Get item
One item with all its fields, tags, collections and child notes.
MCP tool zotero_read → get_item
read
Returns the full metadata of one item as Zotero stores it, the keys of the collections it is in, its tags, and the child notes with their text. PDF attachments are listed by name, not downloaded.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
| library string | string | 'me' for My Library (default) or a group library ID from list_libraries. |
| item_key string required | string | Item key from search_items, 8 characters. |
tools/call
{
"jsonrpc": "2.0",
"id": 1,
"method": "tools/call",
"params": {
"name": "zotero_read",
"arguments": {
"operation": "get_item",
"arguments": {
"item_key": "item key"
}
}
}
}Example response
{
"content": [
{
"type": "text",
"text": "{ ... same JSON as structuredContent ... }"
}
],
"structuredContent": {
"item_key": "H6R2VB5D",
"item_type": "journalArticle",
"title": "Sparse attention for long documents",
"creators": [
"Lee, M.",
"Okafor, T."
],
"date": "2025",
"doi": "10.1234/example.2026.001",
"tags": [
"transformers"
],
"collections": [
"C4T8WZ2N"
],
"notes": [
{
"note_key": "T3P6YK8R",
"text": "Read in October, check the evaluation setup."
}
],
"attachments": [
"Lee and Okafor - 2025 - Sparse attention for long documents.pdf"
]
},
"isError": false
}