# How to Use Zotero with Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM)
> NotebookLM has no Zotero integration. Here's how to get a Zotero collection into Gemini Notebook, keep it in sync and match citations back to your library.
By Juli · Published Oct 26, 2026 · https://www.kortex-notebooklm.com/blog/gemini-notebook-zotero
Your papers live in Zotero. Your questions go to Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM), because it answers from the PDFs you give it and shows the passage behind every claim. The gap is everything in between: Zotero files each PDF in its own cryptically named folder, and Gemini Notebook has no Zotero button. This guide shows four ways to use Zotero with Gemini Notebook: getting a collection into a notebook, keeping it current as the collection grows, and tracing a notebook citation back to the right Zotero item.
Plenty of people are looking for that bridge. In the Google autocomplete suggestions we pulled on October 26, 2026, "notebooklm zotero" completed to "integration", "plugin" and "bridge", and "gemini notebook zotero" showed up as well. The audience is large, too. When we analyzed the 776 answers to the Kortex MCP waitlist survey (Sep 19 to Oct 1, 2026), researchers stood out. In all, 202 people (26%) described themselves that way, more than any other profession (Kortex MCP waitlist survey, 2026). Another 20 asked for help with literature reviews. One researcher put the whole job in one line: "Sync my project-specific PDFs between Zotero, my local files, and notebookLM."
> **Key Takeaways**
> - Gemini Notebook has no Zotero integration. It takes PDFs, Word, text, web URLs and Google Drive files (Gemini Notebook Help, 2026).
> - Quickest manual route: rename PDFs from Zotero metadata, export the collection with its files, upload.
> - Real sync means adding new papers, and nothing does that automatically.
> - Citations quote your files, not Zotero citekeys, so name each source after its Zotero item.
## Does Gemini Notebook have a Zotero integration?
No. Google's list of supported sources covers Google Docs, Slides and Sheets; Word, text, Markdown, PDF, CSV and PowerPoint files; and web URLs, public YouTube videos, audio, images and ePub files ([Gemini Notebook Help](https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16215270?hl=en), 2026). Zotero isn't on it. We searched Google's help center and found no Zotero page at all. On the Zotero side, meanwhile, the threads on the [Zotero forums](https://forums.zotero.org/discussion/132828/) point to community projects rather than an official connector. So the work is carrying, not converting. Zotero holds the PDFs, Gemini Notebook reads PDFs, and something has to move them across.
How much fits on the other side depends on your plan. A free notebook holds 50 sources, Google AI Plus 100, Pro 300, and the two Ultra plans 500 or 600 ([Gemini Notebook Help](https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16213268?hl=en), 2026). Each source can be up to 500,000 words or 200MB. In practice, a 400-item library won't go into one free notebook, and it shouldn't anyway. One notebook per subcollection, chapter or research question keeps answers focused, as our guide to [using Gemini Notebook for research](/blog/notebooklm-for-research) explains.
The gap hits one group hardest. Researchers were the largest profession on the Kortex MCP waitlist:
Professions of the 776 people on the Kortex MCP waitlist (one person could pick several). Source: Kortex MCP waitlist survey, Sep 19 to Oct 1, 2026.
## What's the best way to use Zotero with Gemini Notebook?
It depends on two things: how big the collection is, and how often it changes. A one-off notebook for a 30-paper seminar is a single sitting by hand. A thesis library that grows every week needs a way to top the notebook up. Here are the four routes side by side.
| Route | Best for | Keeps up with new papers? | What you need |
|---|---|---|---|
| Export and upload by hand | One notebook, a few dozen papers | No | Zotero and a browser |
| Linked files in Google Drive | PDFs you edit or replace | File changes sync; new papers are added by hand | Google Drive on your computer, Zotero linked files |
| The zotero-gemini-notebook connector | Picking papers from inside Zotero | No, you stage again | Zotero 7 to 10, Chrome, a plugin and an extension |
| An AI assistant bridge | Big collections, top-ups and cited answers | Yes, when you ask | An MCP client, a Zotero MCP server, Kortex Pro or Lifetime |
If you only ever build each notebook once, the first row is enough. The further down the table you go, the more setup you trade for less repetition.
