PapersGPT for Zotero 🛡️

The High-Performance Local Intelligence Layer for AI Agents.

PapersGPT for Zotero is a professional, local-first documents intelligence engine and MCP (Model Context Protocol) server. It provides a secure, near-instant bridge between your private local files and advanced agentic platforms like Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor.

100% Local. 100% Private. Zero Data Leakage.

🔥 Why PapersGPT for Zotero?

Modern AI Agents are incredibly smart, but they are "blind" to your private desktop documents. PapersGPT for Zotero acts as a High-Performance Intelligence Engine that indexes your local data, allowing agents to search, read, and analyze thousands of files (1,000+) with absolute privacy.

• 🔒 Absolute Privacy: All document parsing, indexing, and vector storage happen strictly on your own hardware. Your data never leaves your machine.
• ⚡ High-Performance Core: Powered by a native C++ engine. Experience millisecond-level retrieval even across massive document libraries.
• 🔌 MCP Native: Built-in support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), making it instantly compatible with the latest AI tools.
• 📂 Format Mastery: Native parsing for PDF, Word (.docx), PPTX.
• 🤖 Local LLM Ready: Works seamlessly with Claude 3.5/GPT-4o or run completely air-gapped with local models via Ollama.

🚀 Quick Start

1. Install via NPM

npm install -g papersgpt-for-zotero

2. CLI Usage (Local Indexing & Search)

PapersGPT for Zotero provides a powerful CLI for managing your local knowledge base.

• Initialize your Zotero library:

  # Link your Zotero storage (auto-detects default path if omitted)
  pz init "/Users/me/Zotero/storage"

• Search your documents:

  # Perform a semantic search directly from the terminal
  pz search "What are the key findings in the 2023 climate study?"

• Start the MCP Server:

  # Start the MCP server for AI agents (Claude, Cursor, etc.)
  pz mcp

🔌 Agent Integration Examples

Connect PapersGPT for Zotero to your favorite tools:

Claude Desktop

Add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "papersgpt-for-zotero": {
      "command": "pz",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

Integrate with Anthropic's CLI tool:

claude code mcp add pz -- pz mcp

Cursor / Windsurf

1. Open Settings > Features > MCP Servers.
2. Click + Add New MCP Server.
3. Name: PapersGPTForZotero
4. Type: command
5. Command: pz mcp

🛠️ Agent Tools (via MCP)

Once integrated, your AI agent gains professional-grade document capabilities through these tools:

• search: Perform deep semantic search across your entire Zotero library to find relevant snippets.

💻 CLI Reference

PapersGPT for Zotero provides a powerful CLI with convenient aliases (pz, pgz):

| Command | Example | Description | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | init | pz init | Initialize the backend index and search service | | search | pz search "query"| Search for documents directly from CLI | | mcp | pz mcp | Start the MCP server (for AI agents) | | stop | pz stop | Stop the background engine service |

📂 Support Matrix

| Format | Status | Features | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | PDF | ✅ Full | Deep layout analysis & high-speed parsing | | Word (.docx) | ✅ Full | Table extraction & heading hierarchy preserved | | PPTX | ✅ Full | Extracts slides, shapes, and speaker notes |

🤝 Community & Contributing

We are building the open standard for Local RAG. Join us in making AI respect personal data sovereignty!

• GitHub Issues: Found a bug? Have a feature request? Open an issue.
• Star the Repo: If PapersGPT for Zotero improved your workflow, please give us a ⭐ to help others find the project!

⚖️ License

PapersGPT for Zotero is open-source under the Apache-2.0 License.

Desktop Sovereignty is here. Empower your Agents with PapersGPT for Zotero.