Search papers and write summary notes straight into your reference library
Idea + starter prompt, not run by us yet
For: Researchers who keep hundreds of papers in Zotero
Pin Shuai uses a paper search MCP with Claude to find highly cited papers and the ones that cite them. A Zotero MCP, using Zotero's local API, lets Claude search his own library in plain language. He requests a write-up of one paper's results and gaps using his own notes, and after a few questions Claude saves that note to Zotero or to Obsidian. He has not tested it writing a full review.
Steps
- Turn on Zotero's local API and build the search database the MCP needs.
- Connect a paper search tool and the Zotero MCP to Claude.
- Ask questions against your own library so answers point to papers you really have.
- Ask for a summary note on one paper, and answer its follow-up questions.
- Check the note against the paper before you rely on it.
Starter prompt
Search my Zotero library for papers about [topic]. List the ones that fit with authors and year. For [paper title], use my highlights and notes to write a short summary of the main findings and the gaps it leaves open. Ask me questions first if anything is unclear. Show me the note before saving it to [Zotero or Obsidian]. Do not delete or change any existing item.
Original post: groundwater.usu.edu · found via agentusecases.ai. Written up in our own words. We haven't run it, so test it on made-up data first.