Using with Claude Code¶
Agent-native interface (0.3.0+)
zot auto-emits JSON envelopes when stdout is not a TTY, so Claude Code gets
parseable output without --json. Exit codes are typed (validation, auth,
not-found, network, conflict), every envelope carries a meta.request_id,
and mutating commands support --dry-run and --idempotency-key.
Full contract: Agent Interface.
Install the Skill¶
Copy the zotero-cli-cc skill so Claude Code automatically recognizes literature-related requests:
How It Works¶
With the skill installed, Claude Code automatically uses zot commands when you ask about papers:
Search my Zotero for single cell papers
→ Claude runs: zot --json search "single cell"
Show me details of this paper
→ Claude runs: zot --json read ABC123
Export BibTeX for these papers
→ Claude runs: zot export ABC123
Create a workspace for my ICML submission
→ Claude runs: zot workspace new icml-2026 --description "ICML 2026 submission"
Workspace + RAG Workflow¶
A typical research workflow with Claude Code:
- Create a workspace for your project
- Import papers from collections, tags, or search
- Build the RAG index for semantic search
- Query the workspace with natural language
Create a workspace called "llm-safety" and import all papers tagged "alignment"
→ Claude creates workspace and imports items
Index the workspace
→ Claude runs: zot workspace index llm-safety
What methods do these papers use for reward hacking detection?
→ Claude queries the workspace RAG index and synthesizes an answer
Shell Completions¶
Enable tab completions for faster CLI use: