zotero-mcp (54yyyu/zotero-mcp) is an MCP server listed on the M8ven Trust Index. It scores 98 out of 100, grade A. It declares 52 tools. No publisher has claimed this listing.

A
Trusted
98/100
7 days ago

zotero-mcp

Connects your Zotero research library with Claude and other AI assistants via the Model Context Protocol, allowing you to search your library, access content, discuss papers, get summaries, and analyze citations.

Trusted. Deep verification, no outstanding findings, and an established reputation. Grades reflect the full trust pyramid: code, verification depth, and reputation. New projects cap at C until adoption is earned.

How we verified

Code Verified⚡ Live Monitored: not connected

Verified is a snapshot. Live keeps it current, and builds your track record.

⚡ Connect GitHub → continuous verification on every pushwhy connect →

Who stands behind it

54yyyu

Source: modelscope

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// key findings
No credential exfiltration, no sensitive file access, no obfuscation
Static analysis found nothing flowing your secrets to unexpected places.
Open source with a license and README
Anyone can audit the code, the license is declared, and the publisher documents what it does.
🔐
You'll be asked for 4 credentials: OPENAI_API_KEY, ZOTERO_API_KEY, GEMINI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY
These are read from process.env at runtime. Make sure you trust where they’ll be sent.
// environment variables
To run this server yourself, you supply these values. They go in your own MCP client configuration and stay on your machine. The secret label means the value is sensitive, not that the server mishandles it.
configZOTERO_LOCALFor local read-only use, : "true" is all you need — drop the ZOTERO_API_KEY and ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID lines entirely.
configZOTERO_LOCAL_PORT
configZOTERO_LIBRARY_TYPEZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID is your numeric userID, shown on that same page (for a group library, use the group's ID and also set : "group").
configZOTERO_LIBRARY_IDFor local read-only use, ZOTERO_LOCAL: "true" is all you need — drop the ZOTERO_API_KEY and lines entirely.
configZOTERO_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL
🔐 secretOPENAI_API_KEYYour OpenAI API key (for OpenAI embeddings)
configOPENAI_EMBEDDING_MODELOpenAI model name (text-embedding-3-small, text-embedding-3-large)
configZOTERO_EMBEDDING_MODELEmbedding model to use (default, openai, gemini, ollama)
configOPENAI_BASE_URLCustom OpenAI endpoint URL (optional, for use with compatible APIs)
configZOTERO_MCP_TOOLSETSWhich optional tool groups to expose. Every tool the
configZOTERO_MCP_LOG_LEVEL
configZOTERO_NO_CLAUDE
🔐 secretZOTERO_API_KEYFor local read-only use, ZOTERO_LOCAL: "true" is all you need — drop the and ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID lines entirely.
configZOTERO_CLI_DEBUG
configZOTERO_MCP_LOCK_TIMEOUT
🔐 secretGEMINI_API_KEYYour Gemini API key (for Gemini embeddings)
🔐 secretGOOGLE_API_KEY
configGEMINI_BASE_URLCustom Gemini endpoint URL (optional, for use with compatible APIs)
configZOTERO_DB_PATHCustom zotero.sqlite path (optional). When unset, the
configZOTERO_PDF_MAXPAGES
configZOTERO_MCP_SCHEMA_CACHECustom path for the refreshed schema cache
configXDG_CACHE_HOME
configZOTERO_MCP_SCHEMA_REFRESH0: Disable the weekly background refresh of
configZOTERO_MCP_FORCE_UPDATE
configVIRTUAL_ENV
configXDG_CONFIG_HOME
configZOTERO_SEARCH_BACKENDsqlite: Route zotero_search_items and
configZOTERO_TOKENS_PER_MINUTE
configOLLAMA_BASE_URLOllama server URL (default: http://localhost:11434)
// quality suggestions

Tool annotations

No tools have read-only/destructive annotations

Add readOnlyHint or destructiveHint annotations to every tool so hosts can warn users before invoking.

All four hints declared on every tool

52/52 tools missing one or more hints — zotero_get_annotations (missing: readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint); zotero_get_notes (missing: readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint); zotero_manage_note (missing: readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint), +49 more. OpenAI's directory rejects tools where any of the four hints are missing or non-boolean.

For every tool, set all four hints (readOnlyHint, destructiveHint, idempotentHint, openWorldHint) to explicit true/false values that match the handler’s actual behaviour.

Tool test coverage

41/52 tools referenced in tests (79%)

Write tests that reference each tool by name so every tool has at least one test.

Secrets not logged

1 secret value sent to print

Redact or omit secret values from log output.

Claim the listing to review these findings one by one and send us a correction where you disagree, straight to the team. Claiming also means we tell you when the grade moves, and reach you first if we find anything urgent.

// full audit trail
The findings above are the summary. The full trail, every check we ran, each deduction, the network hosts observed and the dependency advisories, goes to verified publishers, along with an alert whenever a new one lands. Verified publishers can also review each finding and dispute it in one click. Publisher corrections have sharpened several of our checks this month, because the maintainer knows the codebase better than any scanner.
// improvement guidance — verified publishers only
We have 4 concrete improvements we can share with the publisher of this MCP. Each comes with specific guidance to raise the trust score.
// embed badge in your README
[![M8ven Score](https://m8ven.ai/badge/mcp/54yyyu/zotero-mcp)](https://m8ven.ai/mcp/54yyyu/zotero-mcp)
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commit: 3cb3e2e34fab1fab7dc252102b03cdeec9915b78
code hash: 45a19617eea07b71b3ed9cbfaa0227faf06785b7e99d314efbe7607641f3429a
verified: 9/4/2026, 4:52:35 AM
view raw JSON →
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