Skills/PyPI/zotero-mcp-server

zotero-mcp-server@0.17.2

CAUTION· not started

Publisher claims: "Zotero MCP server and CLI: chat with your Zotero research library in Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Codex and other AI agents" Observed in sandbox: no network, touches nothing outside the project, writes no memory.

Registry PyPI (MCP server)Publisher 54yyyu · publishing for 276 daysInstalls 32,987Last detonated 3 h ago
What would fix thisWatchDispute verdict

Coverage

Not started: dependency install failed; the server itself was not observed.
Tested
the dependency install step · every file read, file written and host contacted by what ran
Not tested
server startup · the tool list · tool behavior

What this means for the label: Caution here covers what ran. The server's tools were not exercised with a real credential, so nothing about their behavior is asserted; the credential summary below says what to do with that.

Before you give it your token

It will ask for
GEMINI_API_KEYGOOGLE_API_KEYOPENAI_API_KEYZOTERO_API_KEYZOTERO_TOKENS_PER_MINUTE or --allow-unauthenticated / --batch-max-tokens / --show-secretsConfiguration, not credentials: GEMINI_BASE_URL, OPENAI_BASE_URL, OPENAI_EMBEDDING_MODEL, USERNAME, VIRTUAL_ENV, ZOTERO_API_URL, ZOTERO_BACKEND, ZOTERO_CLI_DEBUG, ZOTERO_DB_PATH, ZOTERO_EMBEDDING_MODEL, ZOTERO_LIBRARY_ID, ZOTERO_LIBRARY_TYPE, ZOTERO_LOCAL, ZOTERO_LOCAL_PORT, ZOTERO_MCP_CONTACT_EMAIL, ZOTERO_MCP_FORCE_UPDATE, ZOTERO_MCP_LOCK_TIMEOUT, ZOTERO_MCP_LOG_LEVEL, ZOTERO_MCP_SCHEMA_CACHE, ZOTERO_MCP_SCHEMA_REFRESH, ZOTERO_MCP_TOOLSETS, ZOTERO_NO_CLAUDE, ZOTERO_PDF_MAXPAGES
Where it talks to
zotero.org (its own)Also arxiv.org, doi.org, scite.ai, openalex.org, nih.gov, retorque.re, idpf.org, ojs.example, isbndb.com, voyageai.com, openrouter.ai, cohere.com, contextual.ai, unpaywall.org, semanticscholar.org, a.com, b.com, crossref.org, openlibrary.org — not the publisher's domain; check what for before connecting.
What the honeypot saw
no credential files read · no network
What we could not test
server startup · the tool list · tool behavior

Connect it with a scoped credential, under the guard, and read the third-party hosts first. The code names arxiv.org, doi.org, scite.ai, openalex.org, nih.gov, retorque.re, idpf.org, ojs.example, isbndb.com, voyageai.com, openrouter.ai, cohere.com, contextual.ai, unpaywall.org, semanticscholar.org, a.com, b.com, crossref.org, openlibrary.org as well as its own vendor. The guard injects GEMINI_API_KEY, GOOGLE_API_KEY, OPENAI_API_KEY, ZOTERO_API_KEY, ZOTERO_TOKENS_PER_MINUTE only into requests to zotero.org (and its subdomains) and refuses the rest.

$vet-skills run --secrets GEMINI_API_KEY=zotero.org,GOOGLE_API_KEY=zotero.org,OPENAI_API_KEY=zotero.org,ZOTERO_API_KEY=zotero.org,ZOTERO_TOKENS_PER_MINUTE=zotero.org -- uvx zotero-mcp-server

Never paste a credential into a chat, a ticket or a report, including ours. How the guard holds it.

Is [email protected] safe to install?

KillerSkills ran it in the KillerSkills honeypot sandbox (2 scenarios; not started: dependency install failed; the server itself was not observed) on 2026-11-15 and scored it 75/100 (Caution). It is not known to be malicious, but it has behaviour or code a security policy should decide on before install. Notable findings: Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration; Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration; Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration. Summary: no network, touches nothing outside the project, writes no memory.

