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Zoteus MCP Server

answering

Zoteus is answering right now. Last checked 5 min ago. 2 384 installs a week from npm. Last commit 17 Sep 2026.

Zotero MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT: search, citations, safe writes, PDF passages and pages.

Installs per day peak 889 · avg 325 · +294% w/w
a month agotoday
Uptime history 47 days of history
47 days agonow
100.0%
Uptime 24h
92 of 92 checks
Tools
hidden behind auth
478 ms
Response time
average over 24h
2 384
Installs / week
npm and PyPI

What the code does

We read the source, 18 h ago · rules 3dff92dd89df

Capabilities

What this server is able to do. For an MCP server this is often the job itself — a terminal server runs commands because that is what it is for. Listed so you know what you are plugging in, not as an accusation.

Runs an external command src/features/search/embeddings.ts:728
      return await this.spawn(specifier);

Is this your server and something here is wrong? Tell us — corrections are free and do not require a plan.

This code can reach further than it looks

We found places where it runs commands, builds paths or queries from values it is given. None of that is a flaw by itself — it becomes one when the code changes, and code changes quietly between releases. We re-read it on every one.

Three servers free · no card

Connect this server

Endpoint below is the one we actually reach during checks — not the one copied from a README. Last verified 5 min ago.

run in your terminal
claude mcp add zoteus --transport http https://mcp.zoteus.com/mcp
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zoteus": {
      "url": "https://mcp.zoteus.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
~/.codex/config.toml
[mcp_servers.zoteus]
url = "https://mcp.zoteus.com/mcp"
.cursor/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zoteus": {
      "url": "https://mcp.zoteus.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}
.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "zoteus": {
      "url": "https://mcp.zoteus.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

This one needs environment variables set before it will start: ZOTERO_API_KEY (Zotero API key (writes/sync/groups; optional for local-only reads).), ZOTEUS_LOCAL (Use the Zotero desktop local API: auto | on | off.), ZOTEUS_ALLOW_DELETE (Set to true to enable permanent deletion (off by default).). The author declared them in the registry entry; get the values from the project itself.

This endpoint answered with an authorization challenge. The server is running, and it signs you in through your browser: there is no API key to paste.

Endpoints

URLTransportStateLatencyChecked
https://mcp.zoteus.com/mcp streamable-http sign-in 518 ms 5 min ago

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same job, measured the same way
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RAG Vault
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MCP Ratchet Clinical Charting
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Zoteus — questions

Answers built from our own checks of this server.

Why is there no tool list for Zoteus?
The server answered our handshake with an authorization challenge, so it is running — but it will not describe its tools to an anonymous client. To see them you need to connect with your own credentials. We record it as alive, not as broken: 100.0% of checks in the last 24 hours got a reply.
Is Zoteus working right now?
We send a real MCP handshake every 15 minutes. Over the last 24 hours 92 of 92 checks got a reply (100.0%), average response time 478 ms. The bar chart above shows every period we have measured.
How do I connect Zoteus?
Copy the ready config from this page — we generate it for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex, Cursor and VS Code, each with the file path that client actually reads. It is a remote server, so there is nothing to install — the client connects to the address. You sign in through your browser once and the client keeps the session: no key to copy, and it refuses anonymous clients.
How do you sign in to Zoteus?
No API key is involved. Zoteus answers our knock with an OAuth challenge, so you authorise it once in your browser and the client keeps the session. That is also why we see no tool list: it will not describe itself to an anonymous client, and that is the server working as intended, not a fault.
How fast is Zoteus?
It answers our handshake in 478 ms on average, which is faster than 31% of all working MCP servers we measure. The comparison comes from our own checks across the whole registry, every 15 minutes.
How many people use Zoteus?
The npm package @oscardvs/zoteus was installed 2 384 times in the last week. Week over week that is +294%. We show installs rather than GitHub stars on purpose: a star is a bookmark, an install is someone actually running it.
Is Zoteus open source?
Yes — it is published under the MIT licence, written in TypeScript, 40 stars on GitHub and 2 open issues. The source link is on this page, so you can read exactly what it does with your data before you connect it.