zotio MCP server

The trust-and-automation layer for Zotero

Docs: Get started · Commands · MCP server · Safe writes · Workflows

zotio gives humans, scripts, and MCP agents local-first search and auditing, preview-first writes, and bounded, provenance-tagged context for Zotero libraries.

Fast proof: check a bundled library before trying zotio on your own data.

brew install orgmentem/tap/zotio        # or grab a signed binary from Releases
zotio demo                              # bundled library: 34 classic papers, one genuinely retracted
ZOTIO_DEMO=1 zotio --data-source local items retract-check  # check every DOI against Retraction Watch data

KEY         STATUS      TYPE        NOTICE DOI                     DATE        SOURCE            TITLE
WAKEFLD98   correction  correction  10.1016/s0140-6736(04)15715-2  2004-03-06  retraction-watch  Ileal-Lymphoid-Nodular Hyperplasia, Non-Speci...
WAKEFLD98   retracted   retraction  10.1016/s0140-6736(10)60175-4  2010-02-06  retraction-watch  Ileal-Lymphoid-Nodular Hyperplasia, Non-Speci...
FAIR002016  correction  addendum    10.1038/s41597-019-0009-6      2019-03-19  publisher         The FAIR Guiding Principles for Scientific Da...
Checked 21 DOI-bearing items; 3 update notices flagged; 2 DOI(s) not registered with CrossRef.

That is the bundled library catching the retracted Wakefield 1998 MMR paper, with no Zotero install and no API key (the check queries Crossref live). zotio demo --reset removes it.

Zotero itself red-flags a retracted item when you open it, from the same Retraction Watch data. zotio adds what the desktop app does not: corrections and expressions of concern, a report across a whole library that scripts can consume, and an exit code CI can fail on.

Point it at your real library:

zotio init                                         # guided setup: detect Zotero, key, first sync, health check
zotio items retract-check                          # the same check, against your real library
zotio library health --for citation --fail-on high # fit to cite? (exit 11 if not)
zotio items bibcheck thesis.tex --fail-on-unknown  # every \cite{} resolves? (exit 11 if not)

Shortened. The full README is on GitHub.