Point any MCP client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.) at your local endpoint.
Talk to the Zotero desktop app on this machine. Requires Zotero 7 running. Adds tools like PDF page images, current selection, and Better BibTeX keys.
Sign in with Zotero, talk to zotero.org over HTTPS. Works from any network.
http://127.0.0.1:XXXXX/mcp•••Loopback only (127.0.0.1). Never bound to a public interface.
1. Start Zotero 7
Open the Zotero desktop app. The status light above turns green when it's detected on127.0.0.1:23119. This port is fixed by Zotero and can't be changed.
2. Copy your MCP URL and bearer token
Use the copy buttons above. The URL is a plain http://loopback endpoint — HTTPS is not used (and not needed) because traffic never leaves your machine.
3. Connect Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop's config file only accepts stdio-based MCP servers (acommand it launches locally) — it does not accept a raw url/headers entry. To bridge Claude Desktop to this local HTTP endpoint, use the community mcp-remote adapter, which is launched via npx and forwards stdio ↔ HTTP with your bearer token.
Prerequisite: install Node.js (which provides npx).
Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json) and add:
{
"mcpServers": {
"zotero": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-remote",
"http://127.0.0.1:XXXXX/mcp",
"--header",
"Authorization: Bearer <paste-bearer>"
]
}
}
}Then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop. The bearer stays on your machine — themcp-remote bridge reads it from the config file and sends it as an Authorization header on each request. It's never shown to or stored by the model.
4. Try it
In Claude Desktop, ask something like "search my Zotero library for papers on transformers". You should see a tool call to zotero.search_items.