Mode behavior for recurring research workflows such as paper QA, evidence retrieval, figure analysis, paper comparison, literature reviews, note writing, and cited-reference import.
Built-in skills and custom skill setup
Skills are customizable guidance files that shape how Agent Mode approaches different types of requests.
The agent sees only each skill's name and description at the start of a turn.
There is no automatic pre-selection step: the agent calls load_skill to read a skill's full instructions when it decides the task needs them.
Choosing a skill with / applies it directly, and an approved plan keeps the exact skill versions it was approved with.
Skills require Agent Mode. They have no effect in standard chat mode.
Built-in skills:
| Skill | What it guides the agent to do |
|---|---|
evidence-based-qa |
Retrieve missing evidence for specific paper questions |
analyze-figures |
Interpret figures and tables using MinerU-extracted images |
compare-papers |
Compare multiple papers using batched reads and focused retrieval |
library-analysis |
Summarize or analyze your entire library without context overflow |
literature-review |
Conduct a structured literature review |
reorganize-library |
Sort papers into folders or tags after you review the grouping |
write-note |
Write Zotero notes or Markdown notes in configured local folders |
import-cited-reference |
Import papers cited in the current PDF into Zotero |
To create a custom skill, open the Standalone Window, click the Skills
icon, choose "+ New skill", edit the skill file, and save. Skills are stored
as Markdown files in {ZoteroDataDir}/llm-for-zotero/skills/.
Agent Mode can search the current public web with Tavily, AnySearch, or DeepSeek and read returned pages when search-result snippets are not enough. Use it for current facts, official documentation, news, finance, product information, and other general-web evidence. Scholarly discovery remains separate: the agent searches OpenAlex, arXiv, and Europe PMC (with CrossRef and Semantic Scholar for metadata lookup), and it can combine both kinds of search when a question needs academic and general-web sources.
Set up web search with Tavily, AnySearch, or DeepSeek
To enable general web search with Tavily:
- Get a Tavily API key from app.tavily.com.
- Open
Preferences->llm-for-zotero-> Agent. - In Web search, keep Tavily (the default), paste the API key and click Test connection.
- Enable Agent Mode and ask it to search or verify something online.
There is no separate enable switch.
The web_search and web_read tools become available to compatible in-plugin Agent conversations when the selected provider can run: Tavily has a key, AnySearch is selected, or DeepSeek finds an official DeepSeek model profile.
Tavily is the default.
DeepSeek is an optional choice that uses the key of an official DeepSeek model profile, and DeepSeek bills that account.
They are not added to WebChat, Codex App Server, or Claude Code conversations, which use their own runtimes and tool sets.
With Tavily, the agent chooses basic or advanced search and page-reading depth from the request, or follows an explicit request such as "use advanced web search." It can narrow searches by topic, date, or domain, and answers include clickable source indicators for the pages actually used.
Basic search costs 1 Tavily credit and advanced search costs 2. Page extraction also consumes Tavily credits, and Tavily currently offers a free monthly allowance. The API key stays in local Zotero preferences, but search queries and requested URLs are sent to Tavily, so do not include credentials or sensitive private text in web queries.
In Preferences → llm-for-zotero → Agent → Web search, select AnySearch. Leave AnySearch API key (optional) blank for anonymous access, or enter an existing key. Saving preferences does not make a request. The provider selection is persisted; selecting AnySearch does not reuse a Tavily key. No environment-variable key fallback is used. Test search (sends a public query) explicitly sends a fixed public query without invoking a model and displays result count, titles, URLs and the request ID when available. It consumes service quota; it is not an Agent conversation or proof of the Agent tool/citation path.
AnySearch supports general search with query and maxResults (1–10),
and web_read with one to five URLs returned by search in the same run.
Extraction uses at most two concurrent requests and returns bounded page text,
not query-focused passages. Depth, topic, date/domain filters, chunk controls
and vertical/source selection are not supported and are rejected rather than
silently ignored. PDF, Office and media-binary extraction are not supported.
