Zotero CLI

Command-line interface for the Zotero reference manager, providing terminal-based access to your Zotero library through the Zotero API.

Quick Start

# Install (PEP 668 systems)
sudo apt install pipx && pipx ensurepath && pipx install zotero-cli

# Configure
zotcli configure

# Start using
zotcli query "machine learning"
zotcli add-note "\"deep learning\""
zotcli read "\"attention mechanism\""

📖 Detailed guide: QUICKSTART.md

Installation

pipx (Recommended for PEP 668 systems)

pipx install zotero-cli

pip (Generic)

pip install --user zotero-cli
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Virtual Environment

python3 -m venv ~/.venvs/zotero-cli
source ~/.venvs/zotero-cli/bin/activate
pip install zotero-cli

📖 Complete installation guide: INSTALL.md

Core Commands

| Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | zotcli query "topic" | Search library | | zotcli add-note "paper" | Add a note | | zotcli edit-note "paper" | Edit a note | | zotcli read "paper" | Read first PDF attachment | | zotcli configure | Configure API credentials |

Configuration

# Set default editor
export VISUAL=nano  # or vim, emacs, code

# Run configuration
zotcli configure

# Verify setup
./scripts/setup_and_check.sh

Helper Scripts

| Script | Purpose | |--------|---------| | setup_and_check.sh | Automated setup and verification | | backup_restore.sh | Backup and restore configuration | | update_check.sh | Check for updates | | quick_search.py | Formatted search output | | export_citations.py | Export citations (BibTeX, RIS) | | batch_process.sh | Process multiple queries |

Usage examples:

# Quick search
python scripts/quick_search.py "topic" --format table

# Export citations
python scripts/export_citations.py "topic" --format bib > refs.bib

# Backup
./scripts/backup_restore.sh backup

# Update check
./scripts/update_check.sh check

📖 Scripts documentation: scripts/README.md

Query Syntax

"neural AND networks"        # Boolean AND
"(deep OR machine) AND learning"  # OR + grouping
"learning NOT neural"        # NOT
"\"deep learning\""          # Phrase search
"transform*"                 # Prefix search

Workflows

Literature Review

zotcli query "topic"
zotcli add-note "paper"
python scripts/export_citations.py "topic" --format bib > refs.bib

Daily Research

python scripts/quick_search.py "\"recent\"" --format table
zotcli add-note "\"interesting paper\""
./scripts/backup_restore.sh backup

📖 More examples: EXAMPLES.md

Documentation

| Document | Description | |----------|-------------| | QUICKSTART.md | 5-minute quick start guide | | INSTALL.md | Comprehensive installation guide | | EXAMPLES.md | Practical usage examples | | scripts/README.md | Helper scripts guide |

Troubleshooting

Command not found:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
pipx ensurepath

Permission denied (PEP 668 systems):

pipx install zotero-cli

Configuration errors:

zotcli configure

📖 Detailed troubleshooting: INSTALL.md

Quick Reference

# Essential commands
zotcli query "topic"              # Search
zotcli add-note "paper"           # Add note
zotcli edit-note "paper"          # Edit note
zotcli read "paper"               # Read PDF

# Helper scripts
./scripts/setup_and_check.sh      # Setup
./scripts/backup_restore.sh backup # Backup
./scripts/update_check.sh check   # Update
./scripts/batch_process.sh queries.txt --output results.txt  # Batch

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For complete documentation:

• QUICKSTART.md - Get started
• INSTALL.md - Installation details
• EXAMPLES.md - Usage examples
• SKILL_SUMMARY.md - Full overview