## How do you get a Zotero collection into a notebook by hand?
Rename the PDFs, export them in one go, then upload. The renaming matters more than it looks. Zotero keeps stored files in its data directory, where "each file has its own subdirectory, which is named with a random 8-character string" ([Zotero documentation](https://www.zotero.org/support/attaching_files), 2026). Fishing 40 PDFs out of 40 folders is the tedious part, and the file names inside are often whatever the publisher chose. Three steps fix both:
1. **Rename from metadata.** Zotero 7 and later renames new PDFs automatically, using the template `{{ firstCreator suffix=" - " }}{{ year suffix=" - " }}{{ title truncate="100" }}` ([Zotero documentation](https://www.zotero.org/support/file_renaming), 2026). That gives names like "Vaswani et al. - 2017 - Attention is all you need.pdf". For older files in Zotero 7, right-click an attachment and choose **Rename File from Parent Metadata**; from Zotero 8, names follow metadata edits automatically.
2. **Export the collection with its files.** Right-click the collection, choose **Export Collection…**, and pick Zotero RDF with files included. Zotero calls RDF with files and notes "the most complete transfer" ([Zotero documentation](https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/exporting), 2026), and it's "the only format that preserves information about item collections, attachment files, and notes" ([Zotero field mappings](https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/field_mappings), 2026). As a result, the collection's PDFs are written out inside one export folder, where a file search for ".pdf" gathers them for upload.
3. **Upload.** Create a notebook, choose to upload files, and select the PDFs. Stay under your plan's source cap, and split the collection if you're over it.
Why rename first? An uploaded file usually keeps its file name as its source title, and the source title is what you see next to a citation. "Vaswani et al. - 2017" next to a quote tells you which Zotero item to cite. "1-s2.0-S0010027719301234-main.pdf" tells you nothing.
One shortcut for open-access papers: add the PDF's web address instead of the file. Google says "PDFs uploaded through URLs are treated as PDF sources" (Gemini Notebook Help, 2026). A DOI link, by contrast, usually opens the publisher's landing page, so the notebook gets the abstract page rather than the paper.
## How do you keep a notebook in sync with Zotero?
Split "sync" into two jobs. The first is changes to files you already added, and Google Drive can handle that. The second is new papers in the collection, and nothing handles that on its own. In the waitlist survey, 46 of 776 respondents asked for sources that stay in live sync, so you're not alone in wanting both.
### Let Google Drive carry the files
Gemini Notebook can add PDFs stored in Drive directly, with no download and re-upload ([9to5Google](https://9to5google.com/2025/11/13/notebooklm-deep-research/), 2025). Google also says "Sources imported from Google Drive are auto-updated and will sync every few minutes" (Gemini Notebook Help, 2026). The help page doesn't say whether that covers PDFs as well as Google Docs, Slides and Sheets, so check a replaced PDF in the notebook before you rely on it.
The safe way to put Zotero PDFs in Drive is linked files, not the data directory. Zotero is blunt about the second option: storing the data directory in a cloud folder "is extremely likely to corrupt your database or break Zotero in unexpected ways, and it shouldn't be done" ([Zotero documentation](https://www.zotero.org/support/kb/data_directory_in_cloud_storage_folder), 2026). Instead, keep attachments as linked files in a Drive folder. **Linked files** are attachments Zotero only points to: "Zotero only stores a link to the location of the original file on your computer" (Zotero documentation, 2026). Then set the linked attachment base directory "so that the files can be found by Zotero on each computer" (Zotero documentation, 2026).
Know the trade-offs. Zotero doesn't sync linked files itself, they don't work in group libraries or the iOS app, and Zotero says it "strongly recommend[s] using stored files" (Zotero documentation, 2026). Zotero's own file sync gives every user 300 MB of free storage ([Zotero sync](https://www.zotero.org/support/sync), 2026). However, Gemini Notebook can't open Zotero Storage, which is why Drive does the carrying in this route.
### New papers are a comparison job
A paper's PDF rarely changes once you've filed it. What changes is the collection. You add three papers on Tuesday, and the notebook has no idea. That's a list-against-list comparison: which items are in the collection but not in the notebook? It's dull work for a person and easy work for an AI assistant that can see both lists, which is where the bridge further down comes in.
## Which Zotero plugins and MCP servers work with Gemini Notebook?
None come from Google or Zotero. The tools below are open-source community projects on GitHub. Kortex isn't affiliated with any of them, so read each project's code and permissions before you install it.
### zotero-gemini-notebook: Zotero to a notebook
[zotero-gemini-notebook](https://github.com/peterdresslar/zotero-gemini-notebook) (MIT licence) pairs a Zotero plugin with a Chrome extension. In its own words, it lets you "browse your Zotero collections, stage source files, and send them to Gemini Notebook". You right-click items and choose **Export Selected to Gemini Notebook**, then click Import in the extension on the notebook page. It handles local PDF, DOCX, Markdown and text attachments, needs Chrome, and is actively tested on Zotero 9 and 10. It also ships a beta MCP server for queuing papers from an AI client. The README lists one known issue worth knowing: "Gemini Notebook's DOM structure may change without notice, which could break the upload mechanism." That has happened. After a Google address change, users on the Zotero forums reported the upload broken, and the author shipped a fix.
### Zotero MCP servers: Zotero to your AI assistant
An **MCP server** is a small program that gives an AI assistant tools for one app, through the Model Context Protocol. Two open-source ones read Zotero:
- **[54yyyu/zotero-mcp](https://github.com/54yyyu/zotero-mcp)** (MIT) searches by title, author, tag, collection or full text, and reads metadata, BibTeX, full text and PDF pages. It works with Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and Cursor, through Zotero's local API or the web API.
- **[kujenga/zotero-mcp](https://github.com/kujenga/zotero-mcp)** (MIT) keeps it small: search, metadata and full text, over the local API or the web API.
For the local API, open Zotero's **Settings > Advanced** and tick "Allow other applications on this computer to communicate with Zotero". The [Zotero Web API](https://www.zotero.org/support/dev/web_api/v3/basics) works from anywhere with an API key and can return items as `bibtex`, `csljson` or `ris`. Either way, these servers give your assistant Zotero. They don't talk to Gemini Notebook, and that's the half Kortex MCP covers.
### NotebookLM to Zotero: the other direction
[NotebookLM to Zotero](https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/hclfbmkbjpilkonccfnohilpcbkpkpof) is a Chrome extension by Timothy Okunoye, with code at [timolumide1/NotebookLM-to-Zotero](https://github.com/timolumide1/NotebookLM-to-Zotero). It exports a notebook's source list as an RIS file that Zotero imports through File > Import. It's handy when Deep Research found sources you want in your library. Its Chrome Web Store listing shows about 3,000 users. It was built for NotebookLM, so check it works on notebook.google.com.
## How do you send a Zotero collection to Gemini Notebook with Claude?
Run two MCP servers in one AI client. **Kortex MCP** is a bridge: your AI client reads Zotero with its own Zotero MCP server, and Kortex MCP carries the papers into Gemini Notebook, then carries cited answers back. We built Kortex, so weigh this section accordingly. Kortex never reads Zotero. Each call goes from your client to `https://mcp.kortex-notebooklm.com/mcp` and on to the Kortex extension in your own Chrome, which uses the Google session you're already signed into ([Kortex MCP docs](/docs/mcp-server), 2026).
Claude Code is the easiest client for this, because it can read PDFs from your disk. The setup:
1. **Zotero:** turn on the local API, as above.
2. **zotero-mcp:** `uv tool install zotero-mcp-server`, then `zotero-mcp install-skill` so Claude Code can drive it (zotero-mcp README, 2026).
3. **Kortex MCP:** `claude mcp add --transport http kortex https://mcp.kortex-notebooklm.com/mcp`, then sign in on the Kortex consent page. Keep Chrome open with the Kortex extension signed in; the first call after Chrome sits idle can take up to 30 seconds.
Kortex MCP is included with Kortex Pro ($9.99 a month, or $4.92 a month billed yearly) and Lifetime ($200 once). Here's who does what:
| Step | Tool | Comes from |
|---|---|---|
| List the collection | `zotero_get_collection_items` | zotero-mcp |
| Find each item's PDF | `zotero_get_item_children` | zotero-mcp |
| Make the notebook | `create_notebook` | Kortex MCP |
| Upload each PDF (PDF, DOCX or TXT, up to 50 MiB) | `start_file_upload`, `upload_file_chunk`, `finish_file_upload` | Kortex MCP |
| Add open-access links | `add_url_source` | Kortex MCP |
| Name sources after Zotero items | `rename_source` | Kortex MCP |
| Check processing | `is_source_ready` | Kortex MCP |
Then ask in plain words. For the first load:
```text
List every item in my Zotero collection "Thesis / Chapter 2" and find each
item's PDF on disk. With Kortex, create a Gemini notebook called "Ch2 sampling
literature" (or use it if it exists) and upload each PDF. Rename every source
to "Author Year - Short title" from the Zotero metadata. Skip files over
50 MiB and list them, along with any items that have no PDF.
```
And whenever the collection grows, the top-up:
```text
Compare my Zotero collection "Thesis / Chapter 2" with the sources in my
"Ch2 sampling literature" notebook, matching on the "Author Year" titles.
Upload only the papers that are missing. List any notebook sources that are
no longer in the collection, but don't delete anything.
```
The second prompt is the sync that no button gives you. It runs when you ask, in a chat. Kortex schedules can run hourly, daily or weekly while Chrome is open, but they can't reach Zotero, so the comparison needs your assistant. A schedule can still ask the filled notebook a question each morning.
Using Claude Desktop instead? It runs local MCP servers too, but it can't hand a PDF file to Kortex without file access. There, the assistant can pass each paper's full text from `zotero_get_item_fulltext` to Kortex's `add_text_source`. You lose the PDF's layout and figures, so prefer a client that reads files, such as Claude Code or Codex.
Your Zotero collection in a notebook, from one sentence
Your assistant reads Zotero with its own MCP server, and Kortex MCP files the papers into Gemini Notebook, tops it up when the collection grows, and brings back cited answers. Kortex MCP is included with Kortex Pro and Lifetime.
## How do you get citations from Gemini Notebook back into Zotero?
Gemini Notebook cites passages, not references, and that's a feature. In a 2023 study of short literature reviews written by ChatGPT, 55% of GPT-3.5's references and 18% of GPT-4's were fabricated ([Walters and Wilder, Scientific Reports](https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-41032-5), 2023). A quote from your own PDF, by contrast, can be checked in one click. Google says it "uses direct quotes, text, and images from your sources as citations"; hover over one to read the full quote, or select it to jump to the passage in context ([Gemini Notebook Help](https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/16179559?hl=en), 2026). So a citation points to a quote inside an uploaded file. It isn't a Zotero item, a citekey or an APA reference, and Google's help pages don't describe a bibliography export. Mapping citations back to Zotero therefore depends on how you named the sources, plus three habits.
### Name sources after Zotero items
Use the renamed "Author - Year - Title" files, or go one step further with citekeys. [Better BibTeX for Zotero](https://retorque.re/zotero-better-bibtex/) can "automatically generate citation keys without key clashes", and lets you set "stable citation keys". For example, a source titled `smith2021sampling` turns every notebook citation of it into a key you can paste straight into LaTeX. With Kortex, `rename_source` relabels sources from the Zotero metadata your assistant reads, one at a time or a whole notebook in one `bulk` call.
### Add the reference list as a source
Zotero exports BibTeX, RIS and CSL JSON ([Zotero data formats](https://www.zotero.org/support/dev/data_formats), 2026), and its Web API can also return CSV. Add the collection's CSV as a source, since Gemini Notebook accepts CSV files, or paste the BibTeX in as text. The notebook then has the metadata next to the papers, so you can ask which entry in the reference list matches a given claim. The answer is still a quoted passage, not a live Zotero link, so check it.
### Ask through the bridge and look up each citation
Kortex's `ask_question` returns the answer, its citations and a `session_id` ([Kortex MCP tools](/docs/mcp-tools), 2026). Each citation names its source and quotes the passage. With zotero-mcp in the same chat, the assistant can match each source title to its Zotero item and fetch the BibTeX:
```text
Ask my "Ch2 sampling literature" notebook which papers report how many
interviews it took to reach saturation, with citations. For each citation,
find the matching Zotero item by its source title and give me a table:
citekey, the quoted passage, and the claim it supports.
```
Then insert the formatted citation from Zotero itself. Zotero's Word plugin and its [Google Docs support](https://www.zotero.org/support/google_docs) add citations and bibliographies in the style you choose. Read each quoted passage against the PDF page before it goes into your manuscript. For more on grounded answers inside Claude, see our guide to [connecting Gemini Notebook to Claude and ChatGPT](/blog/gemini-notebook-in-claude). For reading individual papers, our [guide for students](/blog/notebooklm-for-students) covers prompts that work well on research papers.