Search queries and requested URLs are sent to AnySearch; do not include
credentials or private library content.
Anonymous quotas and permissions are server-controlled. An exhausted quota produces an error; the integration does not adopt credentials from responses, automatically retry, switch providers, or report fictional credit usage.
DeepSeek search uses the key of your first model profile whose API address is the official https://api.deepseek.com; keys of relays and other hosts are never sent to DeepSeek.
It costs $0.75 per 1,000 successful searches or page fetches, billed to that DeepSeek account, and failed or empty calls are not billed.
Queries are limited to 128 characters, including the site and date filters, and search queries and requested URLs are sent to DeepSeek.
If you have a ChatGPT Plus subscription, you can use Codex models in the plugin without a separate API key by signing in through the Codex CLI.
New users should choose Codex App Server from the Agent tab. The older Codex Auth (Legacy) path remains available for existing users, but is planned for future deprecation after app-server validation.
Codex App Server setup and legacy Codex Auth
-
Install the Codex CLI:
npm install -g @openai/codex
On macOS, you can also use
brew install --cask codex. On Windows, you can also usewinget install OpenAI.Codex; install Codex from PowerShell or Command Prompt rather than WSL, so Zotero MCP can use the Windows-local loopback connection. -
Log in:
codex login
Credentials are saved to
~/.codex/auth.json. -
In Zotero, open
Preferences->llm-for-zotero-> Agent tab. -
Turn on Enable Codex App Server integration.
-
Choose the default model and reasoning level.
-
Click Test connection.
-
In the chat header, click Codex to switch into the Codex conversation system.
Codex App Server and Claude Code are mutually exclusive runtime modes in the
Agent tab. Disable one before enabling the other.
Existing users can keep the legacy direct backend configuration:
- Open the AI Providers tab.
- Choose Auth Mode ->
Codex Auth (Legacy). - Keep API URL
https://chatgpt.com/backend-api/codex/responses. - Keep your Codex model name, for example
gpt-5.5.
Legacy notes:
- Reads credentials from
~/.codex/auth.jsonor$CODEX_HOME/auth.json. - Automatically attempts token refresh on 401 responses.
- Embeddings are not supported in this legacy direct mode yet.
- Local PDF/reference text grounding and screenshot/image inputs are supported.
- The Responses
/filesupload plusfile_idattachment flow is not supported yet.
Claude Code mode runs Claude Code as a separate conversation system inside Zotero. It reuses the sidebar and standalone-window UI, but has its own scope state, model settings, permission semantics, slash commands, and project skills. Claude chats appear in the same history list as your other chats, with a small Claude label.
Special thanks to @jianghao-zhang, who
built the Claude Code integration and its bridge
(cc-llm4zotero-adapter).
The bridge now ships inside the plugin, with the author's permission, under
packages/claude-bridge.
Claude Code mode can use the plugin's Zotero tools. It searches and reads your library and papers without asking. Library changes, such as editing notes, tagging papers, updating metadata, or importing items, follow your Claude Code Permission mode. In
safemode, they ask for your approval first.
Claude Code setup, troubleshooting, and project assets
You need two things on your computer. The plugin takes care of the rest.
- Node.js 18 or newer. Download it from nodejs.org
(the LTS version is fine), or use a version manager such as NVM, Volta or
Homebrew. Check it in a terminal with
node --version. - Claude Code, installed and logged in. Follow Anthropic's installation and authentication guides. You can use your Claude subscription or an API key.
In a terminal, run:
claudeFinish the login steps it shows, then close it. You only need to do this once.
Open Preferences -> llm-for-zotero -> Agent tab, and switch on
Claude Code. Recommended settings:
| Setting | Recommended value |
|---|---|
| Claude Code | On |
| Config source | default - user + project + local |
| Permission mode | safe |
| Default model | sonnet |
| Default reasoning | auto |
Then click the Claude Code button in the chat header, or click the runtime badge in the message box and pick Claude, to enter Claude Code mode.
