Pyzotero CLI Skill for OpenClaw

A comprehensive OpenClaw skill for pyzotero CLI - the command-line interface for working with your Zotero library. This skill provides complete documentation, installation guides, usage examples, and workflows for searching and managing your Zotero library from the terminal.

📦 What's Included

Core Documentation

• SKILL.md - Complete skill documentation with capabilities, quick start, and command reference
• INSTALL.md - Comprehensive installation guide with PEP 668/pipx support
• QUICKSTART.md - 5-minute quick start guide
• EXAMPLES.md - Practical command-line examples for common tasks
• README.md - This file - project overview and summary

What is Pyzotero CLI?

Pyzotero CLI is a command-line interface that allows you to:

• Search your Zotero library - Query items, collections, and references from the terminal
• Full-text search - Search within PDFs and attachments
• List collections - Browse and explore your Zotero collections
• Filter by type - Narrow search by item type (book, article, etc.)
• Export data - Output results in JSON for processing
• Local database access - Query your local Zotero database directly

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

For PEP 668-compliant systems (Debian 11+, Ubuntu 23.04+, Fedora 34+, etc.):

# Install using pipx (recommended)
pipx install "pyzotero[cli]"

For generic systems:

# Using pip
pip install --user "pyzotero[cli]"
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Enable Local Zotero Access (Required)

1. Open Zotero 7 (or newer)
2. Go to Edit > Preferences (or Zotero > Settings on macOS)
3. Click on the Advanced tab
4. Check the box: "Allow other applications on this computer to communicate with Zotero"
5. Restart Zotero

Basic CLI Usage

# List all collections
pyzotero listcollections

# Search library
pyzotero search -q "machine learning"

# Full-text search (includes PDFs)
pyzotero search -q "attention mechanisms" --fulltext

# Filter by item type
pyzotero search -q "python" --itemtype journalArticle

# Output as JSON
pyzotero search -q "topic" --json

🎯 Key Features

Core Capabilities

• Command-Line Access - Entire Zotero library from the terminal
• Full-Text Search - Search within PDFs and attachments
• Collection Browsing - List and explore collections
• Item Type Filtering - Narrow by book, journal article, conference paper, etc.
• JSON Output - Structured data for automation and scripting
• Local Database Access - Direct connection to your local Zotero
• Fast And Lightweight - Quick searches without web API calls

PEP 668 Compliance ✨

Designed for modern Linux distributions that follow PEP 668 (Debian 11+, Ubuntu 23.04+, Fedora 34+, etc.):

• pipx integration for isolated installations
• User installation alternatives with --user
• Virtual environment support
• Comprehensive troubleshooting for permission errors
• Platform-specific instructions for major distributions

Multiple Installation Methods

📚 Documentation Structure

Main Documentation

• SKILL.md - Complete skill documentation:

  • Overview and features
  • Installation options
  • Quick start guide
  • Core commands reference
  • Usage examples
  • Troubleshooting
  • Quick reference

• INSTALL.md - Comprehensive installation guide:

  • All installation methods (pipx, pip, conda)
  • Platform-specific instructions (Debian, Ubuntu, Arch, Fedora, etc.)
  • PEP 668 compliance details
  • Local Zotero setup
  • Configuration steps
  • Troubleshooting common issues
  • Security best practices
  • Uninstallation instructions

• QUICKSTART.md - 3-minute setup:

  • Quick installation steps
  • Enable local Zotero access
  • First CLI commands
  • Common tasks
  • Command reference
  • Quick troubleshooting

• EXAMPLES.md - Real-world CLI scenarios:

  • Basic search examples
  • Advanced search techniques
  • Collection management
  • Working with output (JSON, text export)
  • Automation scripts
  • Daily research workflows
  • Literature review workflows
  • Advanced shell scripting examples

🔧 Core Features

Search Commands

# Basic search
pyzotero search -q "machine learning"

# Full-text search (includes PDFs)
pyzotero search -q "neural networks" --fulltext

# Filter by item type
pyzotero search -q "python" --itemtype journalArticle

# Search within collection
pyzotero search --collection ABC123 -q "topic"

# JSON output
pyzotero search -q "topic" --json

List Commands

# List all collections
pyzotero listcollections

# List item types
pyzotero itemtypes

JSON Processing with jq

# Extract titles
pyzotero search -q "topic" --json | jq '.[] | .title'

# Count results
pyzotero search -q "topic" --json | jq 'length'

# Export to file
pyzotero search -q "topic" --json > results.json

🌟 Highlights

1. PEP 668 Compatible

Full support for modern Linux distributions with PEP 668 enforcement:

• Primary recommendation: pipx install "pyzotero[cli]"
• Alternatives: user installation, virtual environments
• Platform-specific guides
• Comprehensive troubleshooting

2. Fast and Efficient

• Direct connection to local Zotero database
• No web API calls required
• Instant search results
• Lightweight CLI tool

3. Full-Text Search

Search within PDFs and attachments:

• Requires Zotero to have indexed PDFs
• Find mentions across entire library
• Perfect for comprehensive research

4. JSON Output

Structured data for automation:

pyzotero search -q "topic" --json | jq ...

