Zotero MCP (54yyyu)

Zotero MCP connects your Zotero research library with ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI assistants (e.g., Cherry Studio, Chorus, Cursor) via the Model Context Protocol. Search your library, read and annotate papers, add and organize items, and find research by meaning. It runs locally over stdio via the published package.

People who work with zotero and semantic search and want it reachable from Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in Python.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-09-15 · ★ 5,069 · #8 OF 945 MAINTAINED OTHER · VERIFIED 2026-09-18

MIT · Python servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Zotero MCP (54yyyu)

before you install - you'll need

ZOTERO_LOCAL

Environment variables documented in the project's README - it lists which are required and which have defaults.

Claude Code

claude mcp add 54yyyu-zotero-mcp -- uvx zotero-mcp-server

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "54yyyu-zotero-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "zotero-mcp-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions

license MIT - declared in the repository

pypi package zotero-mcp-server - check the name against the project README before installing (PyPI has no namespace ownership)

registry namespace io.github.54yyyu is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Zotero MCP (54yyyu) can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

Latest releases

v0.12.4 · 2026-09-15

Found by using zotero-cli to read "Attention Is All You Need" and annotate it end to end. · Added · zotero-cli annotations batch creates many highlights and area boxes from JSON Lines (or a JSON array). 48 separate…

v0.12.3 · 2026-09-14

Fixed · recent_items on the SQLite backend reads items in the cheaper order for the scope. Ranking a large personal library walked the (libraryID, key) index and fetched every row by rowid, which @mronkko profiled at…

v0.12.2 · 2026-09-14

Install or upgrade: uv tool install --upgrade "zotero-mcp-server[all]" (or pip install -U zotero-mcp-server). · Two fixes reported by @mronkko right after 0.12.1: date range searches on the API path and the tag list on…

04 · Who maintains Zotero MCP (54yyyu)

Zotero MCP is maintained by 54yyyu. It's the only MCP server we track from this author; the repo dates to Mar 2025.

05 · Facts

repository
github.com/54yyyu/zotero-mcp
website
https://stevenyuyy.com/zotero-mcp/
category
other - ranked #8 of 945 actively-maintained other servers as of 2026-09-18.
release cadence
10+ releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-09-15)
registry
io.github.54yyyu/zotero-mcp (active, first published 2026-07-28 · 12 versions)
packages
pypi:zotero-mcp-server

06 · Zotero MCP (54yyyu) FAQ

What is Zotero MCP (54yyyu)?

Zotero MCP connects your Zotero research library with ChatGPT, Claude, and other AI assistants (e.g., Cherry Studio, Chorus, Cursor) via the Model Context Protocol. Search your library, read and annotate papers, add and organize items, and find research by meaning. It runs locally over stdio via the published package.

Is Zotero MCP (54yyyu) still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-09-18, its last commit was 2026-09-15 and it shipped 10+ releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

How do I install Zotero MCP (54yyyu)?

Run `uvx zotero-mcp-server`. The README documents one environment variable (ZOTERO_LOCAL) to set first. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Zotero MCP (54yyyu) run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via uvx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to Zotero MCP (54yyyu)

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