Behavior trace

Honeypot run · 0 s · 2 scenarios · 0 deviations
t+CategoryObserved action
0.0sprocessno install scripts in bundle
0.1sprocessdependency install exit 1 ·
0.1sclaimednot started: dependency install failed (exit 1); the server itself was not observed
0.2sprocessscript backend runs setup only
0.2sprocessno install scripts to re-run

Static findings

HIGH
Auto-update or dynamic fetch configurationsrc/zotero_mcp/semantic_summary.py:69 · Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration — agent may load new code at runtimeauto_off = frequency != "manual" and not update.get("auto_update", True)Fix: Pin versions and sources; vendor anything fetched at install time.
AST06
HIGH
Auto-update or dynamic fetch configurationsrc/zotero_mcp/setup_helper.py:512 · Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration — agent may load new code at runtime"auto_update": True,Fix: Pin versions and sources; vendor anything fetched at install time.
AST06
HIGH
Auto-update or dynamic fetch configurationsrc/zotero_mcp/_app.py:28 · Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration — agent may load new code at runtime"""The ``update-db`` command line if a semantic auto-update is due, else None.Fix: Pin versions and sources; vendor anything fetched at install time.
AST06
HIGH
Auto-update or dynamic fetch configurationsrc/zotero_mcp/setup_helper.py:518 · Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration — agent may load new code at runtime"auto_update": True,Fix: Pin versions and sources; vendor anything fetched at install time.
AST06
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathssrc/zotero_mcp/tools/_helpers.py:2344 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system files``citation_pdf_url`` meta tag on an arbitrary page. A "file:///etc/passwd"Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Auto-update or dynamic fetch configurationsrc/zotero_mcp/config_light.py:58 · Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration — agent may load new code at runtime"""Decide whether an auto-update is due from ``update_config`` alone.Fix: Pin versions and sources; vendor anything fetched at install time.
AST06
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathssrc/zotero_mcp/client.py:51 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system files# After .env, so ZOTERO_STRICT_SQLITE can be set there too. Every tool importsFix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
HIGH
Auto-update or dynamic fetch configurationsrc/zotero_mcp/setup_helper.py:531 · Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration — agent may load new code at runtime"auto_update": True,Fix: Pin versions and sources; vendor anything fetched at install time.
AST06
HIGH
Access to sensitive file pathssrc/zotero_mcp/strict_sqlite.py:9 · Access to sensitive file paths — SSH keys, AWS credentials, env files, or system filesprocess starts with (a shell, ``.env``, or an MCP client's ``env`` block).Fix: Stop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/cli.py:1323 · Python subprocess execution detectedresult = subprocess.run([sys.executable, "-m", "pip", "show", "zotero-mcp-server"],Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/updater.py:107 · Python subprocess execution detectedresult = subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/cli_standalone.py:1602 · Python subprocess execution detectedsubprocess.run(["explorer", f"/select,{path}"], check=False)Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedscripts/site_release.py:202 · Python subprocess execution detectedout = subprocess.run([sys.executable, str(repo / "scripts" / "measure_context_cost.py"), "--json"],Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/updater.py:135 · Python subprocess execution detectedresult = subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/cli.py:1318 · Python subprocess execution detectedresult = subprocess.run(["uv", "tool", "list"], capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=5)Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedscripts/profile_recent_items.py:136 · Python subprocess execution detectedout = subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
File permission modification commandsrc/zotero_mcp/utils.py:70 · File permission modification command — agent changes file ownership/permissions"Zotero index and credentials; run `chmod 700 %s` to restrict it.",Fix: Request the narrowest permission that works; replace wildcards with the exact paths or hosts.
AST05
MEDIUM
Process kill commandsrc/zotero_mcp/index_migration.py:57 · Process kill command — agent can terminate processes"""Runs right after the rename, so a test can kill the process at that point."""Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments; do not interpolate untrusted strings into a shell.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/index_repair.py:89 · Python subprocess execution detectedsubprocess.run(["cp", flag, str(src), str(dst)], check=True, capture_output=True)Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/pdfannots_helper.py:115 · Python subprocess execution detectedresult = subprocess.run(cmd, capture_output=True, text=True, check=True, timeout=120)Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedscripts/site_release.py:127 · Python subprocess execution detectedreturn subprocess.run(["git", *args], cwd=repo, capture_output=True, text=True, check=True).stdoutFix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/cli_standalone.py:1600 · Python subprocess execution detectedsubprocess.run(["open", "-R", str(path)], check=False)Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/updater.py:176 · Python subprocess execution detectedresult = subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/cli_standalone.py:1657 · Python subprocess execution detectedsubprocess.run(["open", url], check=True)Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Process kill commandsrc/zotero_mcp/client.py:567 · Process kill command — agent can terminate processes"""Honour the ZOTERO_LOCAL_WRITE kill switch. Unset or "auto" means on."""Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments; do not interpolate untrusted strings into a shell.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/updater.py:33 · Python subprocess execution detectedresult = subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/_app.py:73 · Python subprocess execution detectedreturn subprocess.Popen(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/setup_helper.py:87 · Python subprocess execution detectedresult = subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
File permission modification commandsrc/zotero_mcp/setup_helper.py:31 · File permission modification command — agent changes file ownership/permissions"""Best-effort ``chmod 600`` on a config file that may hold credentials.Fix: Request the narrowest permission that works; replace wildcards with the exact paths or hosts.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/cli_standalone.py:1604 · Python subprocess execution detectedsubprocess.run(["xdg-open", os.path.dirname(str(path))], check=False)Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/updater.py:208 · Python subprocess execution detectedresult = subprocess.run(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/cli_standalone.py:1661 · Python subprocess execution detectedsubprocess.run(["xdg-open", url], check=True)Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/chroma_worker.py:221 · Python subprocess execution detectedself._proc = subprocess.Popen(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05
MEDIUM
Python subprocess execution detectedsrc/zotero_mcp/tools/write.py:4603 · Python subprocess execution detectedproc = subprocess.Popen(Fix: Build commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
AST05

Cost to the agent

Instructions loaded
≈69 tok
1 file · 81 in bundle
Tool list per prompt
≈0 tok
0 tools · 0 per tool
Handshake
no reply
launch to tools/list, stdio
Undocumented tools
0
description under 20 chars · avg 0

Tokens estimated at four characters each. The tool list is re-read by the agent on every turn, so it is the number to compare between servers that do the same job: ranked across the index.

Known vulnerabilities

No advisories in OSV for zotero-mcp-server@0.17.2 as of 2 h ago. This is the package itself, not its dependencies.

What would make this Verified

5 points to 80 · weights: behavior 45%, static 25%, prompt 15%, publisher 15%
  1. Unclaimed publisher≈ +8 on the totalClaim 54yyyu: a verified publisher gets +50 on publisher trust. It is free and usually instant with GitHub sign-in.
  2. Auto-update or dynamic fetch configuration≈ +4 on the totalPin versions and sources; vendor anything fetched at install time.
  3. Access to sensitive file paths≈ +4 on the totalStop enumerating or reading credential locations; take secrets from a declared environment variable the user sets on purpose.
  4. Python subprocess execution detected≈ +2 on the totalBuild commands from fixed arguments, never from interpolated strings; prefer an API client over shelling out.
  5. File permission modification command≈ +2 on the totalRequest the narrowest permission that works; replace wildcards with the exact paths or hosts.
  6. Process kill command≈ +2 on the totalBuild commands from fixed arguments; do not interpolate untrusted strings into a shell.
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