A powerful utility for direct programmatic editing, tagging, and metadata management of local Zotero libraries.
Install & Download
1. ClawHub CLI
The fastest way to install a skill directly from the registry.
npx clawhub@latest install zotero-write
2. Manual Installation
Copy the skill folder to one of these locations
~/.openclaw/skills/ <project>/skills/ Priority: Workspace > Local > Bundled
3. Prompt Installation
Copy this prompt to OpenClaw to install it automatically.
Help me install zotero-write using Clawhub. If Clawhub is not installed, install it first (npm i -g clawhub).
Prefer to download?
Get the raw skill files in a ZIP archive.
What is Zotero Write Skill?
The Zotero Write skill is a specialized tool designed for researchers and academics who need to interact directly with their local Zotero SQLite database. Part of the Openclaw Skills ecosystem, it enables users to perform complex library management tasks—such as updating paper metadata, adding research notes, or batch-tagging items—without manually clicking through the Zotero GUI.
By leveraging Python-based scripts, this skill provides a bridge between AI agents and academic databases. It prioritizes data integrity with mandatory backup protocols, ensuring that your research library remains safe while you automate the organization of titles, authors, and DOIs. Whether you are building an automated literature review pipeline or simply cleaning up your citations, this skill offers the surgical precision required for professional academic workflows.
Zotero Write Skill Use Cases
- Automatically tagging newly discovered papers based on their content.
- Bulk updating publication years or journal titles for consistency.
- Adding AI-generated summaries as child notes to specific research items.
- Creating new database entries from scratch using raw metadata strings.
- Organizing vast libraries by injecting specialized taxonomies into the Zotero tagging system.
How Zotero Write Skill Works
- The user identifies a specific item in their Zotero library, typically using a unique 8-character item key.
- The skill initiates a mandatory backup process, creating a timestamped copy of the zotero.sqlite file in a designated backup directory.
- The Python script interfaces with the local SQLite database to perform the requested operation (e.g., adding a tag or modifying a field).
- The script validates the changes against available Zotero field names to ensure database schema compatibility.
- Upon completion, the local database is updated, and changes are ready to be synced to the Zotero cloud the next time the desktop application is opened.
Zotero Write Skill Setup
To use this feature within Openclaw Skills, ensure you have Python 3 installed and the Zotero application closed to avoid database locks.
# Navigate to your skill directory and verify the database path
# Perform a manual backup test
py -3 scripts/write_items.py --backup "E:\Refer.Hub\zotero.sqlite"
# List all available metadata fields to ensure connectivity
py -3 scripts/write_items.py --list-fields
Zotero Write Skill Data Schema & Taxonomy
The skill interacts with the standard Zotero SQLite schema. Key data points managed include:
| Data Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Item Keys | Unique 8-character identifiers (e.g., ZL42EGES). |
| Metadata Fields | Includes title, publicationTitle, date, and DOI. |
| Child Items | Annotations and notes stored as linked objects. |
| Backups | Timestamped .sqlite files generated before every write operation. |
Zotero Write Skill Advanced Features
- Mandatory automated backups to prevent database corruption during write operations.
- Support for diverse item types including
journalArticle,conferencePaper, andthesis. - Multi-tag injection allowing for the addition of multiple labels in a single command.
- Full item inspection via
--item-infoto review current metadata before committing edits. - Extensible field mapping that supports custom Zotero fields and identifiers.
SKILL.md
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