zotero
Manage Zotero reference libraries via the Web API. Search, list, add items by DOI/ISBN/PMID (with duplicate detection), delete/trash items, update metadata and tags, export in BibTeX/RIS/CSL-JSON, batch-add from files, check PDF attachments, cross-reference citations, find missing DOIs via CrossRef, and fetch open-access PDFs. Supports --json output for scripting. Use when the user asks about academic references, citation management, literature libraries, PDFs for papers, bibliography export, or Zotero specifically.
Why use this skill?
Automate your academic workflow with the Zotero skill for OpenClaw. Manage references, fetch PDFs, export citations, and organize libraries via the Zotero API.
Install via CLI (Recommended)
clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/terwox/zoteroWhat This Skill Does
The Zotero skill provides a robust command-line interface for OpenClaw to interact with your academic research libraries hosted on Zotero. By utilizing the REST API v3, it bridges the gap between raw data and your personal or group literature repositories. This skill allows for seamless automation of bibliographic tasks, ranging from adding individual research papers via DOI, ISBN, or PubMed IDs to managing large collections, applying tags, and cleaning up metadata. It features built-in duplicate detection, which ensures your library remains organized without redundant entries. Furthermore, it supports batch processing, metadata updates, and an export feature that allows you to generate citations in various formats such as BibTeX, RIS, or CSL-JSON. The skill is designed for researchers, students, and academics who want to minimize manual library management time.
Installation
To install this skill, run the following command in your terminal: clawhub install openclaw/skills/skills/terwox/zotero. Once installed, you must configure your environment variables. Obtain your ZOTERO_API_KEY and ZOTERO_USER_ID from the official Zotero settings page. If you are working with a group library, ensure you provide the ZOTERO_GROUP_ID instead. Optionally, provide a CROSSREF_EMAIL to utilize the polite pool for more reliable DOI metadata lookups. All commands are executed via scripts/zotero.py.
Use Cases
This skill is highly effective for automating literature reviews. Use it to automatically find and attach open-access PDFs to your existing references or to scan your library for missing metadata. It is also an ideal tool for generating formatted bibliographies for papers directly from your existing Zotero collection. The ability to batch-add items from text files makes it perfect for researchers aggregating hundreds of sources into a single project.
Example Prompts
- "Check my Zotero library and find any journal articles missing their corresponding PDF attachments, then try to fetch them."
- "Add the paper with DOI 10.1038/s41586-023-00000-0 to my 'machine-learning' collection and tag it as 'high-priority'."
- "Export all items in my current library tagged 'thesis' into a BibTeX file format."
Tips & Limitations
Always use the --json flag when writing scripts that need to parse output programmatically. If you are adding many items, remember that the default duplicate detection prevents errors, but you can use --force if you know an item is unique. Note that fetching PDFs relies on the availability of open-access sources; not all papers will be downloadable automatically. Keep your API key secure as it grants full read and write access to your libraries.
Metadata
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Find the right skillPaste this into your clawhub.json to enable this plugin.
{
"plugins": {
"official-terwox-zotero": {
"enabled": true,
"auto_update": true
}
}
}Tags(AI)
Flags: network-access, file-read, file-write, external-api