That is all. You do not need to download or start a bridge yourself. While Claude Code mode is on, Zotero starts a small helper program (the "bridge") that connects Zotero to your Claude Code. It runs only on your computer, only answers Zotero, and stops when you quit Zotero or turn Claude Code off. If you never turn on Claude Code, nothing extra runs.
The Bridge section at the top of the Claude Code settings shows whether the bridge is running. Use Restart bridge if something seems stuck, and Open log to see what the bridge reported.
Keep Config source on default unless you already understand Claude
Code settings layers. In default, Claude Code can use your normal user
settings plus Zotero-managed project and per-conversation local settings.
The other options are:
user-only: only your machine-wide Claude settings.zotero-only: only Zotero-managed project and local settings.
The Bridge status line says what is wrong in plain words. The usual causes:
| The status says | What to do |
|---|---|
| Node.js was not found | Install Node.js 18 or newer. If it is installed but Zotero cannot find it, run which node (macOS, Linux) or where node (Windows) in a terminal and paste the result into Advanced -> Node.js path. |
| needs Node.js 18 or newer | Install a newer Node.js from nodejs.org. |
| Claude Code was not found | Install Claude Code. If it is installed, run which claude (macOS, Linux) or where claude (Windows) and paste the result into Advanced -> Claude Code path. |
| Running, but Claude replies fail | Claude Code is probably not logged in. Run claude in a terminal and log in, then press Restart bridge. |
| keeps stopping | Press Open log to see why, fix the cause, then press Restart bridge. |
Zotero opened from the Dock or Start menu does not always see the same programs
as your terminal. The plugin looks in the usual places (NVM, Volta, Homebrew,
~/.local/bin and the Claude Code installer's folder), but the two path
settings are there if it still cannot find them.
Advanced options
- Extra bridge options passes command-line options to the bridge, for
example
--additional-directories ~/Papersto let Claude read another folder, or--append-system-prompt-file ~/zotero-claude.md. Press Restart bridge after changing it. - Use my own bridge is for people who run the bridge themselves, for
example inside WSL while Zotero runs on Windows, or on another computer.
Zotero then sends Claude requests to the Bridge URL and does not start
its own bridge. The bridge's code lives in
packages/claude-bridge; see its README for how to run it by hand.
Upgrading from the old cc-llm4zotero-adapter
Earlier versions needed the separate
cc-llm4zotero-adapter
repository and npm run serve:bridge or npm run daemon:*. That is no longer
needed. Your Claude Code conversations, skills and settings keep working,
because the new bridge uses the same ~/Zotero/agent-runtime and
~/Zotero/agent-state folders.
If you installed the old macOS background service, it can stay, since it does not get in the way, but it is no longer used. Zotero tells you once if it finds it. To remove it, run this in your old adapter folder:
npm run daemon:uninstallIf you already deleted that folder, run these two commands instead:
launchctl bootout gui/$(id -u)/com.toha.ccbridge
rm ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.toha.ccbridge.plistZotero creates a Claude runtime root under your home directory, usually shaped like:
~/Zotero/agent-runtime/profile-.../
Shared Claude project assets live in:
CLAUDE.md
.claude/settings.json
.claude/skills/
.claude/commands/
Each Claude conversation also gets its own local .claude folder under the
runtime scopes/ tree, so per-conversation overrides do not leak into other
chats.
The Zotero UI loads the model catalog advertised by the Claude Code bridge and preserves each model value exactly, including aliases, explicit model IDs, context-window variants, custom provider values, and future model families.
The chat model picker identifies the active conversation so discovery uses the same scoped .claude/settings.local.json stack as the turn.
The model preference remains editable when discovery is unavailable.
Claude Code is responsible for resolving or rejecting the selected value and for applying provider or proxy configuration.
MinerU is an advanced PDF parsing engine that extracts high-fidelity Markdown from PDFs, preserving tables, equations, figures, and complex layouts that standard text extraction often mangles.
When enabled, the plugin sends newly added PDF attachments to MinerU for parsing and caches the result locally. Later interactions with that paper use the MinerU-parsed content.
