# CLI Anything Zotero

> Full-featured CLI for Zotero reference management. Search, import by DOI/PMID, export BibTeX, attach PDFs, semantic search, manage tags/collections, and more. Use this tool whenever you need to interact with a Zotero library programmatically.

- Skill: `piaoyangguohai1/cli-anything-zotero` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add piaoyangguohai1/cli-anything-zotero`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/piaoyangguohai1/cli-anything-zotero/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: piaoyangguohai1 (https://skillmd.com/u/piaoyangguohai1)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/piaoyangguohai1/cli-anything-zotero

---


# cli-anything-zotero

Agent-native CLI for Zotero 7/8/9 desktop. 40+ commands across four backends.

## Before You Start

1. Run `zotero-cli --json app doctor` first. If `write_ready` is false, follow `next_steps` (start Zotero / install plugin / enable Local API).
2. Prefer `zotero-cli --json ...` for machine-readable results (`ok`, `status`, `code`, `key`).
3. Write ops are appended to a local audit log: `zotero-cli --json audit tail --limit 20` / `audit path`.
4. Optionally run `zotero-cli app check-update` once per session.

## When to Use

- User asks to search, find, or look up papers in their Zotero library
- User needs to import a paper by DOI or PMID
- User wants to export citations or BibTeX
- User needs to attach a PDF to a Zotero item
- User wants to find available PDFs for items missing them
- User asks about collection statistics, duplicates, or annotations
- User needs semantic search ("find papers similar to X")
- User wants to update metadata, tags, or manage collections

## Key Commands by Task

### Search & Discovery

```bash
# Keyword search
zotero-cli item find "query" --limit 10

# Search all Zotero fields, tags, notes, and annotations
zotero-cli item find "query" --scope fields --limit 10

# Search everything Zotero can search, including full content
zotero-cli item find "query" --scope everything --limit 10

# Full-text search inside PDFs
zotero-cli item search-fulltext "query" --limit 10

# Semantic search (requires ZOTERO_EMBED_* env vars)
zotero-cli item semantic-search "natural language query" --top-k 10

# Find papers similar to a known item
zotero-cli item similar ITEM_KEY --top-k 5

# Search annotations/highlights by keyword or color
zotero-cli item search-annotations "keyword" --color "#ff6666" --limit 10

# Find duplicates
zotero-cli --json item duplicates --by doi --limit 20
zotero-cli --json item merge KEEP OTHER1 OTHER2   # dry-run default; --confirm to apply
```

### Read Item Details

```bash
# Full item metadata (returns JSON with title, creators, DOI, tags, attachments, etc.)
zotero-cli --json item get ITEM_KEY

# List attachments
zotero-cli --json item attachments ITEM_KEY

# View PDF annotations
zotero-cli --json item annotations ITEM_KEY

# Citation metrics from NIH iCite
zotero-cli --json item metrics PMID --pmid
# Or by Zotero item key (auto-extracts PMID from extra field)
zotero-cli --json item metrics ITEM_KEY
```

### Import Papers

```bash
# Preferred: unified add
zotero-cli --json add doi "10.1038/s41586-024-07871-6" --tag "review" --collection COLLECTION_KEY --fetch-pdf
zotero-cli --json add arxiv 2602.02093 --collection COLLECTION_KEY
zotero-cli --json add file ./paper.pdf --collection COLLECTION_KEY
zotero-cli --json add bibtex ./references.bib --collection COLLECTION_KEY
zotero-cli --json add url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03819-2

# Lower-level DOI import still available
zotero-cli --json import doi "10.1038/s41586-024-07871-6" --if-exists file --no-translator
zotero-cli import pmid "38551621" --tag "epidemiology"
```

### Export & Citations

```bash
# Export one item in BibTeX
zotero-cli item export ITEM_KEY --format bibtex

# Export a standalone BibTeX file for downstream tools
zotero-cli export bib --items KEY1,KEY2 --output refs.bib
zotero-cli export bib --collection COLLECTION_KEY --output refs.bib

# Other formats: ris, biblatex, csljson, csv, mods, refer
zotero-cli item export ITEM_KEY --format ris

# Render citation preview (static HTML, not a refreshable DOCX field)
zotero-cli item citation ITEM_KEY --style apa

# Render bibliography preview (static HTML, not a refreshable DOCX field)
zotero-cli item bibliography ITEM_KEY --style apa

# Inspect citation fields inside a DOCX before mixing Zotero/EndNote/static references
zotero-cli --json docx inspect-citations manuscript.docx

# AI-authored DOCX citations must use real Zotero placeholders, then validate them
zotero-cli --json docx inspect-placeholders manuscript.docx
zotero-cli --json docx validate-placeholders manuscript.docx

# Static final DOCX: replace placeholders with ordinary text citations and bibliography
zotero-cli --json docx render-citations manuscript.docx --output manuscript-static.docx --force

# Preferred one-shot pipeline (auto: dynamic if LibreOffice ready, else static)
zotero-cli --json docx cite manuscript.docx --output manuscript-cited.docx --mode auto --force

# Dynamic final DOCX: use Zotero/LibreOffice fields when the user needs Refresh
zotero-cli --json docx doctor
zotero-cli --json docx insert-citations manuscript.docx --output manuscript-zotero.docx --force

### AI DOCX Citation Decision Flow

When the user provides a DOCX draft that contains citations, follow this explicit branch:

- Ask for intent if mode is unclear:
  - "Do you want static references (final text now), or dynamic references (refreshable in Zotero/LibreOffice)?"
- Preferred default for agents:
  - `zotero-cli --json docx cite <docx> --output <final.docx> --mode auto --force`
- If static is explicitly requested:
  - `zotero-cli --json docx cite <docx> --output <final.docx> --mode static --force`
- If dynamic is explicitly requested or user mentions later editing/refresh:
  - `zotero-cli --json docx cite <docx> --output <final.docx> --mode dynamic --force`
  - or lower-level: validate → doctor → insert-citations
- If dynamic conversion returns environment errors:
  - do not retry blindly
  - report exact error context from `docx doctor`/`docx zoterify-probe`
  - offer fallback to static mode (`render-citations`)

Keep only user-facing outputs:
- input placeholder DOCX
- final converted DOCX
- debug artifacts only if user explicitly asked for `--debug-dir`

Behavior note:
- `item citation` and `item bibliography` are static previews and must **not** be used as a replacement for DOCX writing conversion.
- `docx prepare-zotero-import` remains experimental and should not be called in normal user workflows.
```