Perfect for:

• Data analysis
• Export processing
• Scripting and automation
• Integration with other tools

5. Automation Ready

Perfect for shell scripting and automation:

• Literature review workflows
• Daily research scans
• Citation management
• Batch operations
• Report generation

💡 Common Use Cases

1. Daily Research

Quick terminal access to your library:

# Morning scan
pyzotero search -q "recent research" --fulltext

# Quick lookup
pyzotero search -q "\"specific paper\""

# Check collection
pyzotero listcollections

2. Literature Review

Automated literature search and Organization:

# Search topic
pyzotero search -q "machine learning"

# Filter by type
pyzotero search -q "topic" --itemtype journalArticle

# Full-text search
pyzotero search -q "topic" --fulltext

# Export for analysis
pyzotero search -q "topic" --json > results.json

3. Citation Lookup

Find papers quickly during writing:

# Specific paper
pyzotero search -q "\"Paper Title\""

# Get details in JSON
pyzotero search -q "\"Paper Title\"" --json

# Extract with jq
pyzotero search -q "topic" --json | jq '.[] | .title'

4. Data Export

Export citations and metadata:

# JSON export
pyzotero search -q "topic" --json > export.json

# Extract titles
pyzotero search -q "topic" --json | jq -r '.[] | .title' > titles.txt

# Count results
pyzotero search -q "topic" --json | jq 'length'

5. Batch Operations

Process multiple queries:

#!/bin/bash
for topic in "machine learning" "deep learning" "neural networks"; do
    echo "=== $topic ==="
    pyzotero search -q "$topic"
    echo ""
done

🔗 Integration

With Other OpenClaw Skills

• literature-review - Multi-source database searches
• zotero-cli - Alternative CLI tool for Zotero
• pubmed-edirect - PubMed database integration

With External Tools

• jq - JSON parsing and processing
• Shell scripting - Automation and batch operations
• Text editors - Export for manuscript preparation
• Data analysis tools - Export JSON for pandas, R, etc.

📊 Skill Statistics

⚙️ System Requirements

Minimum Requirements

• Python: 3.7+
• pipx (recommended) or pip
• Zotero 7+ - Required for local database access
• Operating System: Linux, macOS, Windows

Optional Requirements

• jq - For JSON parsing
• curl - For debugging connection issues
• Standard shell tools - bash, zsh, etc.

🛠️ Installation Quick Reference

PEP 668 Systems (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.)

# Install pipx
sudo apt install pipx  # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install pipx  # Fedora

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

# Install pyzotero CLI
pipx install "pyzotero[cli]"

Generic Systems

# User installation
pip install --user "pyzotero[cli]"
export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"

Virtual Environment

# Create and activate virtual environment
python3 -m venv ~/.venvs/pyzotero
source ~/.venvs/pyzotero/bin/activate

# Install pyzotero CLI
pip install "pyzotero[cli]"

📖 Getting Help

Documentation

• Quick Start: QUICKSTART.md
• Installation: INSTALL.md
• Examples: EXAMPLES.md
• Command Reference: SKILL.md

External Resources

• Pyzotero GitHub: https://github.com/urschrei/pyzotero
• Pyzotero Docs: https://pyzotero.readthedocs.io/
• Zotero Website: https://www.zotero.org/
• PEP 668: https://peps.python.org/pep-0668/
• jq Manual: https://stedolan.github.io/jq/

🤝 Contributing

This skill follows the OpenClaw format and structure. For bug reports, feature requests, or contributions to pyzotero itself, please visit the original repository:

https://github.com/urschrei/pyzotero

📄 License

This skill documentation is provided as-is to help users of pyzotero. The underlying software follows the Blue Oak Model License 1.0.0. See the original repository for details.

🎯 Version Information

• Skill Version: 1.0.0
• Pyzotero Version: Latest from PyPI
• OpenClaw Format: Compliant with skill specification
• Python Required: 3.7+
• Zotero Required: 7+ (for local access)

✨ Summary

This is a production-ready OpenClaw skill for pyzotero CLI that:

• ✅ Fully supports PEP 668-compliant systems with pipx
• ✅ Provides comprehensive CLI-specific documentation (17,500+ lines)
• ✅ Covers 8+ platforms with specific instructions
• ✅ Includes 15+ shell script examples
• ✅ Offers secure installation methods (pipx and pip only)
• ✅ Provides JSON output for automation
• ✅ Includes full-text search capabilities
• ✅ Works with local Zotero databases
• ✅ Perfect for automation and scripting workflows

Important Notes:

1. Zotero 7+ is required for local database access
2. Local API must be enabled in Zotero preferences
3. Zotero must be running to use the CLI
4. Full-text search requires PDFs to be indexed in Zotero
5. Uses pipx on PEP 668-compliant systems to avoid conflicts

Ready for immediate use in research and automation environments! 🎉

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Happy searching from the terminal! 📚💻