MinerU setup, local server, and cache management
- Open
Preferences->llm-for-zotero. - Find the MinerU section and check Enable MinerU.
- Keep cloud mode enabled, or check Use local MinerU server for local mode.
- For cloud mode, optionally enter your own MinerU API key — see below.
- For local mode, run a self-hosted
mineru-apiserver and keep the default base URL (http://127.0.0.1:8000) unless your server uses a different address. - Add or import a PDF into your Zotero library. The plugin will automatically parse newly added PDF attachments with MinerU and cache the result for future conversations.
MinerU can start without an API key through the built-in API, but a personal key is strongly recommended. The built-in API may no longer be supported after June 1, 2026.
To get a free personal key:
- Go to mineru.net and create an account.
- Navigate to account settings and generate an API key.
- In Zotero, paste the key into the MinerU section.
- Click Test Connection.
When a personal key is provided, the plugin calls
https://mineru.net/api/v4 directly.
Local MinerU server support was contributed by @renyong18 in PR #152.
Local mode sends PDFs to a self-hosted mineru-api server through
POST /file_parse and stores the returned ZIP output in the same local cache
format as cloud parsing. The default base URL is http://127.0.0.1:8000.
Prerequisites for local mode:
- Install MinerU and run
mineru-api(see the MinerU docs for installation). - Make sure required models are downloaded —
mineru-apilazy-loads on first request, so the very first parse (or the first parse after switching backend) can take noticeably longer than steady state.
You can pick a Backend in the local section:
pipeline(default) — general-purpose, multi-language, CPU-friendly.vlm— VLM-based, high accuracy on Chinese/English documents, requires GPU.hybrid— newer high-accuracy hybrid pipeline, multi-language, requires local compute.
The first parse after starting the local server, or after changing backend, can
be slow while MinerU loads or downloads models. Test Connection checks that
the server process responds at /health; it does not guarantee that all models
are warmed up.
With the default 127.0.0.1 address, PDFs stay on your machine. If you change
the base URL to a LAN or remote server, PDFs are sent to that server.
Pause / cancel limitation: mineru-api exposes no cancel or DELETE endpoint
(only POST /file_parse, POST /tasks, GET /tasks/{id},
GET /tasks/{id}/result, GET /health). When you click Pause, the plugin stops
the queue and aborts the HTTP wait, but the parse already running on the server
keeps executing until it finishes — the GPU/CPU will not free up sooner. If you
need to abort immediately (for example to switch backend without waiting),
restart the mineru-api process yourself.
The MinerU preferences tab includes a Manage Files panel for maintaining parsed PDF caches:
- Browse cached and uncached PDFs by collection, tag, title, author, year, and added date.
- Start parsing all visible files, only filtered files, or selected files.
- Repair local MinerU caches and synced packages when metadata or files drift.
- Delete all, filtered, selected, or single-item caches from the manager.
- Use tag filters, including automatic Zotero tags, to choose which papers are included in bulk actions.
Advanced parsing filters can skip files before automatic or bulk parsing:
- Skip files over N pages controls the maximum page count used by Start All, Start Filtered, Start Selected, and auto-parse. The default is 100 pages.
- Exclude PDFs by Filename accepts comma-separated substrings, or regex
patterns wrapped in
/slashes/, for translated copies, supplements, or other files you do not want parsed automatically.
If Sync MinerU cache with Zotero file sync is enabled, the plugin can create
companion ZIP attachments containing full.md, manifest.json,
content_list.json, and extracted assets. Existing local caches sync only when
you request it from the MinerU tab, and synced packages can restore a missing
local cache when needed.
WebChat mode sends questions to chatgpt.com, chat.deepseek.com, and gemini.google.com through a browser extension, then streams responses back into Zotero. It is useful when you want browser chat access without a provider API key.
WebChat prerequisites and setup
Prerequisites:
- Access to the selected provider site. Provider account requirements depend on the site and feature; Gemini permits some anonymous text conversations, while PDF upload and history may require sign-in.
- A Chromium-based browser such as Chrome.