## What are the limits of using Zotero with Gemini Notebook?
Most of them come from Gemini Notebook, and a few from the bridges:
- **Source caps.** 50 sources per free notebook, 300 on Pro (Gemini Notebook Help, 2026). Split big collections by subcollection; our system for [organizing your notebooks](/blog/organize-notebooklm-notebooks) helps once you have dozens.
- **File sizes.** Gemini Notebook takes files up to 200MB, while Kortex MCP uploads stop at 50 MiB, so upload very large PDFs by hand.
- **Usage limits.** Usage refreshes every five hours until a weekly cap ([Gemini Notebook Help](https://support.google.com/gemininotebook/answer/17670842?hl=en), 2026), and Google counts the number of sources among the factors ([Google](https://blog.google/innovation-and-ai/products/gemini-notebook/new-flexible-usage-limits/), 2026). So a question across 300 papers weighs more than one across 10; our [usage limits guide](/blog/gemini-notebook-usage-limits) explains the system.
- **Browser dependence.** Browser-based tools, Kortex included, work through Gemini Notebook's web app, so a Google change can break one until its makers catch up.
- **Notes stay put.** Your Zotero notes and tags don't travel with the PDFs. Paste key notes in as a text source if the notebook should see them.
## What should you set up first?
Start small. Turn on Zotero's automatic renaming today, because every later route benefits from it. Then build one notebook from one subcollection by hand. If you find yourself redoing it every week, that's the moment for the assistant bridge. Finally, keep the answers you get: a cited answer buried in a long chat is hard to find again a month later. For notes headed to a vault or a manuscript folder, our guide to [saving Gemini Notebook notes to Notion or Obsidian](/blog/gemini-notebook-to-notion-obsidian) has the recipes.
Keep every cited answer from your literature notebook
Kortex exports Gemini Notebook chats, notes and sources as PDF, Markdown or plain text, so cited answers land in Obsidian or your draft without copy and paste. Free on Chrome.
## Frequently asked questions
### Does NotebookLM have a Zotero integration?
No. Gemini Notebook (formerly NotebookLM) accepts PDFs, Word, Markdown, text and CSV files, web URLs, YouTube links and Google Drive files as sources, and Zotero isn't on Google's list. You bring Zotero's PDFs in yourself, through a community connector, or through an AI assistant that can reach both apps.
### Is there a NotebookLM Zotero plugin?
Not from Google or Zotero. The open-source zotero-gemini-notebook project pairs a Zotero plugin with a Chrome extension that uploads the attachments you stage into a notebook. It works through Gemini Notebook's web page, which its author warns can change without notice, so expect the odd fix after Google updates.
### Can Gemini Notebook stay in sync with my Zotero library?
Not on its own. Google says Drive sources sync every few minutes, so PDFs you keep in Google Drive can stay current, but nothing watches a Zotero collection for new papers. Add new items by hand, or ask an AI assistant to compare the collection with the notebook and add only what's missing.
### Can Gemini Notebook cite my sources in APA or with Zotero citekeys?
No. Its citations are quotes from the files you uploaded, not Zotero items, citekeys or formatted references. Name each source after its Zotero item or Better BibTeX key so every citation points somewhere you can find, then insert the formatted citation with Zotero's Word or Google Docs plugin.
### Does Kortex read my Zotero library?
No. Kortex never reads Zotero. In the bridge recipe, your AI client reads Zotero with its own Zotero MCP server, and Kortex MCP adds the papers to Gemini Notebook and asks notebooks for cited answers. Kortex MCP is included with Kortex Pro and Lifetime.
### Can I send NotebookLM sources to Zotero?
Yes, with a community tool. The NotebookLM to Zotero Chrome extension exports a notebook's source list as an RIS file, which Zotero imports through File > Import. It carries titles, URLs and source types rather than your notes. It was built for NotebookLM, so check it works on notebook.google.com.
---
*Editorial note: fact-checked against the official help pages and docs linked above on October 26, 2026. Spotted something out of date? [Contact us](/support) and we will fix it, or read more [about Kortex](/about).*