ZotLit

[!WARNING] ZotLit v2 is in beta. It ships as GitHub pre-releases and installs with BRAT, not the Obsidian community store. The stable v1 release lives on the v1 branch. See the v1 docs for v1 usage.

Overview

ZotLit connects your Zotero library to Obsidian. One command turns a Zotero item into a Markdown literature note shaped by your template. You can search the library and insert citations without leaving the editor, and read your Zotero annotations in a sidebar that follows the active reader. Everything stays as plain Markdown in your vault.

Features

Feature	Description
Literature notes	One command turns a Zotero item into a Markdown note, shaped by your template.
Citations	Search your library and insert citations without leaving the editor.
Annotation view	A sidebar of highlights and notes that follows your active Zotero reader.
Note import	Bring Zotero child and standalone notes into your vault as Markdown.
Keep notes updated	Re-render notes and refresh their metadata as items change in Zotero.
Live updates	Push changes from Zotero to Obsidian as they happen. Requires the companion.
Templates	Customize note, citation, and filename output with Liquid or Eta templates.
Agent-assisted templates	Describe the note you want. Your agent edits and tests its templates against your Zotero library.

Full guides live in the documentation.

Quick start

With ZotLit installed, open the command palette and run the create-note command. Pick an item from your Zotero library, and ZotLit writes a Markdown note shaped by your template: frontmatter, headings, highlights, and your own notes, ready to link.

New here? Follow the first-note tutorial →

Disclosures

[!IMPORTANT] Zotero database access ZotLit reads your Zotero database directly, including files stored outside your Obsidian vault (Zotero's data directory, attachments on external drives or cloud storage). It reads only and does not write to your Zotero database.

[!IMPORTANT] Network use Live updates run a local notification server so the Zotero companion can push changes to Obsidian. Connections stay on your machine (localhost); ZotLit does not send your data to any external service.

After you consent, ZotLit will download the zh-CN.json Language Pack from github.com/aidenlx/zotlit.

[!IMPORTANT] Third-party project: back up your data ZotLit is a third-party project, not affiliated with Obsidian or Zotero, and may break when either updates. v2 is beta software. Back up your vault and Zotero data before using it. The stable v1 codebase remains on the v1 branch, with v1 docs.

Support

Questions, help, and bug reports: Community — Discord for chat, GitHub Discussions for ideas and bugs.

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