Setup:
- Download the latest
extension.zipfrom sync-for-zotero releases. - Unzip it.
- Open
chrome://extensions, enable Developer Mode, choose Load unpacked, and select the unzipped extension folder. - In Zotero, open
Preferences->llm-for-zoteroand set Auth Mode ->WebChat. ⚠️ : Keep the selected provider tab open in your browser. A green dot in Zotero means the extension and that exact site are connected. Make sure the tab and Zotero stay in the same monitor. No minimization or backgrounding, or the connection may drop.
Gemini requires a companion extension version that explicitly advertises the
gemini target and DOM answer capture; Zotero rejects older extension builds
before dispatch. The canonical gemini.google.com/app/:id conversation path,
anonymous text flow, and signed-in PDF composer DOM have been observed in
Chrome. A complete automated Gemini PDF, follow-up, history, and restore run
remains required before a release is declared verified.
For release validation, keep Chrome signed in with the development extension loaded and run:
npm run test:webchat:liveThis opt-in gate creates a real Zotero PDF fixture and clicks the real Zotero composer send control. It verifies one exact PDF upload and answer, toggles the visible PDF chip both ways, then verifies one prompt-only turn with zero submitted PDFs through the relay and Chrome extension.
Does it require an API key to use this plugin?
It depends on the backend you choose. The plugin supports multiple backends with different requirements:
| Goal | Recommended path | API key required? |
|---|---|---|
| Use OpenAI, Gemini, DeepSeek, Moonshot, or another provider | Configure an API provider in Zotero preferences | Yes |
| Use a local model | Connect any OpenAI-compatible local HTTP API | Usually no |
| Use ChatGPT in the browser | WebChat with the Sync for Zotero extension | No |
| Use Codex models with ChatGPT Plus | Codex App Server | No separate API key |
| Use Claude Code inside Zotero | Claude Code bridge | Claude Code auth |
| Search and read the current public web | General Web Search with Tavily | Tavily API key |
| Improve PDF extraction for tables, equations, and figures | MinerU PDF parsing | Personal MinerU key recommended |
Is it free to use?
- Yes, the plugin is free. You only pay for API calls if you choose a paid provider. With Codex App Server, ChatGPT Plus subscribers can use Codex models without a separate API key. If you find this helpful, consider leaving a star on GitHub or buying me a coffee.
Is my data used to train models?
The plugin does not train models. Data handling depends on the backend you choose: your configured API provider, local model, WebChat, Codex, Claude Code, or MinerU.
How do I report a bug or ask a question?
Please open an issue on GitHub.
Data flow depends on the backend you choose. Local models and local MinerU can keep processing on your machine; cloud providers, WebChat, Claude Code, Codex, and cloud MinerU involve their respective services or companion runtimes.
Detailed backend data flow
- In standard provider mode, paper content and user messages are sent to the model provider you configure.
- In local-model mode, requests go to the local OpenAI-compatible endpoint you configure.
- In WebChat mode, requests are relayed through the browser extension to
chatgpt.comorchat.deepseek.com. - When Tavily Web Search is configured, web queries and requested public URLs are sent to Tavily; the API key remains in local Zotero preferences.
- In cloud MinerU mode, newly added PDFs are sent to MinerU for parsing when parsing is enabled.
- In local MinerU mode, newly added PDFs are sent to the local or remote
mineru-apiserver you configure. - Conversation history and cached paper context are stored locally by the plugin.
- Agent Mode write operations are routed through reviewable actions and session undo where supported.
Contributions are welcome. Bug reports, feature requests, documentation improvements, and pull requests are all useful. Please open an issue or submit a PR.
- Agent mode (beta)
- MinerU PDF parsing
- GitHub Copilot auth
- WebChat mode (ChatGPT, DeepSeek, and Gemini web sync)
- Standalone window mode
- File-based notes (Obsidian, Logseq, any Markdown directory)
- Claude Code integration
- Codex App Server integration
- Local MinerU support
- Customized skills
- Cross-device synchronization (MinerU cache)
- Agent memory system
