Zotero Notes Sync

Sync Zotero Desktop notes into your vault as Markdown files.

This plugin reads notes from the Zotero Desktop local API and writes them into the current vault. It is designed for researchers who keep annotations, excerpts, or reading notes in Zotero and want them available alongside their Markdown notes without manually exporting them one by one.

Features

• Ribbon button for one-click sync.
• Command palette action: Sync Zotero notes.
• Command palette action: Check Zotero local API.
• Settings tab for Zotero API URL, target folder, page size, and index behavior.
• Optional sync on startup.
• Optional interval sync while Obsidian is open.
• One Markdown file per Zotero note.
• Frontmatter with Zotero key, parent item title, creators, year, tags, dates, and zotero:// links.
• _index.md for browsing synced notes.
• .zotero-notes-manifest.json for checking sync results.

Requirements

• Obsidian desktop
• Zotero Desktop running locally
• Zotero local API reachable at http://127.0.0.1:23119

The plugin is desktop-only because Zotero Desktop's local API is a local desktop service.

Manual Installation

Download the latest release assets:

• main.js
• manifest.json
• styles.css

Create this folder in your vault:

YourVault/.obsidian/plugins/zotero-notes-sync/

Copy the release assets into that folder, then enable Zotero Notes Sync from Obsidian's Community Plugins settings.

Usage

1. Open Zotero Desktop.
2. Open Obsidian.
3. Enable the plugin.
4. Open the plugin settings and choose a target folder.
5. Run Sync Zotero notes from the command palette, or click the ribbon button.

By default, notes are written to:

Reading Notes/Zotero Notes

Safety

• The plugin only reads from Zotero.
• It does not write back to Zotero.
• Existing synced Markdown files with the same Zotero note key are overwritten on the next sync.
• PDFs and attachments are not synced yet.

Development

Install dependencies:

npm install

Build:

npm run build

The release assets are:

main.js
manifest.json
styles.css

License

MIT