When drafting DOCX content with AI, never invent final static citations such as
`(Author, 2024)` unless the user explicitly asks for static prose. Insert
`{{zotero:ITEMKEY}}` or `{{zotero:KEY1,KEY2}}` placeholders from real Zotero
items and validate the document before handoff. When the user asks to insert
citations without specifying a mode, ask whether they want static citations
(`docx render-citations`, simplest) or dynamic Zotero fields
(`docx insert-citations`, refreshable but requires LibreOffice).

### PDF Management

```bash
# Attach a local PDF to an existing item
zotero-cli item attach ITEM_KEY /path/to/paper.pdf

# Zotero-only find PDF
zotero-cli --json item find-pdf ITEM_KEY

# Cascade: Zotero → Unpaywall → EuropePMC → bioRxiv → arXiv
zotero-cli --json item fetch-pdf ITEM_KEY --sources zotero,unpaywall,epmc,biorxiv,arxiv

# Batch cascade for a collection (JSONL progress optional)
zotero-cli --json collection fetch-pdfs COLLECTION_KEY --limit 20 --jsonl-progress --resume
```

### Write Operations

```bash
# Update metadata fields
zotero-cli item update ITEM_KEY --field title="New Title" --field DOI="10.1234/xxx"

# Add/remove tags
zotero-cli item tag ITEM_KEY --add "important" --remove "unread"

# Delete item (requires --confirm)
zotero-cli item delete ITEM_KEY --confirm
```

### Collection Management

```bash
# List all collections
zotero-cli collection list

# Collection hierarchy
zotero-cli collection tree

# Find collection by name
zotero-cli collection find "query"

# Items in a collection (includes DOI, hasPdf, date)
zotero-cli --json collection items COLLECTION_KEY

# Collection statistics (total items, PDF coverage, year/journal distribution)
zotero-cli --json collection stats COLLECTION_KEY

# Create / rename / delete collection
zotero-cli collection create "New Collection"
zotero-cli collection rename COLLECTION_KEY --name "New Name"
zotero-cli collection delete COLLECTION_KEY --confirm

# Add/remove items from collection
zotero-cli item add-to-collection ITEM_KEY COLLECTION_KEY
zotero-cli collection remove-item COLLECTION_KEY ITEM_KEY
```

### Sync & Utilities

```bash
# Trigger Zotero sync
zotero-cli sync

# Execute arbitrary Zotero JavaScript
zotero-cli js "return Zotero.Items.getAll(1).length;" --wait 5

# Interactive REPL
zotero-cli repl
```

## Output Format

- Use `--json` flag on the root command for machine-readable JSON output:
  ```bash
  zotero-cli --json item find "query"
  ```
- Without `--json`, output is human-readable text.

## Important Constraints

- **All platforms**: Works on macOS, Windows, and Linux with the JS Bridge plugin installed.
- **Zotero desktop must be running**: This is a hard prerequisite (not optional). Use `zotero-cli --json app doctor` / `app launch` if it is closed. Do **not** invent cloud-only or read-only degraded workflows.
- **JS Bridge plugin required**: Install via `zotero-cli app install-plugin`. Once installed, all JS bridge commands work silently.
- **Semantic search**: Requires `ZOTERO_EMBED_API`, `ZOTERO_EMBED_MODEL`, and `ZOTERO_EMBED_KEY` environment variables, plus a pre-built vector index at `ZOTERO_VECTOR_DB`.
- **Item references**: Most commands accept a Zotero item key (8-char alphanumeric like `9LPV3KTS`), title fragment, or numeric ID.
- **Collection references**: Accept collection key or numeric ID.

## Common Workflows

### "Find papers about X and export BibTeX"
```bash
zotero-cli --json item find "X" --limit 20
# Pick relevant keys from output, then:
zotero-cli export bib --items KEY1,KEY2 --output refs.bib
```

### "Import a paper and attach its PDF"
```bash
zotero-cli import doi "10.xxxx/yyyy"
# Note the item key from output, then:
zotero-cli item attach ITEM_KEY /path/to/paper.pdf
```

### "What papers in collection X are missing PDFs?"
```bash
zotero-cli --json collection stats COLLECTION_KEY
# Shows total vs withPDF vs noPDF count
# Then batch-find:
zotero-cli collection find-pdfs COLLECTION_KEY
```

### "Find papers similar to one I'm reading"
```bash
zotero-cli --json item similar ITEM_KEY --top-k 10
```

## Version

1.2.1+ (see package `__version__` / PyPI). Roadmap: repo `docs/ROADMAP.md`.